Case studies
1. Net-works (Philippines/Cameroon) OK
Net-Works is an inclusive business model that collects discarded fishing nets through coastal communities and recycles them into carpet tile. This programme was made possible through close partnerships and collaboration between Interface, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of commercial carpet tile; the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), an international conservation charity, and Aquafil, a yarn producer and supplier. Net-Works enables fishing communities in developing countries to sell waste nets back into a global supply chain. To date, Net-Works has collected 66,860 kgs of discarded fishing nets across 14 collection sites in The Philippines.
Resources
Documents: MOOC Case Studies: Net-works
Weblink: http://net-works.com/
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DX6Uidpg3VM
2. Bye Bye Plastic Bags (Bali, Indonesia)
Isabel and Melati Wjisen, two Green School students in Grades 6 and 7, were disgusted with the amount of plastic rubbish on Bali. They decided to do something about it and started the biggest “Children Driven Action” campaign Bali has ever seen: ByebyePlasticBagsOnBali. They now have a team of over 25 children working with them from schools all over the region and have a petition running to ban the use, sale and production of plastic bags in Bali. They are doing presentations all over Bali, at many venues, such as the Bali Rotary Club and Kuta Beachwalk.
Resources
Weblinks:
- http://byebyeplasticbag.wix.com/byebyeplasticbags
- http://www.avaaz.org/en/bye_bye_plastic_bags_on_bali/
- https://www.facebook.com/byebyeplasticbags
Videos:
3. Ocean Sole (Kenya)
Ocean Sole is an organization that has transformed the litter that washes up on Kenya’s shores into works of art. With the use of these works of art Ocean Sole both creates employment opportunities for local people in coastal and urban communities of Kenya, and reduces the amount of harmful and ugly litter that spoils the Kenyan coast. In their products Ocean Sole uses the thousands of rubber sandals that make their way through the waterways and up to the beaches of Kenya. The company has estimated that 400,000 recovered rubber sandals are used in their products every year and are sold worldwide. The profits from these products have fueled the creation of jobs for Kenyans as collectors, sorters, and artisans.
Resources
Documents: MOOC Case Studies: Ocean Sole (PDF)
Weblink: http://www.oceansoleafrica.com/
Video: http://www.video.intranet.ou.nl/mediadienst/_public/php/external_video.php?Q=2104|videoID
4. Beat the Microbead (The Netherlands)
In the summer of 2012, the Plastic Soup Foundation launched the Beat the Microbead campaign in partnership with the North Sea Foundation. The campaign is targeted towards microbeads in cosmetics, i.e. the tiny particles of plastic added to possibly thousands of personal care products sold around the world. The campaign asks:
- Manufacturers to stop using microbeads;
- Retailers not to sell products containing microbeads;
- Consumers to refrain from buying products containing microbeads;
- Governments to ban the use of microbeads in personal care products as soon as possible.
The campaign is supported by a You Tube video starring the rapping Captain Charles Moore (the discoverer of the Plastic Soup), who points out the dangers of microplastics. A smartphone App to help consumers follow developments with the Beat the Microbead campaign was developed and launched in November 2012. The App allowed consumers to scan the barcodes of personal care products, to see which products contain microplastics. The free App has three codes: red, orange and green. Red means that the product contains plastic microbeads. Orange means, like red, that the product contains microbeads, but the manufacturer has made a public commitment to phase out microbeads. Green means that the product is free from plastic. The App was hugely successful and received a lot of media attention.
Resources
Weblink: http://www.beatthemicrobead.org/
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voWTpAE9pqQ
5. OSEAN (South Korea)
OSEAN (Our Sea of East Asia Network) is a South Korean non-profit organization aiming to protect the marine environment by linking citizens and science. Established in 2009, OSEAN is a 'learning community' of citizens aiming to find scientific solutions to environmental problems at the same time being a voluntary group for environmental protection. Specifically, OSEAN places focus on the issue of marine debris. OSEAN is a civic group dedicated to research, education, policy development, and international cooperation for the protection of the marine environment.
Resources
Documents: MOOC Case Studies: OSEAN (PDF)
Weblink: http://www.koreamarinelitter.blogspot.kr/
6. The Plastic Garbage Project (Switzerland)
On 3 July, 2012 the exhibition «Out to Sea? The Plastic Garbage Project» was opened in the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich. This show formed the start of an international travelling exhibition. The goal of the Plastic Garbage Project is to give as large and wide a public as possible an impetus to use plastic in a more conscious way. The project aims at encouraging action and changing behavior. To reach as many people as possible, the exhibition will tour throughout Europe, the Arab World and other continents.
