Tom Ford and 52HZ Launch a $1.2 Million Prize for Biodegradable Poly Bag Replacement
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Tom Ford and 52HZ Launch a $1.2 Million Prize for Biodegradable Poly Bag Replacement AOC Sustainability
Everywhere we look, humans exist in a metaphorical sea of plastic. While that plastic comes in many forms, designer Tom Ford’s focus is “thin-film” and the estimated 300 billion polybags and single-use, resealable sandwich and storage bags (SRPBs) used every year.
If you believe that your plastic bags are recylced - because you dump them in the recycle bin — reality is that they probably are not recycled. All of those plastic bags end up in landfills or on the ground and in our oceans. Reality is sobering — so sobering that Tom Ford has launched the Plastic Innovation Prize in partnership with 52HZ.
The Deadly Statistics Around Plastic in our Oceans
Plastic films make up 5 million metric tons of ocean leakage, or a full 46% of all ocean plastic leakage.
It is estimated that there are 14 million metric tons of plastic on the ocean floor today that will be nearly impossible to extract.
11 million metric tons of new plastic enters the ocean every year. That number is expected to almost triple to 29 million metric tons by 2040 — the equivalent of 241 Washington Monuments.,
Plastic in the ocean will only continue to endanger countless species and ecosystems already affected by increased warming, acidification, and other stressors.
Read more about Tom Ford’s challenge to innovators who can solve the biodegradable thin film plastic problem. Read on in Sustainability.
