Search type

Countries

Get monthly hand-pick environmental news

What is Plastic Pollution NGO?

     Non-profit organizations for plastic pollution are non-governmental organizations whose founders and members take a proactive stance in the fight against plastic pollution.

     The twenty-first century is not only an age of high technology but also an era of global environmental problems. One of them is the problem of environmental pollution by various plastics and plastic bags. According to different sources, plastic products account for up to 40% of all household waste. Previously, products on the shelves of stores were in paper packaging and glass containers. Now we see these products in modern colorful packaging, i.e. plastic bottles, film, and various packages. Everyone will agree, it is easy, convenient, and cheap, but not from an ecological point of view. After all, most packaging waste does not decompose or has a long decomposition period. At the same time, disposable plastic constitutes 50 percent of all plastic produced annually and is thrown away after one use.

     The relevance of the work of organizations that have joined forces to stop plastic pollution is growing inexorably. The question of human impact on the environment is the focus of attention of specialists and ecologists around the world. And it is not occasional, as the biggest global environmental problems of our time are connected with the anthropogenic pollution of nature. Pollution of the environment by plastic wastes is one of the first places among the reasons that worsen the ecological situation every day. 

What are organizations doing to stop plastic pollution?

   Plastic waste has become one of the major problems of recent times. Modern clean-up strategies try to mitigate the negative effects of this process but are unable to cope with the growing amount of plastic. Organizations helping with plastic pollution are coming up with solutions to the problem of plastic pollution and microplastics every day.

 1. First, organizations fighting plastic pollution reduce the use of plastics at the production level by conducting actions and activities. They campaign for industrial companies to use an alternative, recycled, or biodegradable materials, to improve product designs and reduce plastic decomposition, increase product life, repair, and reuse, and increase recyclability by limiting the number of polymers, additives, blends, etc.

 2. In addition, organizations against plastic pollution promote ecodesign, calling for the use of environmentally friendly materials and packaging that is reusable and recyclable.

 3. Another focus of plastic pollution nonprofit organizations are activities that raise public awareness about the impact of their choices on the environment. Members of plastic pollution NGOs hold lectures and educational meetings at schools, and universities, or use the media to educate the public about pollution by plastic. Thus, interest in environmental issues is growing and is supported by free online courses, lectures and events, and thematic mobile apps.

 4. Also, organizations that fight to stop plastic pollution require the state to introduce extended producer responsibility for plastic waste. It consists of compliance with recycling standards, signing contracts with recyclers, and paying environmental fees. It is recommended to stimulate the producer's responsibility by subsidies to recyclers and companies that use recyclable materials, and by awarding prizes.

 5. On top of everything else, non-governmental plastic pollution organizations are fighting to improve the system of waste collection and recycling and to implement an integrated waste management system.

What environment is most susceptible to plastic contamination?

 Although all of nature's biological environments are affected by plastic pollution, one of them is still more susceptible to pollution from plastic. Since most waste is disposed of by discharge into the aquatic environment, the world's oceans are most susceptible to plastic pollution.

     Plastic is found everywhere, from the North Pole to the South Pole and even in the deepest part of the ocean. The oceans are gradually turning into a soup of plastic. There is what is known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch - a huge amount of drifting plastic is concentrated there, breaking down under ultraviolet rays and turning into tiny particles called microplastics. Some fragments remain on the surface and others sink, but they end up in the food chain and eventually in the human body.

     This happens not only because of improper disposal of waste by industrial enterprises. The hand of the common man also left a mark in the emergence of this problem. Tourists leave piles of garbage on the coastal areas – bottles, bags of food, and packing containers. All this contributes to the fact that the amount of plastic on beaches does not have time to decrease, even despite the work of people who are engaged in cleaning the beach areas. As a result, the plastic ends up in the water, where it drifts for years, thereby disrupting the biocoenosis of the water. 

     Ocean plastic pollution organizations are sounding the alarm and trying their best to draw the public's attention to the problem of pollution of plastic in ocean waters. One solution to this problem has been the installation of special devices that can absorb waste and debris from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. This helps reduce the amount of plastic in the ocean, but much of the effort to combat plastic pollution is focused on prevention, not on solving a problem that already exists.

How to Choose Nonprofit Plastic Pollution Organizations

     If you want to be part of the team in the fight against plastic pollution or have a hand in its prevention, it is important to choose a plastic pollution NGO carefully. Factors that should be considered when choosing the right plastic pollution organization for you include:

 1. The type of environment the organization is protecting. This can be water or soil, and the concepts of these organizations will be different.

 2. What type of plastic the organization you are interested in is fighting. So, for example, areas contaminated with microplastics require a different approach to cleanup.

 3. What areas does the organization you are considering a deal with, and whether they will be competent to address your issue if you are in a different location.

 4. Previous experience of the non-profit organization in addressing plastic pollution (how long the company has been afloat, what approaches the company uses in solving this issue, and what feedback about the organization from previous people who have already approached it).