Resources
Weblink: http://www.plasticgarbageproject.org/
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e99m0uKcUDM
7. The Nygone project: a microplastic biofilter (USA)
The Nygone project aims to create a biofilter to remove microplastics from water supplies. It has two unique parts which each tackle a different aspect of the filter. On the one hand, the project attempts to create a strain of Escherichia coli which will form a biofilm along the surfaces of a filter to increase the concentration of bacteria within the filter and minimize the amount of bacteria lost in the flow-through. The second aspect of the project is to have those E. coli secrete a nylon degrading enzyme into the water which will degrade the microplastics passing through into their constituent monomers and prevent the polymer from leaving the treatment plant where it can wreak havoc.
This project was developed as part of an university competition.
Resources
Weblinks: http://2014.igem.org/Team:Virginia
8. Wecyclers (Nigeria)
Wecyclers is a recycling collection company that is partnered with the Lagos Waste Management Authority in Lagos, Nigeria. It is seen as one of the answers to the problem of recyclable waste, especially plastics, littered throughout the city. Wecyclers employs local people to ride modified tricycles to homes in order to collect waste. Those who recycle can collect and redeem points in exchange for household items or mobile phone minutes every three months. Once collected, Wecyclers sells the recyclable materials to recycling companies that will put these materials into new products. Wecyclers has estimated that every month their cyclists collect nearly 40 metric tons of recyclable waste, with over 400 metric tons collected in 2014. With this momentum, Wecyclers has estimated that they could eventually provide 500,000 jobs throughout Nigeria.
Resources
Documents: MOOC Case Studies: Wecyclers
Weblink: http://www.wecyclers.com/
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGYFHfc_ONg
9. UpGyres (Canada)
UpGyres is a Canadion not-for-profit organisation with the aim to develop new equipment, technology and methodology for transforming ocean pollution into resources. UpGyres and its partners are at the research and development stage for recovering waste microfibres from washing machine effluent.
Resources
Weblink: http://upgyres.org/
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUxNRTGzZ7k
10. Green Plastics (USA)
The Green-Plastics.net website provides news, discussion, videos, and other resources for people interested in biodegradable and environmentally-friendly plastics (also called “bioplastics” or “green plastics”). The goal is to provide an online meeting place for people who share an interest in plastic, sustainability and the environment.
Resources
Weblink: http://green-plastics.net/
Video: https://www.youtube.com/user/greenplasticsnet
11. Operation Clean Sweep (USA)
Operation Clean Sweep is an initiative of the Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI) and the Plastics Division of the American Chemistry Council (ACC). It is an international program designed to prevent resin pellet, flake, and powder loss and help keep this material out of the marine environment. Every segment of the plastics industry has a role to play—including resin producers, transporters, bulk terminal operators and plastics processors—by implementing good housekeeping and pellet, flake, and powder containment practices. The goal is to achieve zero pellet, flake, and powder loss.
Resources
Weblink: http://www.opcleansweep.org/
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSp6FYUHc7I
12. Ship Waste Agency (France)
Ship Waste Agency is a Paris-based maritime e-service company offering a collaborative eco-responsibility platform (CEP), called SWANET®, for the management and traceability of ship waste. The Ship Waste Agency is financially supported by several private investors, which are not involved in the maritime industry, in order to maintain ethical independence of the SWANET®. The company was created in 2010 by professionals with 45 years’ experience in Ship Waste Management and IT Development.
Resources
Weblink: http://www.ship-waste.com/
13. TeachWild (Australia)
In 2011, Shell Australia, Earthwatch and CSIRO initiated a partnership to address marine debris and deliver the first comprehensive national risk assessment of marine debris for coastal Australia. The program used several activities under the broader umbrella of ‘citizen science’ as a means to engage the wider community. Examples include in-school workshops for teachers and students known as ‘Scientist for a Day’, teacher and Shell staff professional development expeditions, volunteering days for Shell Australia staff and graduates, online webinars, a dedicated website (www.teachwild.org.au), TeachWild event days and national media releases.
Resources
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISg3Pp0J5KI
14. Net Positiva & Bureo Skateboards (Chile)
Net Positiva is a fishnet collection and recycling program aimed at combating the detrimental impacts of discarded fishing nets. Net Positiva supports environmentally sound fish net disposal points, from which Bureo is able to source highly recyclable and durable raw material. Net Positiva was launched in Chile in January 2014, where more than 3,000kg of derelict fishing nets were collected and recycled during the first six months of operations. Recycled nets were sourced for the production of Bureo’s cruiser skateboards deck, The Minnow, the first skatedeck made from recycled marine debris. Through Net Positiva, Bureo is creating positive solutions for harmful waste while supporting coastal communities and bringing awareness to a major threat to our oceans.
