Technology company Licella, along with cardboard packaging and paper recycler Oji Fibre Solutions, on-farm plastic recycler Plasback, Silver Fern Farms, and Woolworths New Zealand, with money from the Ministry for the Environment’s Plastics Innovation Fund announced a joint feasibility study of a local plastics recycling industry.

“This is just another ambulance at the bottom of the cliff, another way of disposing of a mess that we shouldn’t be creating in the first place. This isn’t innovation,” says Sue Coutts of the Zero Waste Network.

“Investigating – or worse, piloting – advanced chemical recycling, or ‘plastics-to-oil’ technology buys time for the plastics and packaging industries to keep pumping out ever larger volumes of plastic and contaminated waste plastics,” said Liam Prince, chair of the Aotearoa Plastic Pollution Alliance.

“The technology would enable industry to pretend they are “solving” the plastic solution, while in reality they are doing the opposite by continuing to benefit from the artificial cheapness of plastic packaging without any responsibility for the pollution that is caused across the entire lifespan of plastics.”

“This study does nothing to address the root causes and key harms of plastic pollution, which go far beyond plastics’ end-of-life. The claims about the benefits of so-called ‘advanced recycling’ are rife with greenwashing. They fail to mention that this is an experimental, risky technology with a high carbon footprint.”

“These kinds of activities should not be subsidised using public funds. It is reasonable to expect that companies that decide to use business models that create large volumes of waste plastic that is too contaminated or hard to recycle should take responsibility for covering all of the costs associated with dealing with it at end of life,” says Sue Coutts.

“The obvious solutions are available by looking upstream: designing waste and pollution out of the economy and corporate business models so that we don’t have to waste a lot of money and time managing problems we did not need to create in the first place. Innovation would be developing industry-ready reusable packaging systems, and the use of more readily recycled and safe materials that are managed by properly funded nation-wide resource recovery network.”

“Time and time again, New Zealanders say that plastic pollution is a major concern. Yet central government and corporate New Zealand has not been willing to meet these concerns with real action to reduce plastic production. So we will continue to see growing harm including damage to ecosystems and fenceline communities from the extraction of oil for plastics, and the hazardous pollution caused by plastic products as they flow through our economies, particularly shedding microplastics and leaching chemical additives,” says Liam Prince

“Funding of this study is out-of-step with the ambition of many countries, including Aotearoa New Zealand, for a strong international Agreement to End Plastic Pollution, currently being negotiated through the United Nations. The NZ Government has frequent and free access to independent scientific advice specifically warning against these false solutions. Ending plastic pollution starts with reducing plastic production, not building new and expensive ways to perpetuate its use.”

Our PR: https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO2403/S00182/plastics-recycling-plan-will-increase-plastic-pollution.htm

Original PR: https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/SC2403/S00034/study-into-new-zealand-first-for-end-of-life-plastic-recycling.htm

The post Joint Press Release: ‘Plastics “Recycling” Plan Will Increase Plastic Pollution’ Aotearoa Plastic Pollution Alliance & Zero Waste Network) first appeared on The Aotearoa Plastic Pollution Alliance.

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Statement

The Aotearoa Plastic Pollution Alliance (APPA) condemns the violence, genocide, and ecocide currently being inflicted by the Israeli Government against Palestinians and their territories, particularly in Gaza and the West Bank.

APPA equally condemns the New Zealand Government who, simultaneous to their efforts to unilaterally redefine Te Tiriti o Waitangi and erode the rights of Tāngata Whenua here in Aotearoa, have failed to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza while supporting strikes against Yemen in the name of restoring global trade.

Context

Settler-colonial violence against Indigenous Peoples, pollution, climate change, biodiversity loss, and ecocide are all consequences of imperialist systems of oppression, extraction, and destruction.

Furthermore, militarism and the military-industrial-complex, which uphold the existing global balance of power, are key drivers of material extraction and plastic pollution, while wars are significant polluting events. As we have seen time and time again, and as we are witnessing in Palestine right now, invasion and warfare only generate further social and ecological destruction on top of the inherent harm of the dominant global consumer capitalist system.

