Leaning on Innovation to Combat Plastic Pollution in Oceans

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Plastic waste is a huge environmental problem faced by our planet, and it’s a problem that many countries around the world are tackling head-on. Social enterprises and NGOs have also been springing up, each with different ways and new ideas to encourage and help the general public and businesses to reduce their plastic footprint. 

It is with this in mind that a recent study has sought to take a closer look at some of the recently emerged innovative business models, including those which use cutting-edge blockchain and mobile technologies to connect and streamline the different participants in a plastic recycling supply chain, that are aimed at preventing plastic from entering the world’s oceans.  

The team, including top researchers at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Business School, found that the ability of such businesses to generate a healthy profit and make a positive environmental and social impact often depends on their product mix. Even more importantly, the study found that a company which aims at both maximising its profits and the amount of recycled plastic it deals with can actually generate a large social and environmental impact with just a slight sacrifice on its profitability, when compared to a solely profit-seeking firm.

According to UN Environment Programme, only about 9 percent of all waste plastic produced has been recycled. The rest of it ends up in landfills, enters our waterways and finds its way to the ocean. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a collection of marine debris in the North Pacific Ocean, has an area of 1.6 million square kilometres and is roughly three times the size of France. Once entering the ocean, the waste plastic gradually degrades into smaller and smaller pieces and becomes Microplastics, which are plastics of less than five millimetres in diameter. These can get eaten by marine animals and endanger their lives.

A Plethora of Innovative Business Models