On Monday, January 28, I attended a Biology Department seminar presented by Dr. Qamar Schuyler titled “Marine Life and Governance in the Plasticene Era.” Dr. Schuyler presented her research topic on sea turtles and plastics, which she conducted in Moreton Bay, Australia. She sifted through sea turtle guts and found that of the test animals, turtles were 33% and birds were the 67% that ingested plastics. The lethality of plastics was also part of the scientific question. The scientists compared turtles that died of plastics to non-plastics, they looked at turtle necropsies, and came up with the conclusion that if turtles eat one plastic, there is a 22% chance that it will cause fatality.

Dr. Schuyler’s proposal for a solution is through government. Currently the plastic pipeline consists of production-use-litter/disposal-transport-ocean. In each of these “knobs,” restrictive measures can be implanted in order for plastic to have less of an environmental impact. One interesting hinderance was the mold mushroom packaging design at the beginning step (production). Her other research also focused on the governance side and measuring the effectiveness of litter/disposal legislations in Australia. They surveyed 40 local councils and asked about their infrastructure, policies, and education/outreach which is how they took their measurements of effectiveness. They found that coast lines had less debris when: greater than 8% of the annual budget was on waste management, the budget specifies the coast debris management, and that waste facilities and education are implemented. One existing legislation that I did not know about is the Container Deposit legislation. This law has been used by Australia and only a small portion of America. This container deposit law greatly reduces the amount of debris because customers are being refunded for returning the container to its owner.

I am particularly interested in this topic of marine plastics and legislation because this is the particular field I possibly want to work in one day. I aspire to help reduce marine plastic pollution in the Philippines and reform the mentality of waste because I know that the country has a grotesque and wicked pollution problem. In this lecture, Dr. Schuyler informed me of the harms of plastics not only to organisms and the environment but even paradoxically to humans themselves through the fish market. Moreover, I also think that more government allocations towards water and waste management would be significantly beneficial for the environment. Lastly, I think that the container-deposit legislation should be enforced in all states because it gives people an incentive for living a more sustainable lifestyle. People can be taught the value of items so that they cherish them and attempt to reduce their consumption overall.

Dr. Schuyler’s seminar reminded me of the terms systems thinking and consumption discussed in class. The plastic pipeline that she discussed is a system within itself and unlike renewable resources, it follows a linear pattern. First, plastic is made by converting natural products from oil, gas, or coal. Next, it is made available to humans and used by them once in large amounts. Then, the plastic becomes waste and is disposed of (sometimes as litter). Finally, if plastic does not end up in land fills, it is then transported to the ocean by natural causes. Each “knob” is also a point of intervention that can be applied with the right tool. For instance, cleanup groups are a point of intervention at the transport knob when plastic ends up in beaches/streets. Over-consumption is one of the underlying causes of plastic pollution. Within capitalism, consumption is an integral part of society and cannot be helped. Often times, the material design of these consumed items is in fact, plastics because it is so cheap. The human mindset of constantly consuming things without realizing its ecological consequences is common and should be altered in order to reduce plastic pollution. Manufacturers should be turning to a more sustainable design for their package and use. Overall, Dr. Schuyler’s lecture on plastics and marine life was excellent and gave me a really good insight into plastic pollution research.