Can we still win the battle against plastic waste?
Tags: Plastic Waste, Oceans, Innovation, Environnement

According to the WWF, the production of plastic waste already amounts to more than 300 million tonnes and will increase by more than 40% by 2030. In particular, the amount of plastic wastes in the oceans is forcast to double. Yet, the challenge we face is already terrifying. Remember the 7th continent : trapped by the currents in the Pacific, plastic wastes covers an area larger than France, almost 640,000 km2! Knowing that it takes 20 years to decompose a bag, 50 for a cup and 450 years for a diaper or a PET bottle, we leave a heavy legacy to our children. And for those who think that the Pacific is too far to be a matter of concern, just remember the northeast of Corsica has one of the largest concentrations of plastic wastes in the world…

The impact of plastic waste

Even more worrying, very little is known about the impact of this pollution. It can be floating objects or microparticles (less than 1 mm), created by the industry or the degradation of plastics. These wastes endanger animals but also human beings since they enter the food chain. Studies are formal: in the past twenty years, all natural spaces and all living species have been contaminated.

We are concerned about the direct impact of plastic, in particular about the release of the (in)famous bisphenol A — or BPA — hardener of plastics and endocrine disruptor with a proven effect : developmental disorders, cardiovascular, diabetes. BPA is still widely used in some polyesters and therefore in billions of synthetic fibers. We are also worried about the decomposition of plastics releasing the additives used to make them. And we are only beginning to measure their capacity to act as a vector of toxic agents. Tragically, precisely because of the biofilm forming on these particles, they are ingested by the whole the food chain. Crustacean lovers, you ingest between 2,000 and 10,000 particles per year …

The need for innovative solutions

There is an urgent need to change the economic model of many industries. And we need to go beyond non-biding grand statements : France is one of the biggest consumers but also one of the worst European students in recycling (less than 25%). We could stop the infernal machine: NGOs and experts agree that by reducing the production of plastic by a third (a massive change), by eliminating single use, and by recycling 60% of the waste collected, we can stop spilled flows. To achieve this result, both citizen and technological mobilizations are essential.

But what about the damage already committed? The answer can only be technological. The main challenge is to identify the location of plastic wastes. Microplastics are particularly difficult to trace because they are too large to affect the nature of the water (which would allow them to be identified by infrared satellite) and too small to be identified. The Joint European Disruptive Initiative is preparing to launch a major technological challenge to draw a world map in real time, probably in cooperation with a European space agency. It would provide much more meaningful information about plastic wastes, and raise awareness among the general public.

Other promising ways would be the collection of plastics using magnetic liquids, high-performance filtering — knowing that to date no processing center filters microplastics — , or the use of high-performance materials to get rid of PET, PVC and other plastics on which we have become so dependent.

Faced with the emergency, we must go faster and stronger, and accelerate the innovation effort.