Oceana Says Plastic Pollution is One of the Greatest Threats Facing Our Oceans Today

CIUDAD DE PANAMÁ, Panamá, March 02, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As the 8^th annual Our Ocean conference got underway in Panama City this week, Panama’s Ministry of Environment announced bold commitments to reduce plastic pollution, including stopping more than 160,000 tons of plastic that is imported and consumed in the country each year.

The commitments include:

• In three years, eliminate the use of single-use plastic items, such as plastic utensils and plastic cups;

• In five years, reduce the import and consumption of plastic packaging by 30%, including plastic foam food containers;

• In seven years, reduce the import of virgin plastic by at least 20%; and

• In 10 years, reduce the sale and import of single-use plastic and virgin plastic by 50%.

Oceana, the world’s largest international advocacy organization dedicated solely to ocean conservation, applauded the new commitments, and released the following statement from its Chief Policy Officer, Jacqueline Savitz:

“We applaud Panama’s leadership in tackling plastic pollution. Plastics are not only polluting our oceans, they’re also contributing to the growing climate crisis. Panama’s commitment to regulate plastics addresses two of our ocean’s greatest threats at once because plastic production is also a major driver of climate change. Panama’s efforts to aggressively tackle plastic pollution at the source send a strong signal to the rest of the world. We hope other nations participating in the Our Ocean conference will make equally meaningful commitments.”

Background:
Data from the Inter-American Development Bank estimates that Panama generates 191,580 tons of plastic waste each year and is the second largest waste producer in Latin America. In recent years, Panama has been a leader in the fight to address plastic pollution. Panama was the first Central America nation to ban plastic bags, and since then has banned other disposable plastic items. Panama’s latest commitments follow similar actions in recent months by Canada, Chile, and the U.S. state of California to reduce the production and sale of unnecessary single-use plastics.

Scientists estimate that 33 billion pounds of plastic wash into the ocean every year. That equates to about two garbage trucks’ worth of plastic entering the ocean every minute. Plastic has entered our soil, water, air, and food, and it’s a significant contributor to climate change. When plastics end up in the ocean, they just break up into smaller and smaller pieces that are swallowed by everything from fish and sea turtles to seals and seabirds, many of which are endangered. In the U.S. alone, Oceana found evidence of 1,792 marine mammals and sea turtles from 40 different species swallowing or becoming entangled in plastic between 2009 and 2020. Recycling alone is not enough to solve the plastics crisis. In fact, only 9% of all the plastic waste ever generated has been recycled. With plastic production expected to triple in the next three decades, increasing amounts of plastic can be expected to flood into our oceans with devastating consequences.