Plastics and petrochemicals are intimately connected to geopolitics. Modern consumer capitalism relies on plastics to function, and plastics themselves depend on the extraction of raw materials, such as oil. The pipeline from extraction to consumption props up billion dollar industries, while eroding environmental health and human rights at every step. The ability to undertake these polluting activities, at the expense of both people and the planet, requires control over (Indigenous) Lands and Oceans. This control enables corporations and colonial powers to establish extraction facilities, install refining infrastructure and production plants, set up trade routes, and secure prime retail real-estate and disposal sites for waste. This global linear take-make-waste architecture was embedded during European imperialist expansion. It remains inseparable from the imperial and colonial ideologies of entitlement that, via Papal Laws such as the widely-implemented Doctrine of Discovery, underpin many political systems and settler-colonial governments today.

The connection between our current global economy, environmental destruction and colonial violence is highlighted by the Palestinian-led Boycott Divestment Sanctions movement and its participant NGOs, who list many multinational corporations as complicit in upholding the Israeli government’s apartheid, occupation and genocide. Many of these corporations are major users of plastic and recidivist plastic polluters.

The current siege and blockade of Gaza (facilitated by decades of occupation and apartheid) has reached the point that Gazans are starving, unable to sustain themselves on their own land. Restricted access to piped water supplies has created a reliance on bottled water, which itself is in short supply. A severe shortage of fuel as well as the destruction of solar panels installed on rooftops on buildings across the strip, has compelled some Gazans to burn plastic for cooking and in order to stay warm over winter, adding to the multifaceted public health and environmental risks they face.  This is not the first time that the Israeli blockade against Gaza has precipitated an energy crisis that has led Gazans to resort to using plastic for fuel – a practice that locals understand carries risks, but which they have little choice but to undertake. See for example reports from 2014 https://electronicintifada.net/content/amid-crisis-gazans-convert-plastic-fuel/13374 and 2022 https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220826-in-risky-recyling-venture-gazans-burn-plastic-for-fuel.

Alongside their ongoing human rights abuses and war crimes over decades of illegal occupation in Palestinian territories, the Israeli Government’s current military actions are causing extensive and long-term ecological damage resulting from the destruction of most of Gaza’s built environment (including critical infrastructure, such as wastewater treatment plants); the emission of tonnes of carbon dioxide; pollution of air, water and soil from bombs and other munitions; and deliberate attacks against existing and vital biodiversity, such as heirloom olive groves that Palestinian families have been custodians of for hundreds of years*.

*See, for example: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/09/emissions-gaza-israel-hamas-war-climate-change; https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/5/is-israels-war-on-gaza-also-hurting-the-climate

Positionality: Why we’re speaking up

Environmental organisations have a responsibility to call out systemic injustices that perpetuate social and ecological harm, whenever and wherever they occur. We have a responsibility to recognise the māmae and intergenerational trauma caused by colonialism and call for its healing in a way that enables people and the planet to live in peace and justice, rather than repeating cycles of violence or exploitation.

APPA exists to prevent plastic pollution in Aotearoa, Te Moana-Nui-a-Kiwa, and beyond. The APPA kaupapa (constitution) commits us to restoring the mauri of Papatūānuku, Tangaroa, me ngā Whanau Atua, and protecting all living beings from the existing and future adverse impacts of plastic pollution. We are deeply committed to honouring Te Tiriti at all times, in all spaces, and in all the work that we do. Our kaupapa centres Te Tiriti o Waitangi, along with rangatiratanga, manaakitanga, whakawhanaungatanga, kaitiakitanga, kotahitanga and whakapapa.

APPA’s constitutional kaupapa and the day-to-day mahi of our members reflect the fundamental truth that when the Land is well, the people are well. All people deserve to live in safety, self-determination and environmental justice, free from oppressive violence, pollution and prejudice, and to be secure in the knowledge that their children and children’s children will too.

Therefore, APPA stands with Tāngata Whenua in Aotearoa, Palestine, and across the world against white supremacy, colonial racism, consumer capitalism, and other violent ideologies of entitlement. By fuelling disconnection between humans and the natural world, these ideologies and the socio-political-economic systems they underpin directly threaten human rights to life, security and a safe environment.

As an organisation located in a settler colony, we recognise settler colonial violence when it erupts elsewhere. In Aotearoa, settler-colonial violence and social dysfunction is currently being exacerbated by the New Zealand Government’s baseless fear-mongering and hostility towards te ao Māori, te reo Māori and Te Tiriti o Waitangi. These actions reflect the ongoing legacy of violence, human rights abuses, and Tiriti violations by the Crown against Iwi and Hapū. Tāngata Whenua in both Aotearoa and Palestine share a whakapapa of resistance against colonial violence and it is our collective responsibility to call for justice.

