Ocean Initiatives Quiz

QUIZ
FINDING SUITABLE SOLUTIONS
TO TACKLE MARINE LITTER.
www.oceaninitiatives.org
This quiz will improve your understanding of the pollution
caused by marine litter, and it also proposes avenues for
reflection to prevent the proliferation of trash. For each question
there is a number of answers to choose from. Participants
are invited to select the right answer, but beware: sometimes
there is more than one possible solution! The correct answers
can be found on the reverse of the cards.
As you are going through the questions, you will discover
alternatives or solutions to reduce pollution in our oceans in
connection with four specific types of trash. Feel free to pass
the cards to the next participant so that everyone can have a
turn asking questions, and and after your Ocean Initiative play
the game with everyone you know!
www.oceaninitiatives.org
CIGARETTE
BUTTS
FOOD
PACKAGING
COTTON
SWABS
PLASTIC
MICROBEADS
#01 QUESTION
CIGARETTE
BUTTS
WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO DISPOSE
OF YOUR CIGARETTE BUTT?
1.
Aim for a sewer drain, with style.
2.
Extinguish it on the ground and put it in the trash.
3.
Let it extinguish itself in a waterproof box and
empty it regularly.
#01 ANSWER
CIGARETTE
BUTTS
3. Let it extinguish itself in a waterproof box
and empty it regularly.
A cigarette butt takes more
than two years to decompose on
the ground, and it pollutes up to 500 litres
of water. Recent studies show that the majority
of toxic materials found in tobacco remain trapped
in the butt. Stamping it out on the ground and putting
it in the trash is therefore not enough. For smokers,
carrying a flame retardant and waterproof box in
which to dispose of their still-lit cigarettes, and
regularly emptying it, is the best solution.
#02 QUESTION
CIGARETTE
BUTTS
WHAT TOOLS ARE AVAILABLE TO ELECTED
OFFICIALS FOR LIMITING THE PRESENCE OF
CIGARETTE BUTTS ON OUR BEACHES?
1.
Making more trash cans and ash trays available
on beaches.
2.
Putting an awareness raising campaign in place.
3.
Expelling all smokers from their town.
4.
Prohibiting smoking on beaches in their town.
#02 ANSWER
CIGARETTE
BUTTS
1 and 2 certainly, and 4 is up for debate.
Advantages of prohibiting smoking on beaches:
•
•
Reduction in the number of smokers and therefore
potentially the number of cigarette butts on beaches.
Reduction of nuisance for non-smokers.
Disadvantages of prohibiting smoking on beaches:
•
•
•
•
Cigarette butts found on beaches are not exclusively
from being thrown directly onto the sand.. The
majority of cigarette butts are thrown out upstream
in towns or inland.
Awareness raising activities could be more efficient.
In fact, without information, it is more difficult for
smokers to understand the impact that their actions
can have on the environment, and they could simply
choose to go to another beach and only displace the
problem.
Lifeguards are often in charge of this surveillance,
which therefore interferes with their main duties.
After lifeguard posts are closed, anything goes!
#03 QUESTION
SOME CIGARETTE BUTTS ARE NOW
BIODEGRADABLE, IS THIS A GOOD
SOLUTION FOR YOU?
CIGARETTE
BUTTS
#03 ANSWER
CIGARETTE
BUTTS
Best answer:
Of course not, the danger of cigarette butts resides
essentially in the toxic materials and tobacco that
remain in the filter. Biodegradable cigarette butts
limit pollution from the material itself, but it does
not eliminate the release of toxic material into the
environment.
The notion of biodegradability may lead the smoker
to believe that disposing of it in the environment has
no polluting effects. However, normally, so-called
biodegradable products take time to break apart
and decompose into finer particles that do not at all
exclude the harmful effects that they can have on the
environment (ingestion by fauna, spread of chemical
pollutants, etc.).
CIGARETTE
BUTTS
SOME IDEAS TO REDUCE POLLUTION
CAUSED BY CIGARETTE BUTTS.