Resources
Weblink: http://shop.bureo.co/pages/net-positiva
Videos:
- https://vimeo.com/110186248
- https://vimeo.com/109498230 (password: fuerzachile)
15. inpEV (Brazil)
The National Institute for Processing Empty Containers (inpEV) is a Brazilian nonprofit organization founded by the Crop Protection Industry in its responsibility to provide proper disposal of agrochemical containers. inpEV coordinates the implementation of the Campo Limpo System which was developed in São Paulo in 1992 with active participation of the state government, institutional partnerships, such as Andef (the National Association for Vegetable Protection), Aeasp (the Association of Agronomy Engineers of the State of São Paulo), Coplana (the Cane Planters Cooperative from Guariba-SP) and Dinoplast, a recycling company located in Louveira. The system involves distributors and cooperatives, government authorities and approximately 5 million farmers (according to figures from the IBGE, the Brazilian institute for geographic statistics), in addition to the crop protection product manufacturing industry responsible for the disposal of the post-consumption containers, represented by inpEV - Instituto Nacional de Processamento de Embalagens Vazias (National Institute for Empty Container Processing). Aiming to improve its operations, and contribute to the development of sustainable farming, the system seeks to achieve excellence in its operational management as well as economic autonomy. The focus on innovation also includes initiatives that raise awareness and educate the communities near to the receiving units, increasing the engagement of all the links of the chain.
Resources
Weblink: http://www.inpev.org.br/en/
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JL76V7ggYs (Portuguese)
16. Surfers Against Sewage (United Kingdom)
Surfers Against Sewage is an organisation set-up by UK surfers in 1990 to improve the water quality of the UK coast. It has grown to a national marine conservation charity with several campaigns against marine litter. For example beach clean-up actions to involve the public and the campaign “Return to sender” targeting producers to take extended producer responsibility. In 2017, there marine litter campaign “Message in a bottle” is targeting the UK government to introduce a Deposit Return System for plastic bottles and other drinks containers across the UK.
Resources
Weblink: https://www.sas.org.uk/
Document: https://www.sas.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/SAS-Marine-Litter-Report-Med.pdf
Video:
17. Marine Debris Management Plan for Cape York Peninsula and the Torres Strait Islands (Australia)
This Marine Debris Management Plan for Cape York Peninsula and the Torres Strait Islands (Australia) provides a contextual background to the issues surrounding marine debris. It was written to provide accessible information useful to the whole of Cape York / Torres Straits - individuals, communities and all levels of government, and makes reference to a number of ‘on country’ initiatives that are already successfully dealing with marine debris across the region. Evidence is provided by the on the distribution, extent and composition of debris from quantitative surveys across the region. A source reduction plan concept is introduced to highlight the need for an integrated approach to mitigation (prevention) and management (recovery) strategies, including capacity building, industry support and financial investment for long-term solutions and planning.
Resources
18. RAPMaLi (Carribean)
The Regional Action Plan for Marine Litter (RAPMaLi) for the Wider Caribbean Region was originally developed in 2007 as a project under the directive of the United Nations Environment Programme (through its Regional Seas Program) in response to growing global concerns of litter accumulation in our oceans. The Caribbean Regional Coordinating Unit of UNEP undertook the task of compiling and developing the RAPMaLi. The regional approach of this project promotes problem solving at the national and local levels, recognizing that unique regional characteristics shape a variety of solutions to this endemic problem. A testament to the success of this approach is evidenced in the increased level in participation of 20 countries in 2014, up from 14 countries included in the original report. The RAPMaLi action plan has since been implemented through selected pilot projects in Guyana, Barbados and Saint Lucia In the six years since the publication of Marine Litter in the Wider Caribbean Region: A Regional Overview & Action Plan, we have experienced great progress in our understanding of the depth and breadth of the marine litter problem, how trash travels from the land to the sea, as well as our commitment to better management of the underlying anthropogenic causes. RAPMaLi is designed to serve as a comprehensive toolkit to assist Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in incorporating components of proper waste management across all sectors. These sectors include but are not limited to governmental legislation, enforcement, monitoring and research, community engagement, and the business sector.
Resources
19. Regional Action Plan for Marine Litter in the Baltic Sea (Baltic)
HELCOM (Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission - Helsinki Commission) is the governing body of the Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area, known as the Helsinki Convention. HELCOM developed a regional action plan on marine litter, adopted in 2015, with the aim of achieving a significant reduction of marine litter by 2025 and to prevent harm to the coastal and marine environment. The regional action plan for marine litter should enable concrete measures for prevention and reduction of marine litter from its main sources; develop common indicators and associated targets related to quantities, composition, sources and pathways of marine litter; and to identify the socio-economic and biological impacts of marine litter.