We cannot be free until we are all free and the Land will never be well until those Indigenous to the Land are well and their right to self-determination is upheld.

Effectively addressing these interconnected socio-ecological issues requires us to reject and dismantle dominant and oppressive systems of power and re-embed our communities in the natural cycles of te Taiao, with full Indigenous sovereignty and free self determination.

#ToitūTeTiriti

#FreePalestine

#CeasefireNow

#EndTheOccupation

#HandsOffYemen

Acknowledgements

This collaborative statement reflects the perspectives of our diverse membership, which includes Tāngata Whenua, Tāngata Moana, Tāngata Tiriti, and Tauiwi with whakapapa from across the world, including Palestine.

While we take the responsibility of addressing these crucial kaupapa seriously, we must acknowledge our delay in issuing a statement. As a volunteer-run organisation, we needed to ensure that our statement is not only timely but also accurately reflects our collective rōpū.

APPA looks forward to these discussions becoming more mainstream as Aotearoa and the world continue to move towards decolonization, tino rangatiratanga, and a future that prioritises safety and justice for all.

Read and download the full statement below:

#ToitūTeTiriti
#FreePalestine
#CeasefireNow
#EndTheOccupation
#HandsOffYemen

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When: Thursday 7th & Friday 8th of December 2023
Where: The Town Hall in Whāingaroa/Raglan (and online)

The two-day hui will include:
– Shared kai and kōrero
– Talks and presentations
– Site visit to Xtreme Zero Waste
– Beach clean up

Everyone is welcome to attend, so tell your friends and whānau to come along for a nourishing couple days (or weekend) in beautiful Whāingaroa with beautiful people.

Check out the full programme below:

The post APPA End-of-Year Hui 2023 – Register Now! first appeared on The Aotearoa Plastic Pollution Alliance.

The post APPA End-of-Year Hui 2023 – Register Now! appeared first on The Aotearoa Plastic Pollution Alliance.

This submission expresses our positions on the GPT, which are Tiriti-led and based upon credible evidence from independent science, including Indigenous science and knowledge systems.

Key actions that we support include: the minimisation of virgin plastic and toxic chemical production; designing plastics, as an inherently harmful material, out of our economies as much as possible through the redesign of traditionally plastic products and and plastic-dependent systems; shifting from single-use to reuse; investing in Indigenous and community-led systems of waste prevention; and building capacity for other truly circular solutions such as reuse, refill, repair and compost systems.

The post APPA/TWC Submission to UNEP first appeared on The Aotearoa Plastic Pollution Alliance.

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Liam and Hannah from The Rubbish Trip have been living without a rubbish bin for more than 8 years.

Join Hannah for a tour of their incredible zero waste bathroom and get all the answers to the questions you have about ‘eliminating waste’ in this part of the house.

The post Zero Waste Bathrooms webinar with Hannah Blumhardt from The Rubbish Trip – Plastic Free July 2023 first appeared on The Aotearoa Plastic Pollution Alliance.

The post Zero Waste Bathrooms webinar with Hannah Blumhardt from The Rubbish Trip – Plastic Free July 2023 appeared first on The Aotearoa Plastic Pollution Alliance.

Plastic pollution and throwaway culture are two sides of the same coin and must be tackled together.

Join Hannah Blumhardt of The Rubbish Trip, Reuse Aotearoa, the Zero Waste Network and more in this wānanga/Q&A to hear about why replacing single-use plastic with single-use items made from other materials is a false solution to the plastics crisis.

Hannah Blumhardt, Lead Researcher of Reuse Aotearoa will discuss why reuse systems offer a way to help communities and businesses level up the waste hierarchy and break free from plastic and throwaway culture at the same time.

This wānanga was held as part of #plasticfreejuly2023 and the Break Free From Plastic Asia-Pacific campaign #FalseSolutionsExposed: Busting Myths and Unveiling False Solutions to Plastic Pollution.

The post Wānanga: ‘Reuse as a real solution to plastic pollution with Hannah Blumhardt (Recording) first appeared on The Aotearoa Plastic Pollution Alliance.

The post Wānanga: ‘Reuse as a real solution to plastic pollution with Hannah Blumhardt (Recording) appeared first on The Aotearoa Plastic Pollution Alliance.

