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Each year, up to 13 million metric tons of plastic enter the world's oceans, endangering marine life, threatening food chains, and polluting shorelines. Plastic pollution is a global problem that requires cooperation from a wide range of groups, including governments at all levels.
Duke University researchers analyzed public policies from governments around the world to see how they are trying to slow the flow of plastics in a report funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, "20 Years of Government Responses to the Global Plastic Pollution Problem." The Duke team has compiled the nearly 300 sub-national, national, and international policies analyzed into a searchable inventory available to policy makers and researchers.
The Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions is hosting a pair of webinars via Zoom video conferencing on Wednesday, June 24, at 10–11 a.m. EDT and 9–10 p.m. EDT to discuss the state of government policy responses to plastic pollution and the Duke analysis.
In each webinar, co-lead investigator John Virdin, director of the Nicholas Institute's Ocean and Coastal Policy Program, will present an overview of the report's findings. Winnie Lau, senior officer of The Pew Charitable Trusts' Preventing Ocean Plastics Project, will moderate a panel of experts and a Q&A session with attendees.
