How we can stop the flow of plastic pollution into our oceans? | Tim Niemier | TEDxMeritAcademy

Summary

This presentation explores the challenges of plastic waste, emphasizing that most plastics, particularly dirty and mixed types, are not recycled and often end up in landfills or oceans. The speaker highlights the dependency on plastic and its environmental impact, while introducing a solution called thermal kinetic compounding (TKC), which allows for recycling dissimilar and dirty plastics. The process could create sustainable business opportunities and reduce plastic pollution. The speaker urges the audience to support innovative recycling methods to stop the flow of plastic into oceans and promote a more sustainable planet.

Takeaways

• 🌍 Most plastics do not get recycled and often end up in landfills or oceans, contributing to environmental issues.
• 🔢 The recycling codes on plastic items are not as effective as one might think in ensuring plastic gets recycled.
• 🚯 Creating a sustainable business model that values waste plastic could reduce its flow into oceans, as it would be too costly to dispose of.
• 🚫 Plastic is problematic because it's cheap, durable, and often ends up as pollution due to its low cost and widespread use.
• 🛍️ Plastic is incredibly cheap to produce, mainly from fossil fuels like natural gas, making it hard to compete with in terms of recycling.
• 🚮 Only about 10% of plastics are recycled, with the majority being dirty and mixed with other types, making the recycling process difficult and expensive.
• 🌊 Approximately 8 million tons of plastic end up in the oceans, breaking down into microscopic pieces that enter the food chain and affect human health.
• 🌿 The speaker confesses to contributing to ocean pollution through his former company's production of kayaks but has since sought to rectify this.
• 🔄 A process called 'Thermal Kinetic Compounding' (TKC) can recycle dissimilar and dirty plastics into new products, turning waste into valuable materials.
• 🏭 The TKC process could lead to a significant industry, creating jobs and reducing the need for shipping by allowing local production of plastic products.
• ♻️ The potential applications for recycled plastic are vast, including solar roof tiles and sidewalks, offering sustainable alternatives to traditional materials.

Q & A

What do the numbers on the bottom of plastic items signify?

The numbers on the bottom of plastic items represent the type of plastic they are made from, which is part of the 'resin identification code' system. However, these numbers do not guarantee that the plastic will be recycled.

Why doesn't most plastic get recycled?

Most plastic does not get recycled because it is often dirty and commingled with other types of plastics, making it too expensive and difficult to clean and separate for recycling purposes.

What is the impact of plastic waste on the environment, particularly the oceans?

Plastic waste that ends up in the oceans can be unsustainable for marine life and ecosystems, leading to pollution and potential harm to the food chain, including humans, as microplastics can enter our bodies.

How did plastic become so ubiquitous and inexpensive?

Plastic became ubiquitous and inexpensive because it is made from fossil fuels like natural gas, which are relatively cheap, leading to its widespread use in various products and packaging.

What is the significance of the 10% of plastic that is recycled?

The 10% of plastic that is recycled, such as milk bottles and water bottles, is significant because these types of plastic are easily cleaned and can be combined for recycling, giving them value and contributing to a circular economy.

How much plastic waste enters the ocean annually, and what form does it take?

Approximately 8 million tons of plastic waste enter the ocean annually, breaking down into tiny, almost microscopic bits that are pervasive throughout the world's oceans.

What is the 'thermal kinetic compounding' process mentioned in the script?

The 'thermal kinetic compounding' (TKC) process is a method of recycling plastic by grinding it into bits, heating it, and then molding it into new products. It can use dirty, dissimilar plastics, making it a versatile and potentially cost-effective recycling solution.

How does the TKC process compare to traditional plastic recycling methods?

The TKC process is more versatile than traditional methods as it can use dirty and dissimilar plastics, does not require cleaning, and can incorporate additional fillers like ground-up tires or tumbleweeds, potentially making it more cost-effective and environmentally friendly.

What is the potential economic impact of utilizing the TKC process on a global scale?

Utilizing the TKC process on a global scale could create a new industry worth hundreds of billions of dollars, providing jobs and economic opportunities while reducing plastic waste.

How does the speaker propose to stop the flow of plastic into the oceans profitably?

The speaker suggests creating a sustainable business model that values recycled plastic, making it too expensive to throw away, especially into the oceans. This would incentivize the collection and recycling of plastic waste, turning it into valuable products.

What is the potential of using recycled plastic in construction materials like solar roof tiles and sidewalks?