Does compostable packaging actually break down fully in compost?
Confused by all the different labels and certifications?
Ever felt that compostable packaging might just be greenwashing?

Hear all about it from Compost Manager and zero waste researcher and advocate, Liam Prince, live and on-site from the Kaicycle Urban Farm where he works. Liam will talk through Kaicycle’s composting process, how it supports healthy soil, healthy food and healthy people, and the reasons why Kaicycle has stopped accepting all types of compostable packaging.

This wānanga was held as part of #plasticfreejuly2023 and the Break Free From Plastic Asia-Pacific campaign #FalseSolutionsExposed: Busting Myths and Unveiling False Solutions to Plastic Pollution.

The post Wānanga: ‘Debunking compostable packaging with Liam Prince, the Compost King of Aotearoa NZ’ (Recording) first appeared on The Aotearoa Plastic Pollution Alliance.

The post Wānanga: ‘Debunking compostable packaging with Liam Prince, the Compost King of Aotearoa NZ’ (Recording) appeared first on The Aotearoa Plastic Pollution Alliance.

The Tāngata Whenua Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty (TWC) is a collaborative forum of Māori plastic pollution experts including community leaders, educators, scientists, businesspeople, and researchers committed to honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi and ensuring the effective participation and representation of Tāngata Whenua throughout the United Nations Global Plastics Treaty (GPT) development and implementation processes.

“With Global Plastics Treaty negotiations now well underway, it is vital that Indigenous Peoples are at the decision-making table.

The Tāngata Whenua Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty (TWC) exists to advocate for a holistic, ambitious and Indigenous-led approach to the Global Plastics Treaty that safely and appropriately incorporates Indigenous Peoples, worldviews, sciences and knowledge systems. We believe that an effective Global Plastics Treaty must prioritise the health and wellbeing of our planet and whakapapa by facilitating a just transition away from plastics led by those most impacted by plastic pollution that focuses on significantly reducing the production of plastics and their chemical additives.

An effective Global Plastics Treaty must also hold polluting industries responsible for pollution prevention and recovery, while focusing on real solutions such as reuse and refill, product stewardship, container return schemes, circular product and system redesign, and community-led waste prevention education. We must equally reject false solutions such as waste incineration, plastic credits, waste-to-energy, and misleading ideas like a ‘sustainable economy for plastics’ when the vast majority of plastics are inherently toxic and wasteful.

– Matt Peryman, Coordinator

June 2023: Juressa Lee and Matt Peryman representing the TWC at INC-2 in Paris, France

The TWC is closely associated with several organisations working on the GPT, including the Indigenous Peoples’ Caucus, the Scientists’ Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty (SCEPT), the Plastic Treaty Coalition, the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), and the wider Break Free From Plastic (BFFP) movement.

Our mahi involves regular hui and wānanga to develop our negotiating positions, submission writing, and attending and informing bi-annual Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) meetings. We work closely with Tāngata Tiriti plastic pollution specialists as well as with the NZ Government delegation from the Ministry for the Environment and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

We welcome any Māori plastic pollution experts interested in working on the Global Plastics Treaty, please contact our coordinator Matt Peryman: mjperyman@gmail.com

The post Meet the Tāngata Whenua Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty! first appeared on The Aotearoa Plastic Pollution Alliance.

The post Meet the Tāngata Whenua Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty! appeared first on The Aotearoa Plastic Pollution Alliance.

This Working Group has been developed to help facilitate collective action across our region in response to the many false solutions to the global plastic pollution crisis that are perpetuated by industry, governments, and other influential parties.

The false solutions of concern to our member organisations include (but are not limited to):

• Incineration and waste-to-energy
• Bio- and “compostable” plastics
• Plastic (and carbon) credits

Matt Peryman (APPA Communications Manager) and Abdul Ghofar (WALHI) are currently co-convening monthly Zoom sessions – the last 3 of which will occur on 24 January, 28 February, and 28 March at 7-8pm NZDT.

All APPA members are welcome to join via the following link:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87248593179?pwd=R055L2syOGNmdnBTVk1rZ1VPYU85Zz09

Meeting ID 872 4859 3179 | Passcode 759434

Working Group Running Notes / Jamboard

The post BFFP Asia-Pacific False Solutions Working Group first appeared on The Aotearoa Plastic Pollution Alliance.

