Planet

Plastics and microplastics in the Mediterranean, a cultural challenge

August 30, 2019

Plastics and microplastics in the Mediterranean Sea. Their accumulation in natural ecosystems-as well as causing irreversible alterations, in fauna and flora-remains pending suitable solutions. And the challenge is cultural as well as political.

Primary and secondary microplastics, nanoplastics

Microplastics (MP) are small particles, ranging from 330 micrometers to 5 millimeters in diameter. In this group, particles of micrometer size (<0.1 μm=100 nm) are distinguished as nanoplastics (NP). Which can be easily absorbed by all tissues and organs of living organisms, even at the cellular level. And they are more difficult to analyze because of the difficulties in sampling the matrix.

Because of their small size, microplastics are not easily detected in humans and animals, and they tend to settle in different terrestrial environments. The greatest accumulation occurs in reservoirs and especially in the seas. Right here begins the long journey of plastic, which over the years degrades materials into smaller and smaller pieces. Up to, precisely, the micro- and nano-metric scales. Of which there is certainty as to the extent and spread. Waiting to know its actual impact on the health of the planet and its inhabitants, starting with unicellular organisms such as microalgae.

The National Ocenic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA, USA) distinguishes microplastics into primary and secondary, based on their respective origins:

– primary MPs are those released into the environment already in micro- or nano-sized final dimensions. They result from the use of cosmetic products (e.g., scrubs and exfoliants), washing of synthetic garments, tire abrasion. These fragments, due to their small size, cannot be filtered by sewage treatment plants and end up in the sea,

– Secondary MPs , on the other hand, are those that are produced in the sea, due to pollution with larger plastic objects (e.g., “plastic objects”, “plastic objects”, “plastic objects”, “plastic objects”). plastic bottles and other single-use items, fishing equipment). Which progressively degrade through mechanical fragmentation, microbial degradation and erosion (facilitated by weathering).

Microplastics, the impacts on public health and the environment

WHO recently urged the assessment of public health risks associated with microplastic contamination of drinking water. Which float in the atmosphere as well as in waters, including those for agriculture. And they become part of our diet, in not insignificant share although hitherto neglected by the supposedly competent institutions.

The European Commission-as well as the FDA(Food & Drug Administration) in the U.S., and other authorities charged with managing food and environmental safety risks-has not yet addressed the problem. Which is serious and topical, given the various levels of particle toxicity-carcinogenesis and mutagenesis, endocrine disruption-and their role as a vector for pathogenic bacteria.

Plastics and microplastics, the Mediterranean’s cultural challenge

The WWF report ‘Stop the flood of the plastic, How Mediterranean countries can save their sea‘ shows the beaches of Spain, Turkey and Israel at the top of the list in the Mediterranean for levels of plastic pollution. (1) Plastic waste is estimated at 31.3 kilograms per kilometer of coastline (Turkey), 26.1 kg/km (Spain), 21 kg/km (Israel), respectively. Although the average recycling rate for plastic waste in Europe is higher than the global average (30 percent vs. 14-18 percent), it remains substantially lower than for other materials. Where recycling of major industrial metals (steel, aluminum, copper, etc.) and paper is considered to be above 50 percent (OECD, 2018).

The case of Israel is emblematic. Israel is the second largest country in the world in the consumption of single-use plastic items. The environmental organization Zalul reports the use of about 4.5 billion disposable plates and utensils each year. (2) An amount exceeded only by the United States, whose population, moreover, is 36 times larger. And this is the first aspect that needs to be worked on, following the logic of Lansink’s scale. Reduce first, reuse and eventually recycle. Keeping in mind that the recycling processes themselves have non-negligible costs.

Separate collection-which Israel has been implementing precisely on plastics, with relative success, since 1999, thanks to a financial reward for bringing in PET bottles and other items-is not enough. In fact, Israel was one of the first countries in the world to introduce by law, back in 1999, a system of ‘extended producer responsibility‘, which also inspired the appropriate OECD guidelines. (3) The Israeli association ELA Recycling Corporation has been promoting the recycling of plastic containers in Israel under a reward system since 2001. It collects 2.5 million (!) plastic and glass bottles (!) every day (the latter, through a deposit system) and provides support services, to producers and importers, to help them meet their respective obligations. (4)

Israel was almost two decades ahead of some waste prevention and management policies-which Europe did not adopt until 2018, with the Circular Economy Package. Nevertheless, the share of waste recycled annually is still far from the defined targets. Thus, the problem to be addressed is not only political, and the Zalul Association is at the forefront of addressing it, but primarily cultural. Recycling companies-public and private, in the Mediterranean and around the world-have to deal with both public resistance to adopting virtuous behavior and so-called ‘aspirational recycling.’

That is, communities need to be educated on the value of proper materials management to preserve the environment as well as consumer culture. Where helping to properly dispose of different materials-to meet the need for ‘aspirational recycling,’ that is, for those who want to help reduce their ecological footprint-is only one piece of a circuit that stems from the production of the materials themselves, starting with packaging. Which still stand out, a long way from other uses, for consumption of plastic materials destined for landfill.

Plastics, packaging and waste. The cultural challenge

Therefore, the most important cultural message is to #Reduce and #Reuse everything you can. And only where this is not possible, be sure to place what is left over in the right containers so that it can be recycled. According to Lansink’s scale, or ‘waste hierarchy,’ which is precisely the basis of the circular economy. Always keeping in mind, as demonstrated by MIT(Massachusetts Institute of Technology) in special study, that not even technology will be able to save the planet and its inhabitants from the ongoing environmental disaster. (5)

‘While some scientists believe that the world can achieve significant dematerialization through improvements in technology, this MIT study finds that technological advances alone will not bring about dematerialization or, ultimately, a sustainable world.

Researchers have found that how much more efficient and compact a product is, consumers will only demand more of that product and in the long run increase the total amount of materials used in the manufacture of that product.’ (6)

#Égalité!

Dario Dongo and Ylenia Desireè Patti Giammello

Notes

(1) Word Wildlife Fund for Nature, WWF (2019). Stop the flood of the plastic, How Mediterranean countries can save their sea, report. At https://wwf.be/assets/IMAGES-2/NEWS/Plastic/WWF-MMI-Report-2019-Stop-the-Flood-of-Plastic-low.pdf

(2) Zalul (‘clear’ in Hebrew) is the first environmental association dedicated to protecting Israel’s seas and rivers. The association was founded with the goal of removing fish farm cages that were contaminating the Gulf of Eilat, causing serious damage to the Red Sea reefs. Since then, the NGO has expanded its scope of activities. Like Legambiente in Italy, Zalul collects and disseminates reports of environmental degradation, organizes events, and raises public and political awareness of ecological values. In addition to conducting scientific studies, proposing environmental legal and judicial initiatives

(3) OECD (2001). Extended Producer Responsibility A Guidance Manual for Governments, https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/environment/extended-producer-responsibility_9789264189867-en

(4) Israel, The Deposit Law on Beverage Containers (1999, effective 2001). V. http://www.sviva.gov.il/English/env_topics/Solid_Waste/Extended-Producer-Responsibility/Pages/Beverage-Container-Deposit-Law.aspx

(5) Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT (2017). Technological progress alone won’t stem resource use. Researchers find no evidence of an overall reduction in the world’s consumption of materials. ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 19.1.17.

(6) ‘Dematerialization is more likely when the elasticity of demand for a product is relatively low and the rate of its technological improvement is high. But when [i ricercatori] applied the equation to common goods and services used today, they found that elasticity of demand and technological change worked against each other: the better a product was made, the more consumers wanted it.’ Idem c.s.