The Status Quo
The status quo lifecycle of plastics and waste assumes infinite resources and infinite disposal. At Debris Free Oceans, we envision a world without waste. A World that has closed the loop to the plastics and waste lifecycle.
A Sustainable Approach
The Debris Free Oceans Team focuses on inspiring every sector of society to practice the 5Rs in order to close the loop to our plastics and waste life cycles. This serves to reduce our overall reliance and desire to consume new goods and closes the plastics and waste lifecycle.
Infinite Resources
The status quo lifecycle of plastics and waste assumes two fictions: infinite resources and infinite disposal.
Produce
Our current approach to plastics and waste management functions linearly. We merely produce something, consume it, and finally discard it.
Consume
We consume without conceptualizing the components of an object nor where it may end up at the end of its life.
Discard
With this linear model, we assume that we have infinite resources and infinite disposal capacity.
Infinite Disposal
With growing populations and increasing plastics and waste, we are realizing these assumptions are false.
Reduce
We must reduce our consumption of disposable and single-use plastics, especially those made of new plastics material.
Reuse
We must reuse our current plastic product as though plastic lasts forever because most of it does.
Recycle
We must recycle that which cannot be reused so that new products are created solely from recycled plastic.
Recollect
We must recollect material from what we already have outstanding in our environment and requires removal rather than pillaging our Earth for new material.
Redesign
We can redesign this recollected material into goods that we need and reuse.
9%
Percentage of plastic actually recycled in America
4.4
Pounds of trash an average American produces daily
50
Million plastic water bottles Americans used last year
700,000
Number of straws Miamians consume daily
