Anne Leila Meisterzheim

Soon, there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean. The solutions are land-based, because 80% of sea-borne waste originates on land. we must drastically reduce single-use plastics and transition to plastics that respect the marine environment.  Most plastics, including “biodegradables”, are not biodegradable in the marine environment. Current norms concerning biodegradability of plastics in a marine environment (ASTM D6691-09, ASTM D7473-12, ISO 18830, ISO 19679, ASTM D7991-15, ASTM D5511-18) have been criticized on many occasions by the scientific community as not reflecting real marine environment conditions.  Fortunately, solutions exist to successfully permit the transition to plastic that doesn’t degrade our oceans. One of Plastic@Sea’s objectives is to set up a new and rational norm for biodegradability and non-toxicity of plastics at sea, associated with test protocols that enable us to develop truly eco-friendly solutions.