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APPA Comms: A Year in Review

Emma Hunter, APPA Communications Manager (website); Sustainable Coastlines

How time flies. As we bid farewell to another year Emma reflects on what has been occurring in APPA’s communications channels in 2022. This includes the reveal of APPA’s answers to the “10 Questions on Plastic Pollution” which were workshopped earlier in the year.

View slides here

Emma is on the APPA Committee for 2022 as one of the Communications Managers. Her motivation to work against plastic pollution stems from a love of the ocean and the creatures that call it home. Having worked as a wildlife guide in Aotearoa and Canada and seen what’s at stake, she used her MSc research to raise awareness on pre-production pellet/nurdle pollution. Since the start of 2022, Emma has also been raising awareness of marine pollution through her role as Programme Coordinator (Ōtautahi) at Sustainable Coastlines.

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Jevons Paradox: Recycling our way to more waste

Warren Fitzgerald, PhD Candidate, Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington

The waste hierarchy clearly lays out a prioritised order of actions to improve the environmental performance of our material economy. But the waste hierarchy does not take into account the dynamics of human behaviour. Our behaviours are based on the stories we tell ourselves, and the story of recycling is better than its reality. In fact, the story is so good that it seems to be providing the justification for making things worse.

My research is based in the systems sciences and is aimed at identifying the drivers of waste generation. It uses cause and effect logic to expose feedback loops, and simulation modelling to try and replicate observed behaviours. One of my key findings is related to the effect of time delays within the system. The difference in the time it takes to observe the output of our actions, compared to the time it takes to assume what those outputs will be, leads to several undesirable behaviours.

View slides here

Warren is a PhD candidate at Te Herenga Waka, Victoria University of Wellington. He has a background in energy studies from Otago University and has applied this to international shipping, refrigerated transportation, housing, and food systems. He is currently using systems thinking methods to try and understand why we create waste and how the system is structured to encourage these types of behaviours. His research investigates physical material flows, as well as the dynamics behind business decisions, harm creation, and human perceptions.

Turn off the plastic tap or eternally mop up the mess? Approaching plastic packaging product stewardship in NZ

Hannah Blumhardt, Senior Associate, Institute for Governance and Policy Studies, Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington

Product stewardship is a critical policy tool for the circular economy. It makes those involved in the life of a product, particularly producers, responsible for ensuring effective reduction, reuse, recycling, and recovery of the product, and for managing the environmental harm a product might cause when it becomes waste.

Plastic packaging was declared a priority product in NZ in 2020, earmarking it for a product stewardship scheme. In September 2022, Minister David Parker announced that two industry groups – The Packaging Forum and the NZ Food and Grocery Council – will lead the design of New Zealand’s plastic packaging product stewardship scheme. These industry groups have since indicated that the scheme will focus on ensuring collection or recovery of plastic packaging.

This presentation will outline the risks and tensions involved when vested industry groups are charged with designing the rules that will ultimately regulate them. It will also imagine what effective reduction, reuse, recycling and recovery of plastic packaging looks like, and how best to manage the impact of plastic packaging once it becomes waste, with particular reference to trends in overseas product regulation policies and the discourse surrounding the Global Plastics Treaty negotiation. This imagining will be contrasted with the current scheme scope ambition that focuses on collection and recovery of plastic packaging. Recommendations for a more robust scheme design process, and appropriate policy demands and expectations for plastic pollution mitigation advocates to proffer will be traversed.

View slides here

Hannah is a Senior Associate at the Institute of Governance and Policy Studies at Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington. Her research focuses on the policy and practice of zero waste and the circular economy, from the grassroots right through to Government. She has a background in law, policy, history and international relations, and professional experience working in all branches of government, as well as social justice NGOs and academia. Hannah is also a part of New Zealand’s zero waste movement, having lived without a rubbish bin since the beginning of 2015. She co-founded The Rubbish Trip, Takeaway Throwaways and Reuse Aotearoa, she is Coordinator of the New Zealand Product Stewardship Council, and a researcher for the Zero Waste Network and for Āmiomio Aotearoa, a multi-partner research project into the circular economy, hosted by the University of Waikato.

Analysing Coastal Litter in Southland, New Zealand

Kelli Gerritsen, Litter Intelligence; Southern Institute of Technology

Coastal litter is a widespread issue around Aotearoa, which citizen-science initiative Litter Intelligence (LI) is aiming to describe through volunteer-led surveys. Survey sites are chosen by the volunteers, creating a risk that data collected is biased towards frequently visited sites or those with a higher perceived litter density. This research investigated whether the 13 existing LI monitoring sites in Southland provide a reliable overall picture of coastal litter in the region.

