Most trash in the ocean comes from land, and this comes from our waterways, drains and watershed outflows.  Plastic waste also is the cause for large scale water pollution which causes impacts to health (drinking, cleaning, disease), ecosystems, tourism, agriculture, fishing and more. 

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By finding ways to prevent waste on land, we will create the biggest impacts in preventing marine pollution along the way, and that involves finding innovations, solutions and value-creation for 2nd-life plastic - essentially, reincarnating it, so that it does not become waste.

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Use the infographic below to inspire your community and leadership to value waste as a resource, not as litter to be hauled away and disposed of.  Almost all waste streams hold value, and most have more value when they are separated and "pure" without other types of material mixed together.    Sorting waste remains a key challenge.  Most waste is not separated at source, and it is difficult to scale sorting techniques, depending on which country and infrastructure (manual and/or technical) is available.  

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If we are able to think of waste as the resource that it is, we can start capturing many positive benefits for our communities.  Cleaner environments, better water, improved tourism, job creation, new resource streams, energy savings from recycling, energy output from refuse derived fuel, and many more provide tangible improvements for numerous sectors of society.   Please use this information to tell your “waste” story to the stakeholders in your community on how to better value and manage their waste streams.  

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Please contact us if you would like more information, or help in working with your community leaders on this topic.  Kai Smith: kai@oceanrecov.org.