Each one of us could make a (very) rough estimate of the single-use plastics we employ each year. Due to a kind of Dunning-Kruger effect, it may happen that those who consume more are convinced that they produce less. Those who consume less will probably be convinced that they are not doing enough to protect the planet.
In all likelihood, if you are reading this, you probably belong to the second group and you are already aware of your long-term effect on the Earth’s future. You already want to make a change.
Plastic Free Certification, assists organisations and companies to protect the environment, by helping them get rid of one of the greatest threats to our planet: single-use plastics.
Read on to find out why and how.
Turn the blind eye is no longer an option
Since the 1950s, it is estimated that more than 8.3 billion tons of plastic have been produced. Over the past 20 years, plastic production has increased to 400 million tonnes per year. Unfortunately, 40% of this production consists of disposable plastic: we are talking about products that will be only use once before throwing them away – and most likely they will not be recycled properly and will end up dispersed in the environment. Almost 90% of the waste accumulated on the coast, on the surface and on the seabed is plastic.
To give you an idea of the amount of plastic that is polluting our Ocean, imagine the following: a truck full of garbage that dumps tons and tons of plastic into the sea every minute, for a total of eight million tons per year.
This means that by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in our seas, according to Ellen Macarthur Foundation.
The Socratic paradox: “I only know that I know nothing”
The plastic disaster in our seas is already known by citizens around the world. If you dive, you will surely be able to exchange many anecdotes about Ocean plastic objects found during your diving sessions.
But many of those who know (divers or not), pretend they don’t. As if ignoring the problem would make it go away.
The tool to help organisations do their part
Plastic Free Certification would like to allow everyone to be aware of their impact on the future of our planet. For this reason, in order to increase the awareness of its members and those who wish to be certified, PFC drew up an innovative certification standard to accompany organisations in the process of reducing/eliminating single-use plastics from their activities.
The certification process is based on four steps:
1) Plastic Assessment
2) Key Performance Indicators
3) Plastic Reduction plan
4) Plan Deployment
The path to reach the highest level of the PFC certification can be steep. For that reason, Plastic Free Certification also takes on the task of accompanying you during the process, in search of a cleaner world. Just like a diving instructor would do with his students during an “open water” course.
How does Plastic Free Certification plans to accompany you without a patent? With targeted advice and training programs. Single-use plastics are so widespread that although they are everywhere around us, we are often unaware of their presence. And when we realize it we think that there are no alternatives left. Thanks to constant research Plastic Free Certification would like to suggest possible alternatives, reusable or with a lower environmental impact. Each positive experience is recorded as good practice and can help other realities to improve.
The goal to achieve
After the audits, the objective is to obtain an A-grade Certification. It is a bit like obtaining a diving instructor’s licence: you need constant attention and good practices to unlock this achievement.
If we change the terms for comparison, we could think of Plastic Free Certification as a video game: they challenge you to reach the pro level. To be completely honest, we would like you to amaze us and exceed all expectations.
The challenge is to get this badge:
For more information on how to do it, visit www.plasticfreecertification.org