Oceans to treasure and not to trash!

That’s the theme of two big events coming up. One in Japan and one in America. On June 24, the Plasticity Forum will be coming to New York City to share the wealth of knowledge from the leading edge of those who are facilitating a world where plastic is used, but without the footprint. Ocean Recovery’s Doug Woodring provides us with a preview.  Meanwhile in the city of Munakata, on the island of Kyushu, the Eco-100 International forum on 30 May to 2 June explores “Oceans of the Future”, co-hosted by UBrainTV. Read More

The city of MUNAKATA in Kyushu, Japan, hub of international exchange since ancient times, will play host to the first annual MUNAKATA Eco-100 International Forum in the spring of 2014, focusing on themes of environmental conservation and the education of the next generation.

Throughout history, humans have by turns given thanks for the gifts of nature and lived in awe of its power.

The Japanese are no exception, and have revered nature since time immemorial. This forum will discuss what kind of shift in values is required if we are to solve the environmental problems caused by the damage done to nature in recent times.

The forum will bring together environmental leaders from around the world including academics from the natural sciences, social sciences and humanities, representatives of international organisations, businesses, financial institutions and national and local governments, activists, and cultural figures. Participants will discuss possible solutions to some of the problems facing the global environment, coming up with practical suggestions that can be shared globally.

At the same time, university students, including international students, will be invited to Munakata with the aim of increasing their environmental knowledge and awareness, and nurturing the global citizens of tomorrow.

The First MUNAKATA Eco-100 International Forum

Theme: “Oceans of the Future”

May 30th ~ June 2nd, 2014 (4 days)

Sub-themes

1. Giving the ocean back its power to nurture life

Clean up the oceans, protect the earth

2. Reverence for nature

How ancient spiritual and moral worldviews can help solve contemporary environmental problems

3. Oceans of cultural exchange

Aiming to promote international exchange and nurture a new generation of global citizens

4. Oceans of new ideas

Aiming for new developments through international, cross-sector interaction

Outline

The prioritisation of economic growth in recent times has led to marked environmental degradation. Not least is the damage humans have done to the planet’s life-supporting oceans by polluting them with waste, chemicals etc.

The 2014 MUNAKATA Eco-100 International Forum will focus on the theme of “Oceans of the Future”, seeking to come up with ways of cleaning up the oceans.

1. Marine pollution survey

Survey and report on pollution levels in the sea around Munakata with the support of international research institutes, Fukuoka Prefecture and Munakata City.

2. Proposing concrete strategies to clean up the ocean

Eminent academics, activists and corporate representatives from inside and outside Japan will discuss ways of cleaning up the sea around Munakata, with the aim of replicating these methods across polluted oceans world-wide.

3. Spreading the word

Discuss what is needed in order to clean up the oceans and protect the environment, and share the process globally.

4. Nurturing the next generation

Nurture a new generation of leaders capable of participating in environmental activities on an international level.

Organiser: MUNAKATA Eco-100 International Forum Executive Committee

Co-hosts: Munakata City, Munakata City Board of Education, UBrainTV JAPAN Co., Ltd.

Source: www.ubraintv.com and www.herenow4u.net/index.php?id=98745

PLASTICITY NYC 2014

DOUG WOODRING – FOUNDER, PLASTICITY FORUM

Published on 25 April 2014

Plasticity NYC 2014

On June 24th, the Plasticity Forum will be coming to NYC to share the wealth of knowledge from the leading edge of those who are facilitating a world where plastic is used, but without the footprint. What does this mean? It means all of the benefits of light-weighting, durability, flexibility, and color, without the hangover. The hangover comes in the form of plastic pollution, which no one enjoys, and where some get seriously penalized from having it, but which has not seemed to yet inspire the world audience to create ground breaking innovations that can harness the resource value that this material has, in a long term, circulatory fashion. And fashion is just where some of this material is going for its second or third life, instead of the circulatory currents that many now know exist in our major oceans, dispersing the artifacts of our waste creation to the places we flock to for “escape” and revival.

First launched at the Rio+20 Earth Summit, and subsequently held in Hong Kong, the Plasticity Forum is a cross section of thinkers, solution providers, brands, users and those who appreciate scale, to expedite the solutions and innovations that exist today to keep plastic from becoming a problem for our society. This problem, however, can be a huge opportunity, if that “scale” can come into play. Plasticity brings together the leaders in innovation, design, packaging, materials, recycling, and solutions, all of which are needed in a resource constrained world. Those who are at the front of this discussion, will win, with consumers, clients, and host governments. The latter is important, because waste is a sidelined discussion with often does not get much attention, but which increasingly burdens our societies, economies, and ecosystem. Tapping into this resource offers a world of opportunities.

