Garbage as part of the economy – Mir – Kommersant

Last week, the international scientific journal Plos One published a study by the American Institute 5 Gyres, from which it follows that the world’s oceans are polluted with more than 170 trillion particles of plastic with a total weight of about 2 million tons. Meanwhile, in many countries, plastic waste from the sea has become an integral part of the economy – in developing countries, more start-ups are making furniture and building materials from plastic waste caught in the ocean, and in many clothing manufacturers, recycled ocean plastic has become a full-fledged part of fashion and sports collections.

Eastern sea of ​​waste

IN research Institute 5 Gyres examines the situation with plastic waste in the world’s oceans from 1979 to 2019. The authors note that the volume of emissions in the seas began to increase sharply since 2005. “The exponential growth of microplastics in the world’s oceans is more than a clear signal that it’s time for us to take urgent action at the global level,” says Markus Eriksen, co-founder of the 5 Gyres Institute.

The report emphasizes that without such measures, the volume of plastic debris in the world’s oceans by 2040 will increase by 2.6 times compared to the current one.

the largest In the world, the Philippines is an ocean pollutant with plastic garbage – in 2021, its emissions into the sea here amounted to 356 thousand tons. This is 35.6% of the total annual volume of 1.01 million tons. The second most important pollutant is India – 126.5 thousand tons per year (12.5%). In third place with 73 thousand tons (7.3%) is Malaysia, and one of the world’s largest producers of plastic waste in general – China with 80 million tons – is only in fourth place in terms of the amount of garbage dumped into the sea (70 thousand . tons, 7%). This is due to the fact that not all Chinese plastic garbage gets to the ocean – most of it settles on land. Countries like the Philippines or Malaysia are made up of hundreds of islands, so the vast majority of all plastic waste produced in these countries goes straight to the sea.

Since Asian countries throw the most plastic garbage into the world’s oceans, experts note that its collection and processing in Asian countries is especially important. And in some countries of the region, well-known companies have already appeared that are solving this problem.

For example, the Indonesian company Robries, founded in 2018, produces furniture and interior items from ocean plastic. In less than five years of its activity, the company has already processed 21 tons of plastic waste.

IN interview Sukriyatun Niama, the founder of the company, told the Japanese agency Nikkei that his company already recycles four types of plastic – polypropylene, high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene and polystyrene.

Vietnamese company ReForm Plastic recycles the cheapest packaging plastic by compression molding. After collecting, sorting and shredding plastic waste, it turns into durable water-resistant panels. Such panels can be used in construction: for example, for roofing roofs as an alternative to bituminous tiles or for the construction of interior partitions – as an analogue of drywall. Panels from recycled plastic waste can also be used in the production of furniture – as an analogue of chipboard or MDF. ReForm Plastic co-founder Casia Veyna interview Nikkei said its company has already converted 500 tons of cheap, discarded plastic into panels. To date, the company has built six factories with a total waste processing capacity of about 6,000 tons per year. By 2030, the company plans to increase the volume of plastic processing up to 100 thousand tons.

Singapore-based pFibre is tackling plastic in the ocean in a different way. She produces a packaging material that is comparable in quality to polyethylene, but unlike it is 100% biodegradable. The company claims that thanks to organic components, its packaging film is completely soluble in water in three days. pFibre specifically emphasizes that it uses plant-based ingredients that are not part of the human food chain in its film production, which is especially true in Asia, where people in many countries still suffer from food shortages.

public utility waste

Unlike Asian countries, Europe and North America are not among the world’s leaders in plastic pollution of the world’s oceans. But since single-use plastic packaging appeared much earlier in these countries, authorities and companies began to crack down on plastic waste as early as the 1990s. To date, for many large Western companies, the processing of materials and the introduction of fibers made from plastic waste into fabrics is not only a well-established business, but also an additional way to attract the attention of consumers.

The Seaqual Initiative, an international project for the collection and recycling of plastic waste from the sea, was established in 2016 and is headquartered in Madrid.

As part of the project, environmental organizations, fishermen and activists collect plastic waste from the sea, which is then processed into a polyester fiber that is identical to natural, and used in the production of clothing.

Since its inception, the project participants have fished 600 tons of garbage from the ocean in total, of which 200 tons went to the production of synthetic fabric. Now in the project accepts participation already several hundred companies and organizations from 60 countries of the world. The patented polyester fiber Seaqual Yarn is used in production not only by small companies, but also by the world’s leading brands.

Among these are, for example, the German manufacturer of sportswear and footwear Puma, the German manufacturer of clothing and goods for tourism Jack Wolfskin, the manufacturers of sportswear, thermal underwear and accessories Craft Sportswear (Sweden) and Odlo (Switzerland), fashion clothing Lacoste (France), Paul & Shark (Italy), Stone Island (Italy), COS (Sweden), American Eagle Outfitters (USA), Chicco children’s goods and clothing (Italy), IKEA furniture and household goods (Sweden), etc.

The Seaqual Initiative is not the only project to collect plastic waste from the ocean and recycle it into synthetic materials for clothing. Non-profit conservation project Parley For The Oceans since 2015 cooperates with the German sportswear and footwear manufacturer Adidas. The companies created the Adidas X Parley line of sneakers and sportswear, which uses a synthetic fiber made from sea-collected and recycled plastic waste.

Another manufacturer of outdoor clothing, the American company Patagonia, cooperates with the Bureo project. Its participants – environmental organizations, environmental activists and just local residents from four countries – the United States, Peru, Argentina and Chile – catch fishing nets thrown into the sea, which are then recycled into synthetic fiber NetPlus. From it, Patagonia produces clothing lines – jackets, trousers, hats, shorts, swimming trunks, etc. During its work, the Bureo project recycled 360 tons of synthetic fishing nets thrown or left in the sea. Other large companies that produce goods using NetPlus fiber are also collaborating with the project. For example, Quiksilver produces a collection of clothes for summer holidays and swimming. One of the world’s largest bicycle manufacturers, the American company Trek – holders for bicycle bottles. Board game manufacturer Jenga releases the Jenga Ocean & Bureo range, in which all parts are made of plastic obtained from recycled fishing nets.

Evgeniy Khvostik