An ocean of plastic
Are we on track for SDG 14.1?
2025 marks an especially important year for the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG 14). For anyone who’s not very familiar with the SDGs, SDG 14 focuses on LIFE BELOW WATER. It aims to “conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development.”
But what exactly makes this year so significant for this ocean-focused goal? Well, it’s a deadline year for one of its ten sub-goals. SDG 14.1 is focused on “preventing and significantly reducing marine pollution of all kinds by 2025” – and is particularly concerned with nutrient pollution and plastic pollution.
Considering we’ve just hit this deadline year, we thought it was time for a bit of a check-in. So, are trends moving in the right direction, or is humanity not making enough progress on this important issue?
Before we get into it, a quick note: at Ocean. Now! we’ve focused our work so far on reducing marine plastic pollution, so this blog post will concentrate on that aspect of SDG 14.1.
POSITIVE STEPS MADE
Let’s start with the positives. There are major global policy initiatives to address the big problem of plastic pollution, for example:
- The UN Plastics Treaty, under negotiation since 2022, aims to establish a legally binding agreement to address plastic pollution across its entire lifecycle
- Regional agreements like the European Union’s Single-Use Plastics Directive (2019) and bans on single-use plastics in countries like India, Kenya, and Rwanda
We’re also seeing an increase in public awareness as a result of major campaign and education efforts. The biggest coalition of NGOs looking at the issue is the Break Free From Plastic Movement, which consists of 13.000 organizations and 11,000 individual supporters worldwide (including us here at Ocean. Now!). Nowadays, it seems like more of us are noticing that the invention of plastic has caused major issues and are trying to make a change – on either a personal, community, or institutional level.
It’s also fair to say that many multinational corporations have pledged to reduce plastic usage, improve recyclability, and adopt circular economy principles but, and now comes the big BUT…
CONTINUED SYSTEMIC FAILURE
Despite global awareness campaigns and regional cleanup efforts, pollution rates remain alarmingly high. Every year, between 9–14 million metric tons of plastic flow into the ocean. According to the World Economic Forum, this is equivalent to a garbage truck’s worth of plastic dumped into the sea every single minute.
Side note: this number is from 2016. It’s very likely that now the calculation would be close to a garbage truck’s worth of plastic dumped into the sea every 30 seconds because, according to the OECD, global plastic production doubled between 2000 and 2023 (!).
These emissions aren’t just an unfortunate byproduct of human activity. They’re the result of systemic failures in plastic production, consumption, and waste management.
Microplastics and microfibers are now penetrating all parts of the ocean and its living organisms. In some regions, such as the North Pacific Gyre, microplastic concentrations have increased 100-fold since the 1970s. Again, this statistic is taken from a 2012 paper and we can assume a much higher number 13 years on, knowing that plastic consumption has increased substantially.
But it’s not just the ocean. With microplastics having been found in various human organs, including the liver, brain, and placenta, we can assume that every person living in an industrialized society now has plastic in their blood. Plastic isn’t biodegradable and can cause oxidative stress and inflammation – the root causes of most physical diseases and hormonal disorders. So, by using this so-called “amazing, cheap, hygienic, long-lasting material,” we humans have, tragically, started toxifying ourselves.
WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?
The key source of this failure is obvious: plastic production is constantly increasing. Today, ultra-fast fashion brands launch 52 ‘micro-seasons’ per year instead of four – with the use of fossil-fuel-based synthetic materials on the rise, increasing from 67 million tons in 2022 to 75 million tons in 2023. In the group of synthetic materials, polyester remains the most common, accounting for 57% of all fiber production (Ocean. Now!’s campaign #2 is addressing this issue).
The flood of plastic could be reduced by producing products differently (for e.g. creating solid shampoo or body lotion bars) or lessened by avoiding using unnecessary plastic (like the plastic wrapping that comes on bananas). The options to foster the clever principles of Zero Waste are endless. But we aren’t doing this. And the reason is that the oil and chemical industries want to keep plastic use (and their profits) growing.
The production of plastic exceeds 400 million metric tons annually, and forecasts suggest that the number is expected to rise by 70% by 2040.
if significant policy interventions aren’t put into place. This relentless growth in production underlines humanity’s failure to address the root causes of plastic pollution.
CONCLUSION
So, how are we doing? Well, at this point in time, humanity is far from achieving SDG 14.1 – particularly when it comes to reducing the amount of plastic pollution in the ocean.
Despite increasing global awareness and various initiatives, the scale of plastic pollution continues to grow at an alarming rate, with devastating consequences for marine ecosystems and human health. Unless production is drastically reduced and a global, systemic solution is implemented, SDG 14.1 will continue to remain out of reach, with dire consequences for the planet.
Even with the very worrying state that the ocean is currently in, we still see a chance: the increased momentum in policy, public awareness, and technological innovation provide a foundation for accelerated action post-2025. But we’re going to need truly dedicated action on many levels in order to turn the tide. This means:
- Brave political leaders in the industry and in politics stepping up for non-harmful innovation, new economic business models, and putting the planet over profit
- An effective UN Plastics Treaty with defined numbers to curb plastic production. There needs to be a defined mandatory reduction goal to effectively address the systemic cause of plastic pollution
- Increased investment in waste management and circular economy initiatives. Very important: a non-toxic circular economy is needed
- Strengthened international cooperation to enhance monitoring and reporting mechanisms for better decision-making. Data collection needs to be streamlined
- Inclusion of indigenous wisdom in all global decision making. Indigenous peoples have lived in harmony with mother nature for thousands of years. It’s high time to take their advice on board globally to enable life on this planet for future generations.
As an NGO, we hope to be able to contribute to making the systemic change that is urgently needed. For our love, the ocean, the source of all life, we’ll keep doing what we’re doing!