The World Bank estimates that due to population growth, the world’s municipal solid waste (MSW) footprint could double by 2025. By 2050, it could triple to 6bn tons/year. However, there are few cities and countries which will be able to handle a doubling of MSW by 2025. To put this into perspective, today’s global waste footprint of MSW would cover the same land mass of California or Japan, at 10 meters (32 ft) deep. Wow. If it triples, that would be the same as covering all of New Zealand, California and Spain in 32 ft deep of trash per year. Almost all of this has value, but it is simply not being tapped.

Plastic is light weight, and lasts a long time, but its content and configuration are often not standardized across products or industries, creating gap in scale-optimization in term of encouraging re-circulation within products. Those who can resolve these issues within their production and recovery operations, with their consumers, and with their recipient nations, will open long-term business opportunities that fit within the needs of a globally alert, resource constrained environment of commerce and societal gain. The Plasticity Forum helps drive and inspire this discussion, to scale, where it is needed.

PLASTICITY FORUM ANNOUNCES CONFERENCE IN NEW YORK

Innovations and Scalable Solutions for Plastic – Creating a World Without the Plastic Footprint

On the 24th of June, 2014, the 3rd annual Plasticity Forum will be hosted in New York City.  Following on from the success of the previous forums in Rio 2012 and Hong Kong 2013, this year’s forum will concentrate on “Innovation and Collaboration in a Material World”.  A showcase of ideas in motion, Plasticity will include the latest developments in waste as a resource,  scalable innovations in plastic that save money, use of new materials, designing for sustainability and solutions for a world where plastic is used, but without the footprint. 

Each year, Plasticity gathers together leading experts in the field include innovators, entrepreneurs, industry leaders, brand managers, educators, think tanks, government agencies, designers, angel investors and service industries to share their learnings, experience and future strategies. This year’s forum is proud to announce that Mr. Ron Gonen, Deputy Commissioner of Sanitation, Recycling & Sustainability for New York City & Founder of Recyclebank, will be one of the keynote speakers talking about the challenges and opportunities for cities and engaged recycling programs. Other speakers include:

•             Mike Biddle, Founder and Director – MBA Polymers, Winner of the Gothenburg Sustainability Prize in 2012 – “How to Scale, Sort and Drive Value”

•             Steve Davies, Director, Marketing/Public Affairs, Nature Works “Plastics – Rethinking Where They’re From, What They Do, and Where They Go”

•             Robert McKay, Senior Business Manager, Global Sustainability – SABIC Innovative Plastics “Design and Sustainability for Scale in a Changing World”

•             Steve Russell, Vice President, Plastics Division, American Chemistry Council “Too Valuable to Waste: Rethinking Used Plastics”

•             Richard Mattison, CEO, Trucost, “Valuing Plastic – The Business Case for Measuring, Managing and Reporting”

•             Elizabeth Balkan, Manager Solid Waste Policy and Sustainable Procurement, City of New York, “How Cities are Changing, and Where Companies can Play a Role”

•             Steven Clambaneva, Director and Design Business Consultant, Design Studio, “Design and Sustainability for Scale in a Changing World”

•             Sam Harrington, Product Design Manager, Ecovative Design, “A Kingdom of Possibilities – and a Growth Market you Won’t Believe”

•             Gary Bencheghib, Film Student and Ocean Ambassador, “Leadership from our Youth”

 According to Doug Woodring, Founder of Plasticity, “Plastic doesn’t need to be a problem. There are solutions out there that can keep it from becoming waste, but we are not focusing on them in a scalable manner. The aim of Plasticity is to show who’s already doing it, how you can do it, and how you can make it commercial.”

The Plasticity Forum was originally launched at the Rio+20 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, as a platform to elevate the issues and discussion at large multi-lateral environmental events about plastic pollution.  The event was since hosted in Hong Kong, and will be held this year in New York City.  This one day business event is about the future of plastic and where the leaders are going with innovation, design, materials, recycling, and solutions, so that plastic does not become a waste product an impact our communities and environment.  Some estimates, including from the World Bank, estimate that the world’s municipal solid waste generation could double by 2025.  Few countries or cities are capable of handling this waste stream, of which plastic makes up an increasing percentage, due to the fact that recycling infrastructure in most countries cannot keep pace with the wide variety of materials and products.  

The Plasticity Forum is a cross section of thinkers, solution providers, brands, users and those who appreciate scale, to expedite the solutions and innovations that exist today to keep plastic from becoming a problem for our society. This problem, however, can be also be a large opportunity, if “scale” can come into play.  In a resource constrained world, those who are at the front of this discussion will win, with consumers, clients, and host governments.  Plasticity offers a global discussion and perspective on solutions, how to standardize across products or industries, and how to bring about new opportunities in production and recovery operations.

Source: www.plasticityforum.com