Resources
Documents: Regional Action Plan for Marine Litter in the Baltic Sea
Weblink: http://www.helcom.fi/action-areas/marine-litter-and-noise/marine-litter/marine-litter-action-plan
20. National plastic bag ban (Rwanda)
In 2008, Rwanda implemented a nation-wide ban on non-biodegradable plastic bags. Bag manufacturers were encouraged through tax incentives and recycling contracts to convert their businesses. Owners of businesses that violate the ban face up to a year in prison, and anyone caught carrying a bag faces stiff fines. Businesses that flout the rules are raided; travellers entering Rwanda are subject to searches. Strict enforcement has led to some revolt among small business owners and the growth of a black market trade in plastic bags. But on the positive side, the capital of Rwanda, Kigali, is by many visitors considered to be the least-littered city of the continent.
Resources
Videos:
21. NGO Shipbreaking Platform (Belgium)
The Shipbreaking Platform is a global coalition of environmental, human and labour rights organisations. The overarching goal of the NGO Shipbreaking Platform is to prevent toxic end-of-life ships from being beached in developing countries. The majority of the ships sold for breaking today are simply run up on the tidal shores of India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. The beaching practice is at the source of extremely severe pollution, dangerous working conditions, exploitation of workers, and a blatant violation of international hazardous waste management laws. The Platform has already had success in blocking and forestalling ship exports (such as the French aircraft carrier Clémenceau, MT Enterprise and SS Independence) and imports (the Probo Koala in 2011) while promoting sustainable solutions requiring producer/industry responsibility for their products throughout their entire life cycle.
Resources
Weblink: http://www.shipbreakingplatform.org/
22. Zero Waste Europe (The Netherlands)
Zero Waste Europe empowers communities to rethink their relationship with resources. In a growing number of regions, local groups of individuals, businesses and city officials are taking significant steps towards eliminating waste in our society. Zero Waste Europe engages these groups by supporting local groups with independent knowledge and streamlined tools to drive change more efficiently, and by structuring the movement internationally to better represent the interests of our communities at the EU level and engage policy makers with a unified voice. Zero Waste Europe is a knowledge network and an advocacy group, representing active communities in countries across the EU. Their ultimate aim is re-design our society so that all superfluous waste is eliminated and everything that is produced can be re-used, repaired, composted or recycled back into the system. Anything that can’t be repaired, composted or recycled should be re-designed and replaced or banned from entering the market.
Resources
Weblink: http://www.zerowasteeurope.eu/
Video:
23. Beachapedia (USA)
Beachapedia is a project of the Surfrider Foundation, with the goal of collecting and publishing knowledge on coastal environmental topics from Surfrider chapter activists and subject-matter experts. Beachapedia captures decades of experience and knowledge gained by Surfrider Foundation activists, scientists and staff through hundreds of environmental and educational campaigns on our coasts. By sharing this resource with the public Surfrider hopes to provide tools and information to help communities make a positive impact on their local beaches.
Resources
Weblink: http://www.beachapedia.org/
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmV0gqBb6i4
24. Sustainable Seas Trust (Across Africa)
Sustainable Seas Trust is a Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) that supports and connects communities across Africa through research, education, enterprise development and growing awareness about ocean conservation and plastic pollution. We also build networks for sharing information and support focused on waste management. Through our events and projects, the African Marine Waste Network, Hope Spots and Marine Education, we are bringing like-minded and passionate people together, locally and internationally, to manage the issues of plastic waste in Africa.
Resources
Weblink: https://sst.org.za/
25. Sustainable Coastlines (New Zealand)
Sustainable Coastlines is a multi-award winning New Zealand charity run by a team of hard-working staff and a network of passionate volunteers and collaborators. Our mission is to enable people to look after the coastlines and waterways they love.
We love our coasts and we work with our sleeves rolled up to keep them beautiful. We coordinate and support large-scale coastal clean-up events, educational programs, public awareness campaigns and riparian planting projects. We also help groups run their own events. Through these efforts we motivate volunteers and communities around Aotearoa and the Pacific to look after the beaches and rivers we love.
Resources
Weblink: http://sustainablecoastlines.org/about/overview/
26. WATAMU MARINE ASSOCIATION (Keyna)
WMA is a unique initiative at the Kenyan coast bringing together members from the community, tourism and environment sectors.
WMA promotes community development and empowerment and advocates for the protection and preservation of Watamu Marine Park and Reserves. WMA is exploring participatory and co-management potential with the managing authorities and agencies.
Resources
Weblink: http://www.watamu.biz/