Recycled plastic has the potential to be used in construction materials like solar roof tiles and sidewalks due to its durability and flexibility. This not only reduces plastic waste but also offers environmental benefits by reducing the need for materials like cement, which has a high carbon footprint.

Outlines

00:00

🌍 The Challenge of Plastic Recycling

The speaker begins by addressing the audience's recycling habits and the significance of the numbers on plastic items. They explain that most plastics do not get recycled due to their low value and the difficulty of cleaning and sorting them. The environmental impact of plastic waste, especially when it ends up in oceans, is highlighted, emphasizing the need for a sustainable business model that could give value to waste plastic and prevent it from entering the oceans. The speaker points out that plastic is deeply ingrained in our lives due to its low cost and utility, but this comes at a cost to the environment. The recycling rate for plastics is dismally low, with only about 10% being recycled, and the speaker calls for innovative solutions to tackle the plastic crisis.

05:03

🌊 The Microscopic Menace of Plastic in Our Oceans

The speaker delves into the microscopic scale of plastic pollution in the oceans, which has entered the food chain and consequently our bodies. They discuss the health implications of plastic, which can mimic hormones even at trace levels. The analogy of cleaning up plastic in the ocean to cleaning smog from the air is used to illustrate the enormity of the task. The speaker confesses to contributing to ocean pollution through their business and shares their experience with recycling and the development of a new process called 'Thermal Kinetic Compounding' (TKC), which can recycle dissimilar and dirty plastics into useful products. The process is described as a potential game-changer for plastic waste management.

10:04

🏭 Revolutionizing Plastic Waste Management with TKC

The speaker outlines the capabilities of the TKC process, which can use a wide variety of plastic waste, including dirty and dissimilar types, to create new products. They discuss the economic advantages of this process, which can produce items more cheaply than traditional manufacturing, especially when factoring in the cost of shipping. The potential for job creation and the reduction of CO2 emissions through the use of this process are also highlighted. The speaker envisions a future where this technology could be applied globally, turning waste into valuable products and significantly reducing plastic pollution.

15:04

🌱 The Vision for a Sustainable Plastic Future

In the final paragraph, the speaker concludes with a call to action, urging the audience to consider the potential of stopping plastic pollution profitably. They suggest that with the right business models and technologies like TKC, we can create a sustainable future where plastic is reused endlessly and does not end up in our oceans. The speaker uses a metaphor of being sent by Saint Peter to solve the plastic crisis, emphasizing the urgency and the potential for humanity to be the solution to the problem it created. The presentation ends on a hopeful note, encouraging the audience to be part of the solution to plastic pollution.

Keywords

💡Recycling

Recycling refers to the process of collecting and processing materials that would otherwise be thrown away as trash and turning them into new products. In the video, the speaker discusses the importance of recycling plastics, particularly the challenge of recycling different types of plastics due to their varying properties and contamination. The script highlights that most plastics do not get recycled and end up in landfills or oceans, emphasizing the need for better recycling practices.

💡Plastic Resin Codes

Plastic Resin Codes are a set of numbers found on the bottom of plastic products, which indicate the type of plastic used in the product. These codes were initially intended to help sort plastics for recycling. However, as the speaker points out, the presence of these codes on plastics does not guarantee that the items will be recycled, as many factors, including contamination and the type of plastic, affect their recyclability.

💡Landfill

A landfill is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial. In the context of the video, the term 'landfill' is used to describe the fate of much of the plastic waste that is not recycled. The speaker emphasizes the environmental impact of landfilling, particularly when plastics end up in oceans, contributing to pollution and harm to marine life.

💡Sustainable Business Model

A sustainable business model is one that is designed to be financially viable, environmentally responsible, and socially beneficial in the long term. The speaker suggests that creating a sustainable business model for recycling plastics could help reduce the flow of plastic into oceans by giving value to what is currently considered waste, thus making it economically viable to recycle and reuse plastics.

💡Virgin Plastic

Virgin plastic refers to new plastic that has not been used before and is typically derived from fossil fuels like natural gas. The video discusses how the low cost of virgin plastic makes it difficult to compete with in terms of recycling, as the cost of collecting, cleaning, and processing used plastic often exceeds the value of the recycled material.

💡Polyethylene

Polyethylene is a common plastic polymer made from the monomer ethylene. It is widely used in the production of plastic bags, containers, and other packaging materials due to its durability and low cost. In the video, polyethylene is mentioned as the primary material used in the production of inexpensive plastics, which are difficult to recycle due to their low value and the contamination they often accumulate.

