? Hi Plastic Community - Great News!

Today, in the lead up to #WorldEnvironmentDay the ISLANDS Programme is launching the Tide Turners app.

As you know, plastic production has surged over the past 50 years and is expected to double over the next 20 years. But plastic waste can be toxic and #PlasticPollution is one of the most serious issues facing this and future generations.

Developed by ISLANDS, the Tide Turners app is meant to empower young people around the world to Turn the Tide on plastic pollution by equipping them with youth-focused community-based solutions.

Let’s #TurnTheTide on plastic pollution together by downloading the Tide Turners app!

Link to app here: https://www.gefislands.org/TideTurners

With the INC-2 directing everyone's attention to the global plastic treaty in the negotiation in Paris this week, here is a throwback post for you:

Do you remember the launch of the Tide Turners Plastic Challenge 2023?

Just about a month ago, the Pacific region has officially become part of the Tide Turners challenge, which had already been launched in over 40 countries, engaging more than 580,000 young individuals.

Developed as part of UNEP's Clean Seas Campaign and led by UNEP and its global partners, the Tide Turners Plastic Challenge engages youth around the world to educate them about plastic pollution and encourage them to play a part in resolving pressing environmental issues.

The youth in the Pacific region and beyond are anticipated to continue taking a leading role in addressing and tackling plastic pollution which has putting our land and sea ecosystems under risk. Read the full article to learn more.

Plastic Paradise

Every year, an estimated 9-14 million tons of plastic waste enter aquatic ecosystems. This is particularly detrimental for communities in small island states, which relie on the ocean for their livelihoods.

Are you curious to explore how is plastic effecting life on island states? And, most importantly, would you like to know how we can all start taking action to beat plastic pollution?

Watch this video to find out more!

Toxic chemicals in plastics

Do you know that more than 13,000 different chemicals are involved in the production of plastics and many of these have never been assessed for their toxicity?

Certain products are subjected to a stringent regulations on which chemicals can be included, so to reduce or mitigate the risk of exposure to toxins. However, this becomes problematic when you start to consider recycled plastics.

According to Dr Charlotte Lloyd, researcher in environmental chemistry at the University of Bristol, "We need to know more about what goes into plastics in the first place and better regulation of how recycled products are used"

Read the article to find out more!

The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) through the AFD-funded ‘Committing to Sustainable Waste Actions in the Pacific’ (SWAP) project conducted a training on Marine Litter at the The University of the South Pacific in Suva Fiji.
To this end, two activities took place in Fiji from 2-4 May 2023.

Training activities delivered by Sustainable Coastlines New Zealand with local stakeholders and students from USP engaged in the Pacific Ocean Litter Youth Project (POLYP). Sustainable Coastlines conducted Workshops (in theory and practical) on how to safely carry out marine litter waste clean-up and how to conduct statistically reliable waste survey and audit at two different locations in Suva, Foreshore Beach, and Point Beach. In total, 26 participants attended the training and 85 kg of waste was audited. The results of the audits are available on the Litter Intelligence online platform: https://lnkd.in/g6FekfvX

A public lecture was also held at USP to present the SWAP project and the actions being done in the Pacific on marine litter management and in particular the activities planned in Fiji. The video “Plastics Paradise” was shown, and it moved many students and people at the extent of damage our marine environment is facing.

In 2022, Community Centred Conservation (C3) Fiji participated in the International Coastal Clean-up Day involving 5 communities. These were Korotubu, Naqumu, Niurua, Raviravi and Naividamu villages. The five communities are few of the communities who are custodians to the second Ramsar Site for Fiji which is the “Qoliqoli Cokovata of Macuata, Dreketi, Sasa and Mali” that sits along the Great Sea Reef.
The villagers who participated in the clean-up activity enjoyed and learnt a lot from the activity.
Mr. Jovesa Serunisiga, who was part of the group from Naividamu Village commented that it was a good activity and said that next time they would involve the whole village and also to clean up the outskirts of their village. Similar sentiments were made by villagers from the other communities.
One aspect which the villagers were amazed on was the number of litter categories as they were only familiar with the broad categories of Paper, Tin, Plastics, Glass and Wood. The litter categories allowed them to identify the main sources of litter from within their respective communities.
Attached is the video produced at this event to cover the Niurua Village clean-up.

More than 3,200 substances associated with plastics have hazardous elements. These toxic chemicals can have serious impacts on our health & environment.

Check out this new UNEP & The Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions report to find out more about harmful impact of chemicals in plastics & calls for urgent action.

Flyer and infographics on the anatomy of plastics attached below!

World Environment Day Weekly Trivia!

In the lead up to World Environment Day (5 June), test your knowledge on how to beat plastic pollution!

This week we look at plastics and the textile industry.

#BeatPlasticPollution

P.s. I was very surprised by many of the answers, definitely need to improve my knowledge on textile & plastics!

We know that the plastic pollution issue is HUGE, especially in SIDS, with a volume of plastic equivalent to a lorry load dumped into our oceans every minute.

BUT we cal all be part of the solution!

Check out this Do-It-Yourself guide developed by Serious Business and IUCN to reduce plastic waste on any island anywhere in the world – a blueprint to zero plastic waste.

Organisations, citizens, or politicians can use this free resource to find upstream and downstream solutions to the plastic issue.