Many people are aware of plastic pollution in the oceans. Photos of turtles or seabirds entangled in plastic garbage first went viral in the 1990s, and the is now the focus of highly publicized cleanup efforts.

Less recognized is how marine plastic waste affects human populations, and the unequal burden on different communities. A report, 鈥�,鈥� outlines the current situation and attempts to address the problem.

鈥淲e all benefit from plastics, but some people are paying more of the external costs in terms of the environmental damage, well-being issues and just horrendous scenes that they must live with in places they call home,鈥� said project leader , a 天美影视传媒 professor of practice in marine and environmental affairs and director of The Nippon Foundation .

Increasingly, the greenhouse gases causing climate change are seen as an issue in which some countries produce most of the pollution while other countries or groups are more at risk from the long-term consequences. Plastic pollution, this report argues, is a similar issue for coastal communities.

The report, published in late November, includes 31 authors from nine countries. It incorporates case studies and analyses from around the world as well as larger, overarching recommendations for change.

The authors conclude that coastal communities most affected by marine plastic pollution should be better represented in drafting potential solutions. A free, virtual event in March will bring together stakeholders from around the world to draw up a road map for an equity-focused path to address marine plastics.

The Ocean Nexus Center was founded in 2019 as a 10-year initiative based in UW EarthLab that includes more than 20 member universities and organizations around the world. Its mission is to bring together equity and justice in the oceans on a global scale.

The recently published report covers topics such as:

• A call to replace the term 鈥減lastic litter鈥� with 鈥減lastic pollution.鈥� The word 鈥渓itter鈥� frames the issue on a small scale that can be addressed with better waste collection, disposal or recycling, rather than broader industry-wide changes to production.
• A discussion of the rise in plastic waste during the COVID-19 pandemic, through masks, gloves, face shields and a resurgence of single-use and individually wrapped products.
• Chapters that provide place-based case studies, including interviews with local residents about their experiences with marine plastics. Locations include a fishing community in Ghana, coastal mangrove forests in Ecuador, and an island in southern Japan that includes both tourists and residents.
• Two analyses of waste cleanup programs 鈥� Washington state鈥檚 and the program in the Netherlands.
• A section with multiple authors focused on the island of Aotearoa, New Zealand. Maori perspectives have been disregarded in efforts to address marine plastic pollution, authors write, despite the greater impact and importance of marine environments for Maori people鈥檚 livelihood and culture.
• A review of international rules for plastic waste disposal 鈥� a patchwork of regulations including the Basel Convention, a nonbinding agreement that the U.S. has not signed.
• A critique of Coca-Cola Co.鈥檚 鈥� as an example of industry-backed solutions to marine plastic pollution that focus on individual consumers, rather than bigger, more permanent solutions that could reduce plastic waste.

鈥淐oca-Cola is the world鈥檚 biggest producer of plastic waste, and it serves as a case study of how multinational corporations engage in waste reduction and corporate social responsibility,鈥� said lead author , a UW postdoctoral researcher in marine and environmental affairs who wrote the analysis of Coca-Cola鈥檚 initiative.

鈥淎s we highlight in the report, one of the key actions we see as imperative for addressing marine plastic pollution is refocusing the problem as one of plastics production, rather than as an issue of waste management,鈥� Vandenberg said.

, a Seattle-based artist, created digital watercolor paintings that appear throughout the document. The report is funded by The Nippon Foundation and is intended to be an accessible, comprehensive summary of the issue that can be read by policymakers, educators and other audiences, Ota said.

The March event will bring together audiences to implement the report鈥檚 main recommendations. Visit The Nippon Foundation Ocean Nexus Center to find forthcoming event details.

For more information, contact Ocean Nexus marketing and communications lead Ariel Wang at arielyw@uw.edu, Ota at yota1@uw.edu or Vandenberg at jvandenb@uw.edu (note: Vandenberg is currently a visiting scholar at Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands, on Central European Time).

“The human relationship with oceans under current political economies is unsustainable, unstable and inequitable,” Yoshitaka Ota, director of the center.

“We need to create a new platform for ocean governance to recognize injustices, embrace diverse knowledge systems and actually embody these values to make oceans equitable for everyone.”

And that is the goal of the Ocean Nexus Center, a 10-year collaboration between the a global leader addressing challenges facing the world’s oceans, and , the UW’s multidisciplinary institute that researches key environmental challenges.

The United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021-2030 鈥� called the , or just the Decade 鈥� is an international initiative toward achieving the environmental standards set in the agenda. These include “improving equity in the design, conduct and utilization of ocean science.”

Ocean Voices is a program of the Nippon Foundation Ocean Nexus Center dedicated to advancing equity in Ocean Decade activities by identifying barriers to and enabling conditions for fairness and justice in ocean science “so that no one is left behind through the Decade.”

Now, the Ocean Voices program has been officially by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO, as one of its first 28 “” 鈥� or programs to be undertaken in the next 10 years to help “create the ocean we want” by 2030.

Ota, who is a research assistant professor in the UW School of Marine and Environmental Affairs as well as director of the Ocean Nexus Center, praised the Decade Actions designation for Ocean Voices.

“This program will advance equity in the Decade through interdisciplinary research and partnerships that will examine how ocean science can support a more equitable and sustainable world, and how to prevent the science from being used, misused or ignored.”

Read more on the Nippon Foundation Ocean Nexus Center’s .