There are those who call them 'mermaid tears' but the poetic name hides one of the most unknown marine plastic pollution: the invasion of pellets, those white balls from oil that are the raw material of countless plastic objects and that move through million tons around the world, with stratospheric consumption forecasts for the next decade. In the case of the Mediterranean, its presence is visible on countless beaches and now an oceanographic expedition is trying to determine some of the 'routes' they follow from the Spanish coast.
The volume of pellets in motion is exorbitant. A recent report, carried out by UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development), indicates that 5% of world trade today are plastic objects (figures that do not include those that contain built-in cars, computers, etc.) and that they suppose already ONE TRILLION dollars a year, 40% more than previous estimates said. Well, in its exhaustive document, UNCTAD indicates that the primary material (that is, pellets and fibers to manufacture them) account for up to 56% of this commercial volume, followed by intermediate forms (11%), intermediate manufactured goods (5%), final products (21%) and, finally, plastic waste, which at the end of the cycle travels again from one country to another (2% of this trade).
The UNCTAD economist and co-author of the report, Diana Barrowclough, emphasizes that it was important to study the trade of the entire plastic cycle in order to have a more faithful portrait of reality and “promote the shift towards more sustainable production, consumption, and trade. "Which recognizes that" far exceeds the capacity to manage waste. "
If we focus on pellets, only in the EU, according to Commission data, some 160,000 tons of these pellets are lost to the environment each year, a good pinch of the 250,000 tons that have disappeared globally. And where are they going? To the seas, in a high percentage, until ending up in the stomach of the oceanic fauna, joining the muscles of the turtles and sardines. Moreover, today its possible impact on human health is one of the greatest concerns of Europeans and Australians, as a study by the University of Exeter has determined, but it remains an unfinished business. "Although we already know a lot about environmental impacts, little is known about how it affects our human health and it is something that worries and should be investigated more", acknowledges scientist Sophie Davison, whose work has been published this month in the journal Global Environmental Change.
The reality is that it is rare to visit a beach without tripping over plastic. And, if we look closer, it is also important not to see these white balls that for most are 'unidentified objects' and are at the base of the manufacture of bags, containers, or shoes. In some cases they are authentic 'hailstorms', that is, they do not fall apart, as reflected in the images that in recent days have arrived from the beaches of Sri Lanka, after the fire in a container ship that had more than 1,800 stacked, 80 of them with dangerous substances such as pellets. Everything has ended up in the ocean in what, according to the UN, has been a planetary impact accident, with little media impact on this side of the world.
Much closer, on the Catalan coast, these floating plastic pandemics are recurrent, at the mercy of currents and wind, in places such as La Pineda beach, Vila-Seca (Tarragona), according to the NGO Good Karma Projects.. The Catalan organization points out that, in all probability, these 'no tears' come from the Tarragona Industrial Estate, given that they have been seen in the Francolí River and in ravines more than 20 kilometers inland. Seprona also points to this place in an investigation initiated after a large leak of plastic pellets, even though the Tarragona Chemical Business Association (AEQT) ensures that all companies adhere to a commitment to control microplastics. Reality reflects little of that commitment. “It is the largest petrochemical complex in Europe, with 0.7% of the world production of pellets, two million tons per year. Two weeks after the storm Filomena, La Pineda beach was full of marbles. With the mistral wind, which blows towards the Mediterranean, most go out to sea,
The commitment to which the business association refers is the Operation Clean Sweep certificate, a global initiative that leaves the prevention and solution of microplastics leaks in the hands of manufacturing companies. For Surfrider Foundation Europe, which collaborates with Good Karma Projects, the problem is the lack of regulation on the matter and a very sui generis control.
In any case, as it has not been possible to reliably verify that the pellet that floods the Mediterranean originates in Tarragona, both organizations have joined in an oceanographic expedition named #ChasingPellets, to search for the evidence. With a 9.5 meter long sailboat, and for ten days, they will collect the pellets from the waters between Tarragona and the Balearic Islands, using a trawl blanket. "Surfrider we are in 12 EU countries and on other continents for the defense of the oceans and we have carried out numerous Cost Defenders campaigns since 2008, of which 14 are active, and this expedition is part of it", recalled Simon Witt, responsible for the Coastal Defenders program of Surfrider Europe, and one of the crew members.
According to the UNCTAD study, the United States, the European Union, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea are the largest exporters of these primary forms of plastic while China is the leading exporter of manufactured, intermediate, and final products. For this, the Asian country needs to import many pellets and fibers, which travel from here to there crossing oceans. There are also countries - such as the EU, Germany, and the United States - that import and export at the same time, in a relentless back and forth. "Other countries stand out only in certain parts of the life cycle of plastics or in specific sectors," says Julien Christen, associate researcher at the Graduate Institute and another co-author of the work.
At the same time, it is recognized that some of the countries most affected by plastic pollution are the ones that contribute the least to its production, consumption, and trade, especially the small island developing states where even mermaids cry ... but tears of saltwater.
Image Source - https://www.popsci.com/ocean-plastic-pollution-youve-never-heard-of/