💡Composting

Composting is the process of decomposing organic waste into humus-like matter, which can be used as a fertilizer for plants. While not directly mentioned in the video, the concept of composting is relevant to the discussion of recycling and waste management. The video highlights the need for innovative solutions to recycle plastics, which could potentially include methods that break down or transform plastics in a way that is more environmentally friendly than traditional composting.

💡Gyre

A gyre, in the context of the video, refers to large systems of rotating ocean currents that can accumulate vast amounts of plastic waste, forming what is commonly known as a 'plastic gyre' or 'garbage patch.' The video describes these gyres as areas where tiny plastic particles accumulate, creating a smog-like effect that is difficult to clean up and has detrimental effects on marine ecosystems.

💡Microplastics

Microplastics are small plastic particles, typically less than 5mm in size, that are created when larger plastic materials break down. They are a significant environmental concern because they can be ingested by marine life and enter the food chain. The video discusses how microplastics are now present in the oceans, having broken down from larger plastic items, and how they can have harmful effects on human health due to their potential to mimic hormones.

💡Thermal Kinetic Compounding (TKC)

Thermal Kinetic Compounding (TKC) is a process mentioned in the video that involves heating and blending different types of plastics, including dirty and dissimilar ones, to create a new material that can be molded into various products. This process is highlighted as a potential solution to the plastic waste problem because it can use low-value, mixed plastics that are typically difficult to recycle, turning them into valuable products.

💡Upcycling

Upcycling is the process of transforming waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or for better environmental value. The video discusses upcycling as a potential solution to the plastic waste problem, suggesting that by creating a demand for recycled plastic materials, we can incentivize the collection and repurposing of plastics, thereby reducing their disposal in landfills and oceans.

Highlights

The majority of plastic does not get recycled and often ends up in landfills or oceans.

Plastic recycling is complicated by the variety of plastic types and the contamination of used plastic.

Plastic is inexpensive due to its production from fossil fuels, making it hard to compete with in recycling.

Only about 10% of plastics are recycled, primarily because they are clean and can be recombined.

8 million tons of plastic end up in the ocean, breaking down into microscopic pieces that enter the food chain.

Plastic pollution is akin to smog, as it consists of tiny particles that are almost microscopic.

Some plastics can disrupt hormones even at parts per trillion, affecting human health.

Preventing plastic from entering the ocean is more effective than cleaning it up after it's there.

The speaker confesses to contributing to ocean plastic pollution through his former kayak business.

A sustainable business model could prevent plastic waste by creating value from unwanted plastic.

The Thermal Kinetic Compounding (TKC) process can recycle dissimilar and dirty plastics into new products.

The TKC process is cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and can utilize a wide range of plastic waste.

The potential exists for a new industry worth hundreds of billions, creating jobs and reducing plastic pollution.

Localized manufacturing using the TKC process could eliminate shipping and associated carbon emissions.

The TKC technology could be used to create a variety of products, from solar roof tiles to sidewalks.

The speaker envisions a future where plastic is continuously recycled, preventing it from entering the oceans.

The audience is encouraged to consider the economic and environmental benefits of stopping plastic pollution.

Transcripts

[Applause]

