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Every minute, 20 tonnes of plastic are dumped into the ocean; We swallow around 5 grams a week, and an estimated 90% of marine pollution comes from coastal cities in 32 countries.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of preconceived ideas about plastic pollution, fake news that tends to lead us astray. Here are two examples:
“We can clean up the ocean by collecting floating garbage”.
FALSE ❌ The reality: there’s a lot of plastic in the ocean, but very little on the surface. Since the 1950s, when plastic waste first appeared, some 198 million tonnes of plastic* have been dumped into the ocean. The total quantity of plastic on the surface of the ocean is estimated at 1.13 million, i.e. only 0.6% of this pollution. How to explain it? Plastic sinks or breaks down into micro-particles, known as micro-plastics.
“90% of [de l’Océan] plastic pollution comes from 10 rivers”
FALSE ❌ The reality: about 1% of plastic pollution in the oceans comes from 10 rivers. It’s a figure misinterpreted by the media, from a study published in 2017*, that’s at the root of this misunderstanding. In fact, 10 rivers account for 90% of the plastic pollution in… RIVERS. And that makes all the difference, since it represents only 1 million tonnes of waste per year, or less than 7% of the ocean’s annual pollution; According to a new study on the subject, there are now 1000 rivers;
Find out all the fake news about ocean plastic pollution debunked by Simon Bernard, Co-Founder of Plastic Odyssey.
👊 Let’s not wait until tomorrow to take action.
Faced with this situation, we have chosen to act on land, before plastic waste is dumped in the ocean. Our solutions focus on two main areas:
#CLEANUPTHEPAST
“By recycling 1 in 2 pieces of waste in the 30 countries most affected by plastic pollution, over 40% of global plastic pollution could be avoided.” Plastic Odyssey supports recycling entrepreneurs around the world to help them develop their projects and transform existing plastic waste into locally useful resources. We have developed three concrete solutions:
- Recycling Academy : une formation en ligne et gratuite pour les recycleurs de demain
- OnBoard Laboratory: a shipboard incubation program for recycling entrepreneurs
- Local Factories: a network of recycling microfactories to recover plastic waste
#BUILDTHEFUTURE
“Reducing waste production to 1.7 kg per capita per day would prevent 26% of ocean pollution.”
By raising awareness and educating the world’s citizens, we can leave a clean planet for future generations. We implement concrete actions with young and old to understand and change their plastic usage. We have developed concrete solutions to stop plastic pollution in the ocean:
- Nomadic Expo: a traveling exhibition showcasing solutions for doing without plastic
- Exploration School: educational resources to train the next generation of explorers.
- Human-Centered Research: a human sciences research program to change attitudes to plastics;
Review of the first 6 months of shipping
Since leaving Marseille on October 1, 2022, we’ve covered the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and West Africa. Today, we’re sharing a few figures on our progress:
🗺 Expedition: 55 days sailing and 149 days stopover ;
🌍 Community: +130 active members in our expert community of receivers ;
🚀 Training: 200 entrepreneurs met and 65 incubated ;
🏭 Recycling: 3 microfactories installed in Africa and 6 in the pipeline ;
💼 Ecosystem: 20 jobs secured thanks to these micro-factories ;
💡 Solutions: +30 alternatives to plastic documented ;
🧒 Education: +2200 students visited the ship during its stopover and more than 90 classes followed the expedition’s live shows;
🕵️♂️ Research: behavior change data collected from over 1,200 people in 7 countries.
Join the movement #365jourspourlocean