Use pocket ashtrays.
Save cigarette butts for subsequent use (textiles...).
Hold awareness raising activities including input
from manufacturers and public authorities. In fact,
without information, it is more difficult for smokers
to understand the impact that their gesture can
have on the environment, and they could simply
choose to go to another beach and only displace
the problem.
#04 QUESTION
HOW DO WE REDUCE THE WEIGHT
OF OUR GARBAGE?
FOOD
PACKAGING
FOOD
PACKAGING
#04 ANSWER
Acceptable answers:
Minimise
when
products,
organic
shopping
recycling,
waste,
packaging, etc.
packaging
for
our
composting
favouring
reusable
#05 QUESTION
FOOD
PACKAGING
DO STORES HAVE INITIATIVES TO LIMIT
THE CONSUMPTION OF PACKAGING?
#05 ANSWER
FOOD
PACKAGING
Acceptable answers:
•
Supermarkets without packaging (ex: in Bordeaux:
La Recharge; in Berlin: Original Unverpackt; in Texas:
In.gredients).
•
Products sold loose or retail with reusable containers.
•
Purchasing with refillable packaging.
•
Purchasing in bulk and adapted to consumption.
Several options are offered to manufacturers: limiting
the packaging of their products, working with eco-design
for packaging, promoting the reuse of their packaging and
offering consumers the possibility of refilling them at a
lower cost, choosing reusable and durable materials, and
when this is not possible, recyclables.
Distributors and supermarkets also have a role to play:
using signage to indicate products with less packaging,
making available to clients product packaging for
transporting their purchases (ex: cardboard boxes).
#06 QUESTION
FOOD
PACKAGING
HOW CAN CONSUMERS REDUCE
THEIR PACKAGING WASTE?
1.
It is not possible, manufacturers must provide us
with better products.
2.
We must consume less.
3.
We have our role to play in choosing our products,
just
like
manufacturers
with
packaging
politicians in regulatory framework.
and
FOOD
PACKAGING
#06 ANSWER
3. We have our role to play in choosing
our products.
A
product’s
packaging
can
represent 80% of the product’s total
final weight and reach up to 65% of its cost.
Similarly, packaging waste can make up
nearly 30% in weight and 50% in volume of the
total quantity of garbage. For these reasons,
we all have an interest in being vigilant in
terms of the products that we choose, which
is an even stronger reason for manufacturers
to be perceptive of our expectations.
#07 QUESTION
WHAT MEASURES CAN A PUBLIC BODY
PUT INTO PLACE IN ORDER TO REDUCE
THE QUANTITY OF PACKAGING FOUND
IN THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT?
FOOD
PACKAGING
#07 ANSWER
FOOD
PACKAGING
Acceptable answers:
•
Promoting policies of reuse, namely through the
waste removal system.
•
Providing residents with recyclable containers,
especially for their daily meal purchases (eg. fish).
•
Putting a pricing system in place for collecting
garbage calculated in function of each individual’s
real production (incentive fee).
•
Optimising the recycling of waste.
FOOD
PACKAGING
SOME IDEAS TO REDUCE
PLASTIC FOOD PACKAGING.
Adopt the 4R behaviour: Refuse, Reduce,
Reuse, and Recycle.
Favour these packages:
>> Those that are recyclable because they are
made of cardboard, glass, or metal.
>> Those that can have a second life! For example,
a jar for spreads or mustard can become
glassware, the metal biscuit or tea box could hold
other biscuits, pasta, rice, or even sugar.
>> Those with a great capacity to be refilled and
prevent packaging waste.
Use more durable materials,
reduce excess packaging.
Use alternative materials
(less polluting, reusable,...).
Apply incentive measures (example of the
incentive fee), waste plans, industrial constraints,
regulations on packaging.
Implement return systems.
Implement a supplementary taxation for
single-use packaging (eco-packaging).
