23 May 2023 – A dog walker in Norfolk has found decade-old crisp packets, which were all in remarkably good condition. This is a reminder of the indestructibility of plastic.
Chris Turner walked his dog on the beach at Scratby, Norfolk, when he saw something colourful glistening on the floor. After he picked up the packets he realised that they were quite old, despite the good condition they were in.
Out of curiosity, he took them home to see if he could find out how old they were. And to his astonishment, some of them dated back to the late 1960s, before the decimalisation.
While such finds provide many people with nostalgia for snacks of their childhood, they also highlight the problem of plastic waste by proving the indestructibility of plastic.
Plastic Can Last Hundreds Of Years In The Environment
Researchers at the 5 Gyres Institute have estimated that there are over 170 trillion pieces of plastic in our oceans. The scientists looked at data from 1975 to 2019, then used a mathematical model to arrive at their estimate. They published their results in March this year.
These trillions of pieces of plastic consist of old and new waste, which is evidenced by the recent find in Norfolk as well as earlier finds. The main problem is the indestructibility of plastic, which means it can take hundreds of years to break down.
The fact that these decade-old crisp and sweet wrappers, found by Mr Turner, are still in such good conditions, shows just how big the problem of plastic pollution is. But we only realise it when the tide happens to wash them up on our beaches.
And the problem is not going to go away any time soon either, thanks to the durability of plastic and the huge amounts that are produced yearly.
The 5 Gyres Institute scientists have found that since 2005 the amount of plastic pieces in our oceans has increased rapidly. This could be because around this time the amount of plastic the world produced also increased drastically.
It is also possible that existing plastic in the water has broken down into smaller pieces, which increased the number of plastic pieces as a total. But the researchers also speculated that the increase could be due to a weakening of regulation around plastic pollution across the world.
Before 2000, there were a lot of legally binding international treaties and policies in place that regulated pollution. But these were transformed into voluntary agreements around the turn of the century, which have been less effective.
As a result the amount of plastic pollution in our oceans has increased sharply. Plastic pollution is a huge problem for marine life and the health of our oceans, which are vital for a healthy planet.
We know the ocean is a vital ecosystem and we have solutions to prevent plastic pollution. But plastic pollution continues to grow and has a toxic effect on marine life. […] Humans need healthy oceans for a livable planet.
Dr Edward J Carpenter, Scientist at the Estuary and Ocean Science Centre at the San Francisco Sate University
Scientists Call For Legislation To Curb Plastic Production
Because of the rate at which plastic is produced today, scientists say that the only solution to our plastic pollution problem is to reduce the amount of plastic produced.
Cleaning up the already existing pollution and the focus on recycling is not enough, according to the researchers. Instead, manufacturers need to take responsibility for the entire life of their products. This includes what happens to them after they are no longer useful to the consumer.
Cleanup is futile if we continue to produce plastic at the current rate, and we have heard about recycling for too long while the plastic industry simultaneously rejects any commitments to buy recycled material or design for recyclability. It’s time to address the plastic problem at the source.
Dr Marcus Eriksen, Co-Founder of the 5 Gyres Institute
The data has shown that voluntary schemes, which are mostly in operation at the moment, do not work. That’s why scientists call on governments all around the world to introduce legally binding policies and legislation to make manufacturers responsible for the full life cycle of plastic they produce.
They also want strong legislation to limit the amount of plastic that can be produced, as well as the sale of single-use plastic. This is the only way to tackle the problem at the root and solve it for generations to come.
While finding decade old plastic wrappers on the beach might make us nostalgic, it is also a visual proof of the indestructibility of plastic. It shows us that we cannot continue the way we are.
Only if there is a global effort to reduce the amount of plastic we produce, use and throw away, can we bring back our planet from the brink.
