Could Privatizing Waterways Help Solve Plastic Pollution

Mon, 30 Apr 2018 21:18:50 +0000

A monumental eco-challenge facing the planet is plastic marine debris. The modern economy has produced more than eight billion metric tons of newly manufactured plastic, but 75% of it becomes plastic waste. It is estimated that approximately five trillion pieces of plastic, or roughly 250,000 metric tons, have littered the waters.

So, what can be an effective measure to combat or eliminate plastics from ending up in coastlines, rivers, lakes, and oceans? It may be daring for most, but ocean privatization is the way to go.

Water capitalism implies that there would be private ownership of oceans, rivers, lakes, and aquifers.

When something is unowned, there is very little incentive to maintain, preserve, or defend it. On the other hand, when something is privately owned, we do our very best to maintain, preserve, or defend it. This is why private property is typically better than public housing, or why private transportation is generally more bearable than government transit.

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Drowning in Garbage

Mon, 01 Jan 2018 23:41:00 +0000

The World produces over 3.5 million tons to garbage a day, 10 times the amount from a century ago, but much less than the 11 million tons researchers estimate by the end of this century. The world also produces over 300 million tons of plastic annually, of which only a small fraction is recycled.

On average, a person in the United States or Western Europe uses about 220 pounds of plastic per year, according to the Worldwatch Institute, a research organization. The packaging industry, growing thanks to the rise of online stores and other factors, poses a huge challenge.

By 2050, there will be so much plastic floating in the ocean it will outweigh the fish, according to a study issued by the World Economic Forum. Scientists estimate that there are at least 5.25 trillion plastic particles — weighing nearly 270,000 tons — floating in the oceans right now.

Most waste in Africa, the United States and Asia ends up in dumps, many of which are already at capacity. Europe sends less of its waste to dumps or landfills and more to incinerators. While some of them are relatively clean, many are a threat to the environment and public health.

ocean plastic – Aquarius-Systems

Could Privatizing Waterways Help Solve Plastic Pollution

Drowning in Garbage

Read More https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/world/global-waste/?utm_term=.493c4865037e