how many of you recycle your plastic

have you ever noticed those little

numbers on the bottom and wondered what

they're all about and you probably most

people think that those little numbers

will make it so all your plastic gets

recycled well it doesn't and that's what

we're going to talk about tonight most

plastic does not get recycled and it

ends up getting thrown away land filled

and sometimes ends up in our oceans if

we throw plastic into our oceans they

could be unsustainable and that could

lead to an unsustainable planet if we

create a sustainable sustainable

business model that would create a value

for this unwanted junk plastic and that

would stop the flow of plastic into the

oceans because it would be too expensive

what's the problem with plastic anyway

can there anybody remember this anybody

old enough to remember the 60s plastic

seemed like an easy cheap answer to all

of our dreams it was a is almost like a

genie gave us a of a durable inexpensive

plastic that we could throw away but

that wasn't sustainable what if we get

to get that genie right now to get rid

of all the plastic in the ocean and on

earth and you'd say yeah let's do it

that'd be so simple we could just get

rid of it but that mean your phone

wouldn't work the internet wouldn't work

and pretty soon after a few hours a lot

of people would be getting hungry and

they'd be probably begging that dreamy

to give them their plastic back so they

could have something to eat screw the

ocean I want something to eat we are

dependent on plastic a single plastic

bag is about the thickness of a human

hair it only costs a penny and it seals

in

freshness and seals out bacteria and it

greatly increases the shelf-life of our

food plastic is really really cheap

because it's made from fossil fuels

actually polyethylene is mainly made

from natural gas and since it's so cheap

it's really difficult to compete with or

recycle it because the virgin plastic

feedstock is so inexpensive 90% of plant

use plastic is dirty plastic and this

dirty plastic is worthless and usually

too expensive to recycle it would just

cost too much more than it's worth it's

usually full of all kinds of dirt and

grime and if you could get it clean the

the other problem with it is that it's

commingled with millions of other kinds

of thousands of other kinds of plastics

that can't nowadays be combined they

have to be separated out and with

plastics there's so many different kinds

only about 10% of the plastic is

recycled and that's mainly like two

examples are milk bottles milk jugs and

milk jugs and water bottles because

these are two distinct types of plastic

and they're easily cleaned and they can

be combined together so they have value

aluminum cans also have value because

there are all the same stuff they aren't

plastic but they're all the same stuff

and you don't see any aluminum cans

around because it has a value the other

90% of the junk plastic gets thrown away

and that can be a problem 8 million tons

of plastic of this thrown away plastic

in the world finds its way into the

ocean 8 million tons one ton is like a

small car plastic breaks down into very

small tiny

little bits it's almost on a microscopic

level now you can see the different

areas there's concentrations of them of

the of the plastic there but it's

everywhere it's in the Antarctic in the

tropics everywhere and this is really

like a smog because the pieces are so

small most people think of a gyre is

like a Garbage Patch but it's really a a

more like a smog and it's made up of

these tiny little bits and they're much

smaller than the ones you see here

they're on a microscopic level and it's

in the food chain which means it's in

our cells so it's not out in the ocean

it's in our bodies with certain plastics

even parts per trillion can get into our

bodies and have the same effects as

female hormones fun huh

cleaning up this plastic is a bet in our

oceans is about as profitable and

difficult as trying to clean up all the

particles of smog in the air once it's

out LA cleaned up its smog problem by

going after and cutting off the source

of the smog and cars and other polluters

it's a thousand times easier to stop the

flow of plastic or plastic or smog

before it goes into the atmosphere or

the ocean than to deal with it once it's

in the ocean the plastic in the ocean

unlike the smog doesn't get washed out

with the rain first I have a confession

to make

personally I have put millions of pounds

of plastic into the ocean I've been

responsible for that and worse yet it's

been along most of the some of the most

pristine coastlines in the world it was

in the form of sit-on-top kayaks

I started the company ocean kayak and we

used to sell 200 to 300 of these a day

my motto was a billion butts in boats in

clean water and I sold the company about

20 years ago this made a lot of people

really intimate with this watery

environment and they started doing beach

cleanups and about this time plastic was

discovered in large quantities in our

oceans if somebody could possibly break

one of my kayaks I would pay for the

shipping of the pieces back and then I'd

recycle it because it was one type of

plastic that I could do that although

they were really tough they came off on

freeways and and without getting damaged

at all but I found that was really good

for business

Yvon Chouinard said you should protect

people in the into outdoor industry

should protect the outdoors otherwise

they won't have a place to sell their

goods when I started out I really didn't

know what I was doing I guess I had a

little grit because I mean so many

mistakes but I had a lot of help from

friends like Elmer good here and he was

my mentor and he had a plastic that was

really really incredibly tough but it

was unrecyclable so he being heavy

having a little bit of grit himself he

came up with a really elegant solution

he grounded up into bits and then put it

into this Cuisinart or food blender type

machine that made the pieces all hot and

then he put it into an aluminum mold and

molded it and the molded parts out of it

I called this process thermal kinetic

compounding I kind of coined that that

word what Elmer also found out was this

process could use dissimilar plastics so

you could commingle plastics for the end

this was the first time this ever

happened it was it was really amazing

you can see all the little bits of

