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Marine Life & Conservation

A Christmas facial – a treat for your skin but a disaster for our seas, say the MCS

Published

11 years ago

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Lots of people will treat themselves to some extra beauty therapies over the festive period, or give facial products as a pampering gift – but although these items may make our skin look and feel good, they’re giving our seas anything but a make-over.

The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) and Fauna & Flora International (FFI) are warning shoppers that many personal care products like scrubs and peels now contain plastic particles, and these can have a devastating effect on the marine environment.

Every time we exfoliate or peel off dead cells with many of the leading scrubs and washes, and then rinse them off, the tiny bits of plastic go down the drain and that means we are flushing plastic into our seas where it contributes to a growing problem of plastic pollution.

Dr Sue Kinsey, MCS Litter Policy Officer, says: “It’s incredible how many everyday products contain microplastic beads. These find their way through our sewers and into our seas where they are easily eaten by all sorts of marine animals and could ultimately end up back in the human food chain. These bits of plastic are so small that our sewage works cannot deal with them, so when used they are essentially washed straight to river and sea”.

Although a number of leading manufacturers of beauty products have already stopped or have promised to phase out the use of microbeads in peels, scrubs and washes, (including Unilever, Lush and the Body Shop), many firms are still using them.

MCS and FFI say shoppers can play an important role in helping to put pressure on manufacturers who are dragging their feet over the issue of microbeads in their products. Consumers can check out those products already free of beads by using the Good Scrub Guide, which can be found here.

Tanya Cox, FFI’s Marine Plastics Officer, says: “Microplastic pollution is having a profound impact on the health of our oceans and demands urgent attention. FFI is really encouraged to see leading UK retailers and producers of personal care products proactively replacing damaging microplastic exfoliants with biodegradable alternatives and urge all companies to take such positive action to minimise this source of microplastic pollution”.

MCS and FFI will be working together closely in the New Year to champion positive action on behalf of forward thinking, UK companies who actively remove microplastics from their product lines. Together, MCS and FFI will use the Good Scrub Guide and supporting smartphone App – the Beat the Micro Bead App – to illustrate the number of plastic-free face scrubs available on the UK market to help keep Britain’s consumers informed at each step of the way.

MCS and FFI encourage consumers to help populate the Good Scrub Guide and the App by by letting them know which of your favourite products do and don’t contain plastic. Those with plastics will have some of these ingredients listed:

Polyethylene / Polythene (PE)

Polypropylene (PP)

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET)

Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA)

Nylon

When you’ve spotted these in the ingredients list, all you have to do is fill in a simple form which can be found here and MCS will do the rest.

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Marine Life & Conservation

Reef-World launch new toolkit in response to the current global coral bleaching event

Published

2 weeks ago

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August 24, 2024

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coral bleaching

The Reef-World Foundation – international coordinator of the UN Environment Programme’s Green Fins initiative – has launched a new coral bleaching toolkit in response to the 4th global coral bleaching event confirmed by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) in April 2024.

The Green Fins Global Coral Bleaching Response Toolkit provides guidance to the marine tourism industry on how they can help manage and monitor the impacts of coral bleaching and get involved in recovery efforts. It features information about coral bleaching, including the causes, impacts and response strategies. The toolkit is compiled from a variety of readily available resources from multiple organizations and initiatives, such as ICRI, Coral Reef Alliance, Reef Check and NOAA, along with Green Fins materials, to ensure it is accessible to everyone. These resources cover methods for reducing local impacts, monitoring the reefs and engaging tourists and local communities.

coral bleaching

The El Niño phenomenon has been present since February 2023, which has led to persistently warmer temperatures being experienced around the world and has affected the sea surface temperatures. Coral bleaching has been recorded in all ocean regions ever since. While this event is widespread and serious, there is still hope as bleached corals are not dead corals. Corals can survive bleaching events and thrive if they are given the time to adapt to the changing climate.

“Coral reefs are under a huge amount of stress every day and that reduces their chance of recovery from bleaching events,” said Chloe Harvey, Executive Director at The Reef-World Foundation. “However, this time around the scientists have been watching the data closely, so we’re prepared. We understand what it means and we know what we need to do to respond to it. This global event calls for global action to protect these vital ecosystems for generations to come.”

coral bleaching

By equipping the industry with the necessary knowledge and tools, Reef-World hopes to empower these key stakeholders to play a crucial role in preserving the health and resilience of our precious coral reef ecosystems. Reef-World believes that with the right resources, the marine tourism industry can be a driving force in the fight against coral bleaching and contribute significantly to the long-term sustainability of marine environments.

With this momentum, other key players in the industry, such as PADI AWARE Foundation and NOAA, have gotten on board the campaign for more citizen scientists to help out in monitoring coral bleaching. With the toolkit available to all, The Reef-World Foundation is looking forward to more collaborative actions in the industry.

coral bleaching

Explore the toolkit on Green Fins’ website: greenfins.net/coral-bleaching

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Marine Life & Conservation

The Ocean Cleanup making San Francisco port call in September

Published

2 weeks ago

on

August 23, 2024

By

the ocean cleanup

A real solution for an environmental catastrophe is in reach

Six years after setting sail for the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP), we have developed the cleanup technology to relegate the patch to the history books.

On 6 September 2024, The Ocean Cleanup will return to San Francisco, where founder and CEO Boyan Slat will provide an update in which he will announce what is needed in terms of time, money and efforts to eradicate the GPGP.

To confirm your presence, please RSVP to press@theoceancleanup.com

PROGRAM

  • Press conference: CEO and founder Boyan Slat will announce the next phase of the cleanup of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
  • Interviews: opportunities to interview Boyan Slat (CEO & founder), Joël Jansen (Director of Oceans), Arjen Tjallema (Director of Technology) and Matthias Egger (Director of Environmental and Social Affairs)
  • Vessels & technology: visit our two iconic ships, take a look at extraction System 03 and see the extracted plastic up-close and personal*

*Limited availability; RSVP soon to press@theoceancleanup.com

PRACTICALITIES 

Date: September 6, 2024
Press conference: 12 pm (noon) / doors open 11.30 am
Location: The Exploratorium (Google Maps)
Pier 15 (Embarcadero at Green Street), San Francisco, CA
Parking: Visit The Exploratorium’s website for details
RSVP: press@theoceancleanup.com
Press kit: a press kit will be shared afterwards

To find out more about the Ocean Cleanup, visit www.theoceancleanup.com.

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