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Plastic Pollution
The Wilson Center recognizes that ocean plastics are a global issue. Eleven million tons of plastic waste entered the ocean in 2016 alone and without immediate action, this number will triple by 2040, and only 15 percent of plastic waste worldwide is recycled and much of the plastic life cycle occurs beyond their scope of control. Our research and dialogues focus not only on the policies that can reduce plastic pollution, but also on-the-ground action across the globe leading to address ocean plastics. We are further translating this research into compelling educational mediums, such as The Plastic Pipeline game.
Smart Take | Earth Day 2024 Calls for Planet Over Plastics!
This year’s Earth Day theme—“Planet vs. Plastic”—calls for a 60% reduction in plastic use by 2040. The billions of items of plastic waste that pollute oceans, lakes, and rivers, are also making their way into food systems, resulting in a direct threat to human health.
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InsightOut Issue 7 - Turning the Tide: How Can Indonesia Close the Loop on Plastic Waste?
With only 12 percent of single-use plastics being recycled, Indonesia is now second behind China as a source of ocean plastic -- responsible for 10 percent of global plastic leakage.
InsightOut Issue 8 - Closing the Loop on Plastic Waste in the US and China
As the world’s largest consumers and producers of plastics, the United States and China are pivotal for helping to close the loop on global plastic waste.
The Plastic Pipeline
The Wilson Center's China Environment Forum and Serious Games Initiative are currently developing an educational digital game, The Plastic Pipeline, which will raise public awareness on the plastic product lifecycle and policies that can be enacted to help stem the tide of pollution going into our oceans.
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Experts
Jennifer L. Turner
Director, China Environment Forum
Lauren Herzer Risi
Program Director, Environmental Change and Security Program
Elizabeth M H Newbury
Director of the Serious Games Initiative; Senior Program Associate, Science and Technology Innovation Program
Read more from ElizabethGames can be a powerful tool for education, outreach and research... As a means of communicating policy, they make complicated concepts more accessible and empower audiences.
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