We need to reduce plastic production

The well-meaning Ocean Cleanup project that plans to use giant floating machines to scoop up plastic floating in the ocean, unfortunately, is not enough.

As some have suggested, cleanup is nice, but it’s a Band-Aid for a gushing artery. So-called solutions like cleanups and corporate recycling commitments give us a false sense of security. Roughly 8 million tons of plastic enter the marine environment every year. And this amount will grow because production is projected to increase faster than recycling or cleanup. Only about 9 percent of plastic that enters our recycling system currently gets recycled. Even if we were to triple that rate, it would not keep up with the steadily rising amount of plastics that will still be tossed away. Until companies reduce their production of plastics, the flooding of our oceans with plastics will continue, and sadly, will only get worse.

Jacqueline Savitz, chief policy officer Oceana, North America Washington, D.C.