A New Tool Can Help Address Ocean Plastic Pollution
The Pew Charitable Trusts’ 2020 report “Breaking the Plastic Wave,” a first-of-its-kind global analysis of ocean plastic pollution, found that solutions exist to reduce annual flows of plastic into the ocean by about 80% by 2040. No single solution can achieve this goal, but we can turn the tide on plastic pollution by taking immediate, ambitious and conced actions throughout the plastic system. The Breaking the Plastic Wave Pathways Tool (“Pathways”) is a free software application that analyzes the movement of plastic throughout the value chain to assess how much of it results in plastic polluting the land or water. Pathways enhances the analytical model behind Pew and SYSTEMIQ’s “Breaking the Plastic Wave” research by increasing its flexibility and analytical capabilities and implementing advanced trade-off analyses. These improvements can help users identify policies tailored to the needs of their location. The analysis can establish a baseline for the plastic life cycle and answer many fundamental questions about the plastic system, such as: How much plastic waste is currently being generated, and how will this change in the future? How much plastic is leaking into the environment now and in the future? What impact would various policies have on rates of plastic pollution? Within a set budget, what combination of policy options will minimize plastic pollution? How does the trade of plastic products and waste affect local plastic pollution?