#08 QUESTION
COTTON
SWABS
WHY CAN WE FIND SO MANY
COTTON BUD STICKS ON BEACHES?
1.
Because they are used on the beach.
2.
Because they are being thrown in toilets after use.
3.
Because there are public landfills near water
courses.
COTTON
SWABS
#08 ANSWER
2. Because they are being thrown in
toilets after use.
Small objects thrown away in toilets
are not always retrieved by purification
stations
that
treat
our
waste
water.
Therefore, these objects travel through the
sewer system until reaching the natural
environment, and finally, the ocean.
A small portion of these are then
found on beaches.
#09 QUESTION
COTTON
SWABS
WHAT OPTIONS ALLOW AN ELECTED OFFICIAL
TO REDUCE THE QUANTITY OF COTTON BUD
STICKS SENT INTO WATER BODIES?
COTTON
SWABS
#09 ANSWER
Acceptable answers:
Public
awareness
raising
to
stop their being thrown into toilets,
improving waste water collection systems
and networks (namely replacing combined
sewer systems with separate sewer systems),
laws against disposable plastics, pressure on
manufacturers to use alternative materials
(wood, etc.).
#10 QUESTION
COTTON
SWABS
WHAT SOLUTIONS COULD BE OFFERED
TO A MANUFACTURER THAT WOULD
ALLOW THEM TO REDUCE THE QUANTITY
OF COTTON BUD STICKS ON BEACHES?
#10 ANSWER
Acceptable answers:
Use of
alternative materials
for the stick instead of plastic
(wood, dense cardboard, etc.),
awareness raising message on the box,
advertisements, etc.
COTTON
SWABS
COTTON
SWABS
SOME IDEAS TO REDUCE POLLUTION
CAUSED BY COTTON SWABS.
Throw cotton swabs in the bin.
Use of alternative solutions for hygiene: cotton
balls, hopi ear candles, sweet almond oil,
biodegradable sticks, warm water.
Implement a law aimed at stopping the use of
single-use plastic cotton buds.
Create a «Toilets are not trash bins!»
communication and awareness raising campaign.
TOILETS ARE NOT TRASH BINS!!
#11 QUESTION
PLASTIC
MICROBEADS
WHAT ARE PLASTIC MICROBEADS?
1.
The residue of fragmented plastic waste.
2.
Plastic particles used mainly in cosmetic products
for their exfoliating properties.
3.
Plastic follicles (the raw material of plastic) lost
during transport.
#11 ANSWER
PLASTIC
MICROBEADS
2. Plastic particles used mainly in cosmetic
products for their exfoliating properties.
A single «face-wash»
type product could contain
up to 360,000 plastic microbeads.
In certain products, microbeads make
up 10% of the product’s total volume.
#12 QUESTION
PLASTIC
MICROBEADS
HOW CAN PLASTIC MICROBEADS USED
IN COSMETICS END UP IN MARINE
ENVIRONMENTS?
1.
Through poor waste management in the
manufacturing process in factories.
2.
They are lost during sea transport if a container
is lost.
3.
They are produced by oysters.
4.
They run down the shower or sink drain and are
not filtered by water purification stations.
#12 ANSWER
PLASTIC
MICROBEADS
4. They run down the shower or sink drain and
are not filtered by water purification stations.
Too small to be
recovered by the majority
of water purification stations,
these microbeads move through the
water purification network and end their
trip in the ocean.
#13 QUESTION
PLASTIC
MICROBEADS
WHAT MEASURES CAN BE PUT INTO PLACE
BY THE EUROPEAN UNION IN ORDER
TO MAKE PLASTIC MICROBEADS
DISAPPEAR FROM NATURE?
1.
Putting forward regulations to prohibit the use of plastic
microbeads.
2.
Providing information and raising consumer awareness
on their hygiene product consumption.
3.
Putting in place policies that favour natural hygiene
products.
EU
#13 ANSWER
All three!