To achieve the aim of the research, 13 additional survey sites were randomly selected in computer mapping programme ArcGIS. Sites were then surveyed using the LI methodology over a two month period in mid-2021. The data from each dataset was statistically compared, and displayed visually in a map overlay of Southland’s coastline.

The results from the randomized sites confirmed what the LI sites depict: there was litter at all sites on Southland’s coastline. The mean count and weight of items at Litter Intelligence sites were higher than that of research sites, but the difference was not statistically significant enough to discredit the data shown by LI. The most common material of litter found was plastic, and the most common litter item found was hard plastic fragments.

Litter on Southland’s beaches poses a direct risk to the unique flora and fauna found in the region, key regional industries, and social and cultural values provided by healthy, high-functioning coastal ecosystems. Reporting on coastal litter at the regional level could create motivation for local policy and behaviour change, which is necessary for lasting change.

Slides available soon…

Kelli grew up in the North Island, and moved to Invercargill about five years ago for study. As someone who has always been curious and interested in the natural environment, Kelli pursued a bachelor of environmental management at the Southern Institute of Technology. It was while studying that Kelli became involved with Litter Intelligence, eventually becoming a lead litter data collector, facilitating surveys and teaching other students the data collection methodology. In the third year of her degree, Kelli undertook a year-long research project investigating coastal litter throughout the Southland region and potential bias in the site selection for litter intelligence surveys.

Radical Collaboration to Save our Awa

Carla Gee, CEO, EcoMatters

Slides available soon…

Carla (Ngāti Kahungunu) is the wonderful CEO of EcoMatters and leads a team of passionate and talented ecowarriors and environmental experts. Born and raised in West Auckland, Carla loves working with such an amazing team of talented and dedicated people and feels reinvigorated to be exposed to, learning about, and caring for our environment on a daily basis. Outside of work, Carla is kept busy with her two sons, who love soccer, kung fu, motorbike riding, swimming, and fighting zombies!

Envisioning the Future We Want to See Through Words & Action

Jackie Nuñez, Founder, The Last Plastic Straw; Advocacy & Engagement Manager, Plastic Pollution Coalition

Jackie discusses her journey as an activist to full-time advocate for solutions to plastic pollution. She highlights the importance of communication in art, advocacy, and the latest solutions-based projects from Plastic Pollution Coalition.

View slideshow here

Jackie created the No Plastic Straws movement when she founded The Last Plastic Straw in 2011 as a volunteer project for Save Our Shores, and now a program of Plastic Pollution Coalition since 2016. Her goal is to help educate the public about the absurdity of single-use plastic, its effects on our health, environment and oceans. Eliminating single-use plastic pollution from the source, while using the plastic straw as a gateway issue towards eliminating our single-use plastic habit. Jackie is also a keen kayak guide / gardener / instigator / activist / traveler / world citizen.

Microplastics slowing of faecal pellet sinking has a small total impact on global carbon cycle

Karin Kvale, Carbon Cycle Modeller, GNS Science | Te Pū Ao

Microplastic is a ubiquitous marine pollutant whose small dimensions make it biologically available to phytoplankton and zooplankton. These organisms are crucial as the basis of the marine food web and for the export of organic material in the form of faecal pellets from the surface to deeper in the water column, forming a long-term carbon sink. Previous laboratory studies have demonstrated that ingestion of low density microplastics reduces the sinking speed of zooplankton faecal pellets. We use a complex earth system model to analyse this effect and assess its wider impacts in a changing climate.

Results show that the slowing of faecal pellet sinking stimulates changes to ecosystems regionally which reduce ocean carbon uptake by about 4.4 Pg C between the years 1950-2100, 0.24% of anthropogenic emissions over this time. However, ecological impacts are significant, especially in gyres, and to the order of climate change impacts over the same time period. We calculate a plastics carbon impact on ecosystems 3 orders of magnitude greater than atmospheric carbon. Thus, while the total impact of microplastic on carbon cycling is tiny relative to that of fossil fuel use, its greater ecological potency points to the necessity of urgent regulation and mitigation of impacts.