different stuff in there what really

made this awesome was that he could use

dirty plastic he could pour oil in there

he could have because he didn't want to

clean the past he said let's just start

with a dirty stuff and then that works

so well he put he ground up other types

of trash like ground-up tires and

somebody dared him to put tumbleweeds

into the into the plastic and that

actually improved it made it a little

bit stiffer so it was it was they could

build that they could add up to 50

percent of this stuff in there of this

extra filler and it worked just fine

with no problems this would ruin most

conventional plastic recycling machines

because they'd have to use really really

clean stuff a little bit of sand or

something which is ruin them

the tkc process is like a giant 300

horsepower food blender that uses

friction to kinetically heat up all

these little pieces and in about 10

seconds it whips up a 10-pound blob it's

like a loaf of bread dough and this is a

hot plastic thing it stays warm for

quite a while and then that's put into a

low cost aluminum mold and then that's

put in with a lot of pressure and then

they are stamped out and then in a few

minutes the part comes out and it's a

beautiful part and these parts can be

anywhere from the size of your fist to

4x8 which is a big piece so you can

actually make a house with this stuff

and it can have like a waffle pattern

for strength and that's actually really

big for even there's no there's no

comfort there's very few processes that

will make that even with virgin plastic

today virgin plastic like polyethylene

even in China cost about the feedstock

cost about a dollar a pound well with

this process since the feedstock cost

nothing it almost has negative value

because

cost to throw it away we can make things

cheaper than we can in China and the big

bonus is that there's no shipping and

shipping is a terribly awful it takes a

lot of time and it's a very very dirty

dirty business to be in and this would

create jobs right here in the US or or

anywhere in the world but here's the key

if there's suddenly a demand for this

this feed stock that had negative value

and that could get up to like even 20

cents all of a sudden there would be

that would be like not picking this

stuff up would be like throwing money

away so all the rivers where a lot of a

lot of plastic goes out rivers in

different countries and other places

that would all get cleaned up because it

would have value especially in

developing nations

now I come from Bellingham emergently

from California but I I come from

Bellingham Washington which is about the

exact same size as Santa Cruz a lot of

similarities and this community in

Bellingham both create about a million

pounds of of this dirty dissimilar

plastic and that could turn into

millions of dollars worth of plastic

molded products made right here without

any shipping and the nice thing about it

is that the factory would only cost

about a million dollars or under a

million dollars to put together so it's

a high return on investment now the

other thing about this on a world level

if you put this out to a world level

this could be a hundred billion dollar

industry and the interesting thing about

it is we would probably have more trash

over here than we do in China so if we

actually have more feedstock than they

do over there so it's a perfect thing

for for all our thing somebody actually

said that they it would be possible to

mine someday mined landfills

designs for these upcycle products while

the manufacturer could be local very

localized eliminating shipping the

design could be a crowd-sourced global

endeavor where if somebody wants

something done and made in Australia the

design could come from somewhere like

Switzerland and all the CAD files could

be just shipped via email instead of by

shipping products by ship so you get

exactly what you want in that area and

having great design adds more value and

you get more money for the products

because it does more the tkc technology

is proven safe environmentally friendly

and available but we aren't using it yet

what about making solar roof tiles out

of this stuff it'd be perfect because it

doesn't matter that they don't have to

be completely white lightweight

sidewalks would be an excellent thing

they're already they have made them out

of feed bags its agricultural feed bags

because they have you can get the white

colour but these sidewalks are great

because they don't break when the trees

roots grow under them and what's really

amazing about this is that cement is

really cheap but a ton of cement creates

a ton of co2 now you can just imagine

just in one city block like out in front

of the theatre here

it's that how many tonnes that one city

block of sidewalk would be and that's

how many tons of co2 would produced

making that I have no affiliation with

any of the companies produced in any of

these products but I do know still no

elm are good unfortunately he had a

stroke a few years ago and he can't talk

but it's always been his wish to make

this have the tkc process make the earth

a better place I also have a story about

a guy that died and went to heaven and

when he went he was talking to Saint

Peter up there and

he was telling st. Peter you know it's

this is a terrible thing that's that's

that going on down there there's all

this plastic in the ocean and can't she

didn't haven't you sent somebody down or

can't she send somebody down there to

figure this stuff out and st. Peter says

yeah we did it was you

the genie first gave us the gift of

plastic the second gift could be to

reuse this plastic over and over again

and never throw it into the ocean and

that's the nice thing about tkc process

is that you can re recycle this product

that's what the ocean should look like

re recycle everything over and over

again and the third gift could be to

come up with a solution once we stop the

flow of plastic to get the plastic out

of the oceans face it we keep won't and

can't stop using plastic but if we

create molded products we can make this

junk plastic or something so we can't

afford to throw it away and especially

into our oceans we could create a

sustainable business model which would

result in a sustainable ocean and earth

is anybody interested in stopping the

flow of plastic into our oceans and

doing that profitably thank you very

much

you