Solutions to
the problem of plastic
microbeads exist,
we all have our role to play!
PLASTIC
MICROBEADS
#14 QUESTION
PLASTIC
MICROBEADS
WHAT ALTERNATIVES TO PLASTIC
MICROBEADS DO SOME MANUFACTURERS
USE IN THEIR COSMETIC PRODUCTS?
1.
Materials composed of modified cellulose extracted
from wood pulp.
2.
Natural shell, nut, mineral, bamboo, rice, and wax
materials.
3.
Dehydrated melon seeds from Spain.
#14 ANSWER
All three!
Numerous alternatives
to plastic microbeads exist,
let’s use them!
PLASTIC
MICROBEADS
#15 QUESTION
PLASTIC
MICROBEADS
ARE THERE COSMETIC OR PERSONAL CARE
PRODUCTS THAT DO NOT CONTAIN PLASTIC
MICROBEADS?
1.
Yes.
2.
No.
PLASTIC
MICROBEADS
#15 ANSWER
1. Yes.
Plastic microbeads are mostly found in exfoliating
cosmetic products (facial cleaners, exfoliating body
cream...) or toothpaste with whitening properties.
In order to verify if the product contains them, download
the smartphone application «Beat the Microbead» that
allows for hygiene product barcodes to be scanned,
informing you if microbeads are present or not.
If in the composition of the product you see: polyethylene
(PE),
polypropylene
(PP),
Nylon,
polyethylene
terephthalate (PET), polymethyl methacrylate PMMA, it
is a product that contains plastic microbeads.
#16 QUESTION
PLASTIC
MICROBEADS
WHAT IS ENVIRONMENTAL LOBBYING?
1.
A beautiful utopia.
2.
A means of expressing citizens’ demands about
current ecological concerns.
3.
A way that you can be involved in putting
pressure on politicians and industries.
#16 ANSWER
PLASTIC
MICROBEADS
The 2nd and 3rd answers.
A means of expressing citizens’ demands.
Pressure exercised on politicians and industries.
Today it is estimated that between 15,300 and 30,000
lobbyists are operating in Brussels to influence
European politicians in favour of the interests they
defend. It is also estimated that more than half of national
laws are of European origin.
If environmental NGO lobbying may seem weak in
comparison to private sector lobbying which represents
2/3 of lobbyists, it remains essential for the voice of the
environment and for citizens to be heard at the highest
level of decision-making. Surfrider has had important
success in its work to influence changes in laws to better
protect the marine environment, the coastline, and its
users. There are so many reasons to believe in this sphere
of influence in addition to legal work, raising awareness,
education, and training that Surfrider undertakes with
citizens, elected officials, and manufacturers.
PLASTIC
MICROBEADS
SOME IDEAS TO REDUCE
PLASTIC MICROBEADS.
Choose hygiene products that do not use microbeads (http://get.beatthemicrobead.org/). They
can be easily replaced by natural biodegradable ingredients such as nutshells, apricot kernels, or salt
crystals (used in place of microbeads because they
are less expensive and their surface is more regular).
Research materials with similar yet non-polluting
properties.
Ban the use
in cosmetic
have planned
microbeads to
York).
of persistent plastic composites
products (American states that
for hygiene products containing
be banned: Illinois, California, New
Take part part in Surfrider’s lobbying campaign
during the review of the European cosmetic
directive to introduce the banning of microbeads
(2015-2016).
Take part in the citizens’ lobbying campaign to
prohibit the use of microbeads in cosmetics.
Program aiming to reduce marine litter at the source. The goal
is to achieve a change in people’s behaviours based on this
educational campaign, which focuses on local collections of
trash along rivers, lakes, beaches, and on the seabeds. During
these activities, information is gathered on marine litter, which
allows for a general assessment of the situation and, as a
result, enables us to work on an adaptation of the European
regulatory framework.
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PARTNERS FOR THE 2015 “OCEAN INITIATIVES”