View slides here

Karin is an ocean carbon cycle modeller with an interest in microplastics and their interaction with ecosystems and climate. Originally from the US, her career has taken her to Canada, Australia, and Germany. She currently works as a government scientist at GNS Science in Lower Hutt.

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Innovative remote sensing technology to observe macroplastics in aquatic environments

Laurent Lebreton, Head of Research, The Ocean Cleanup

Systematic monitoring is critical to quantify plastic pollution accumulation in the environment. Particularly, continuous observations are necessary to understand temporal trends and assess the efficacy of mitigation measures and policies. However, in-situ sampling for plastic pollution, particularly in the ocean, is costly and time-consuming, making continuous monitoring challenging for scientists.

In this presentation, I will showcase new remote-sensing technology for detecting and quantifying macroplastics in marine and freshwater environments. This technology is based on lightweight and low-cost optical cameras combined with deep-learning artificial intelligence techniques. A vast camera network, deployed from bridges over rivers and from sea-going vessels, has the potential to revolutionize the monitoring of macroplastics at a global scale. I will show examples of test deployment, preliminary results, and challenges on the road to scaling up.

View slides here

Laurent started his research on ocean plastics in 2010 where he attempted to predict the formation of ocean garbage patches using numerical models on his computer at his home office in Raglan, Waikato. Laurent is now Head of Research at The Ocean Cleanup, a non-for-profit organisation that develops technology to rid the ocean of plastic. His research group focuses on understanding the sources, the transport and the fate of ocean plastics by leading large scale field expeditions, developing advanced numerical models and investing in remote sensing technology.

Bridging the gaps in marine pollution data through innovative research methods for Pacific Island Countries and Territories

Rufino Varea, PhD Candidate, University of the South Pacific

The Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs) are heavily dependent on marine resources for food security, employment, government revenue and economic development, hence the concern about the potential exposure of these resources to pollutants. The main goal is to identify pollution-related studies published that were done in PICTs. Four significant gaps identified include:

• A quantitative gap, with a low number of studies published on the PICTs.
• A geographic gap where pollution-related studies have unevenly covered the different PICTs.
• A temporal gap, as no biological effect monitoring study has been published for the PICTs.
• A pollutants gap, as all PICTs studies focused mainly on environmental monitoring, studying on average two types of pollutants (heavy metals and pesticides) per PICT only.

The research suggests that the potential risk to the marine environment is to be estimated by assessing the fate of pollutants via chemical and biological effect monitoring.

View slides here

Rufino is a PhD candidate researching in the field of Marine Pollution, specifically Ecotoxicology. His research is aimed at establishing the first biomonitoring scientific approach of pollution effects in seafood fish and shellfish using biomarkers in Fiji. He is also engaged in local and national efforts to form a collaborative network around scientific pollution research and advocacy with NGOs, Government entities and local communities. He has an interest in advancing the way in which science can better inform policy and action. This work involves conducting pollution assessments for project work to establish baseline environmental data aimed at improving community livelihoods, and fisheries resource dependence.

PFAS in packaging

Kim Renshaw, Founder, Beyond the Bin

Per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a family of almost 10,000 man-made chemicals that are added to a wide range of consumer products including packaging. They are so dispersed globally that they are considered to be ubiquitous. Some PFAS have been proven to be harmful to humans and the environment. PFAS have three main characteristics:

• all consist of at least one carbon-fluorine bond,
• high mobility, difficult to contain
• bioaccumulative and biomagnify.

PFAS are hydro and lipophobic, they repel oil and moisture. Thus, they are added to fibre packaging to perform that function. However, PFAS are also added to plastic packaging as processing aids and less is known about this process, or the quantity of PFAS added. PFAS are also a common minor subcomponent used in inks and wax, affecting a wide range of packaging and also other products such as laminate flooring and printed products.

The GOES institute makes the case for PFAS accumulating in the ocean’s micro surface layer, alongside micro/nanoplastics, and contributing to increased water vapour, and PFAS cycling through the atmosphere to be rained back on land.

Due to the persistent nature of the carbon-fluorine bond, all PFAS ever produced are expected to remain in the environment. Around the globe, PFAS are being legislated out of food packaging, or voluntary commitments are being made, but in Aotearoa we are slow to act. The time is now to establish safe and suitable alternatives, or encourage the shift to reusable packaging systems.

