The Ocean Friendly Design Forum will raise awareness, shift perspectives and challenge the current design thinking and practical production of materials and products that commonly end up in the ocean. Reducing the amount of plastic in the sea means redesigning complex supply chains and innovating new systems and materials. Such challenges, requiring long-term strategies, have to date proved a barrier to action. The forum will engage in a trans–sector pragmatic and creative approach that moves from the traditional linear model of ‘take, make and dispose,’ to considering the entire lifecycle of materials and products. An expert group from across the circular network to include designers and material experts, manufacturers and resource managers, brands and retailers, consumers, policy makers and government, investors and academics will investigate and develop the concept and practice of Ocean Friendly Design together. This will be inspired by a physical journey to and through the heart of the problem. Reducing the amount of plastic in the sea is a business opportunity, an ecological imperative and a social, collaborative movement. The OFDF directly support the Global Ocean Commission’s proposal on plastics in the ocean.
Plastic in the ocean is not only a solvable problem, it’s one we can’t afford to ignore”“, said Jo Royle of the Ocean Friendly Design Forum. “”Finding plastic on a remote beach in the Antarctic a decade ago, I saw first hand the effects on our life support system. We need to design-out marine plastic pollution at source and the Global Ocean Commission’s proposals challenge us to radically rethink the plastic economy.
Setting time-bound plastic reduction targets while creating incentives to promote recycling and producer responsibility. Restricting or banning certain unsustainable uses, encouraging substitute materials and better recycling systems.
Plastics are a major source of pollution on the high seas and constitute a health threat to both people and the environment. Debris entangles or suffocates seabirds, turtles and marine mammals, and plastic microparticles bio-accumulate, poisoning fish and entering the food chain.
Over 80% of the plastics found in the ocean come from the land, reflecting very poor and irresponsible waste management. However, political and regulatory action is lacking and consumers are not sufficiently aware of the problem.
World plastics production is estimated to increase by over 100 times based on 2010 production levels, from 270 million in 2010 to 33 billion in 2050, a percentage of which will end up in the ocean unless preventative action is taken.
Once it is in the ocean, plastic is very hard to remove, therefore the Commission is calling for coordinated action by governments, the private sector and civil society to stop plastics entering the ocean in the first place. Proposed actions include:
Establishing time-bound quantitative reduction targets;
Creating incentives to promote recycling and extend producer responsibility.
Restricting or banning certain unsustainable uses (e.g. disposable plastic bags and polyurethane packaging);
Encouraging the promotion and innovation of substitute materials and better recycling systems;
Increasing consumer awareness.
The Commission is also concerned about plastics pollution from sea-based sources, notably the problem of lost and abandoned fishing gear. Tens of thousands of fish aggregation devices (FADs) are used by the tuna fishing industry alone; many of them are eventually discarded or lost at sea.
The Commission proposes that all deployed FADs be documented, and that each new FAD from now on be made up of natural fibres and equipped with a tracking device. To discourage their abandonment at sea, the Commission also calls for port disposal programmes that encourage the safe, cost-effective disposal of used fishing gear. The use of natural biodegradable materials in fishing gear should also be promoted.