Oceans Have Become a Giant Bowl of Plastic

Doug Woodring, founder and managing director of Ocean Recovery Alliance, attended “Boğaziçi Lectures” in Boğaziçi University and gave a speech about the devastating impacts of plastic waste in the oceans.

Doug Woodring, founder and managing director of Ocean Recovery Alliance, attended “Boğaziçi Lectures” in Boğaziçi University and gave a speech about the devastating impacts of plastic waste in the oceans.

Boğaziçi Lectures held a conference on 23 March 2018, about the proliferation of plastic waste, with the cooperation of UN’s Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN Turkey) and WWF.

Doug Woodring, founder and managing director of Ocean Recovery Alliance, attended the conference titled “Plastic: The Material That Binds the Planet” and discussed about the enormous challenges represented by the proliferation of plastic waste in the seas of the world.

Bayar: There is 8 million tons of plastic waste in the oceans

WWF Turkey’s Chairman of the Board Uğur Bayar warned about the amount of plastic waste and gave some numbers: There are 8 million tons of plastic waste in the oceans. One of five fish has plastic waste in its digestive system. Turkey falls behind of awareness on recycling. Turkey is the 14th country among the OECD countries in terms of contributions to recycling.

How to struggle against plastic danger

According to Woodring, global warming and loss of biodiversity have reached the point of no return. If we do not look for a way to make things better, we will have to look for new planets to move.

Woodring thinks media can be used in a more effective way. It can be a tool to put pressure upon corporations and help people become more aware.

Woodring indicates that a one-sided struggle is not enough with respect to the extent of the dangers plastic has created. That’s why, local authorities should take more initiatives, corporations should use more eco-friendly methods in their productions and individuals should re-evaluate their daily life choices.