View slides here

Kim founded Beyond the Bin in 2015 and is responsible for driving the organisation, developing strategy and key partnerships. Kim is passionate about ensuring the business is operating in line with its values and promoting solutions at the top of the waste hierarchy. Kim is passionate about a reduction of toxicity in packaging and holds technical expertise in per and polyfluoroaklyl substances (PFAS) in packaging. Kim loves working with the waste and packaging sectors to improve systems for waste producers to utilise. Kim believes communication is the key to success and Beyond the Bin is in a unique position to communicate with all waste stakeholders.

Microplastics contaminate biowastes applied onto land in Aotearoa New Zealand

Helena Ruffell, PhD Candidate, University of Canterbury

Previous microplastics research has been focused in the aquatic environment, primarily in the ocean and coastlines. Land based microplastic research comprises only 5% of microplastics-related studies globally. As a result, little is known about the sources and impacts of microplastics in soil environments.

This presentation will discuss the sources of microplastics to soil, including their impact and fate. Different biowastes including bulk and bagged composts, vermicasts, biosolids, and pasture irrigated with effluent were collected from sites throughout Aotearoa. Microplastics were extracted from these samples and characterised by their shape, size, and polymer type. The findings of this study will be discussed along with potential implications of continual inputs of microplastics to productive soils.

This study is part of the Aotearoa Impacts and Mitigation of Microplastics (AIM2) MBIE Endeavour-funded study.

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Helena is a PhD student at the University of Canterbury, investigating the impact of microplastics to productive soils. Helena completed her MSc in 2019, where she focused on wastewater treatment plants as a significant source of microplastics to the environment in Aotearoa. Helena is also a keen member of the zero waste community.

Estimation of plastic pollution from littered single-use face masks in Northland and New Zealand during the Covid-19 pandemic

Manue Martinez, Chief Research Scientist, M2M (Maunga to Moana) Consulting

To reduce the spread of COVID-19, face masks (FM) were mandated in New Zealand (NZ) on 18/08/2021. This led to an extensive use of FMs. Unfortunately, their improper and indiscriminate disposal has created a new environmental issue in NZ. Single-use surgical FMs are composed of various non-recyclable plastic material and can release micro- (MPs) and nano-plastics (NPs). Consequently, plastic pollution, especially in aquatic ecosystems, likely increased until the end of the mandate on 12/09/2022. Between September 2021 and September 2022, Te Tai Tokerau Debris Monitoring project (TTTDMP) recorded 5,152 littered FMs in Northland (93.2% single-use FMs). Surveys were also conducted in Whangārei to estimate compliance levels. Following published literature, the annual generation of FMs was estimated based on different usage scenarios. Furthermore, using mismanaged waste levels, the amount of plastic pollution (MPs and NPs) generated by discarded FMs was also estimated. Results were then extrapolated for NZ based on Northland data. Under a single-use scenario (1 FM/day), approximately 31.5 million FMs (105.4Mt) were used in urban Northland and 807.7 million (2,705Mt) in NZ in a year. Assuming a 2% mismanaged waste, 629,546 FMs would have been discarded in the environment in Northland and 16.2 million in NZ. This would equate to 1,117.4×10⁶ MPs and 1,408.6×10¹² NPs released in the environment in Northland and 28,671.4×10⁶ MPs and 36,142.1×10¹² NPs in NZ. Should FMs be mandated again in NZ, better waste management solutions and education regarding the disposal of FMs are needed to reduce the impacts of FMs on our environment.

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Manue is a marine biologist with a research interest on the effects of human activities on marine wildlife. Her postgraduate and a large part of her postdoctoral research has focused on marine mammals, in particular cetaceans, in various parts of the world (New Zealand, Hawai`i, Australia, Tonga). Upon her return to New Zealand at the end of 2015, Manue has shifted her focus on marine litter in Northland, where she is based. In 2019, Manue co-initiated the Te Tai Tokerau Debris Monitoring Project (TTTDMP) with Nick Bamford (Northland Regional Council), which is a collaboration between local governments, education providers, and citizen-scientists. The primary aim of the TTTDMP is to collate data on litter in the region to increase our understanding on the quantity, type, and location of litter in order to better prevent and mitigate its adverse effects on our ecosystems, wildlife, and human health.

The post APPA 2022 End of Year Hui Presentations – recordings & slides first appeared on The Aotearoa Plastic Pollution Alliance.

The post APPA 2022 End of Year Hui Presentations – recordings & slides appeared first on The Aotearoa Plastic Pollution Alliance.