Today we’d like to introduce you to Marcus Eriksen and Anna Cummins.
Marcus and Anna, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
The five gyres institute began when we realized in 2008 that the world was up in arms about plastic pollution in our oceans, but we knew nothing about the western Pacific, eastern Atlantic, or the entire southern hemisphere. Anna and I saw a huge data gap to fill. We also saw huge public misconceptions about islands of garbage.
There was a need for some myth busting and to do some new science. We have since contacted 20 expeditions around the world. We published the first account of the south pacific garbage patch. Then into thousand 14, we published the first estimate of all plastics of all sizes in all oceans, adding up to 269,000 tons from 5.2 trillion particles. We followed of that publication with the discovery of plastic microbeads in the Great Lakes. Those microbeads are from facial scrubs, and after three years of campaigning with dozens of organizations across the country, in 2015 President Obama signed the Microbead-free Waters act.
Today, we are focused on this same model, doing research to inform solutions. Our eyes now her turned toward foamed polystyrene.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Funding. We learned how to navigate science, policy, public perception, and industry lobbying, with a few dedicated staff. In the beginning, we worked hard with a few people and we accomplished great things.
I forgot to mention the junk raft, our first expedition. Into thousand eight, to bring attention to the issue, we built a boat out of 15,000 plastic bottles and put a junk airplane on top. Check out www.leaplab.org. Look at the book icon at the top of the main page, and you will find out more about the voyage. Basically, it took us 88 days to drift to Hawaii on a heap of trash with no motor, simply writing the gyre current. This stunt went a long way to launch our organization. But it wasn’t until we published our first paper about the South Pacific garbage patch, that other scientist took her seriously.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about 5 Gyres Institute – what should we know?
We are known for doing original science and turning that into solutions-based campaigns. Plastic microbeads are a good example. Now we are working on Styrofoam. In the last few years, we were participants in the large California coalition to ban plastic bags. It happened two years ago, but it took 10 years to get there.
Science to solutions, that’s our motto.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
I began working with Captain travels more, the man that discovered the great Pacific garbage patch. I went on to expeditions with him to Hawaii and back studying trash in the dryer. That gave me everything I needed to know to survey the rest of the world’s oceans.
Anna and I have to thank Ron Ritter, the founder of Pangaea expirations, who believed in us in the beginning and Lent his boat to most of our expeditions.
Lastly, we have learned that it takes past collisions to drive real substantive change that can compete at scale with the problem before us.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected] and [email protected]
- Website: www.5gyres.org
Image Credit:
5 Gyres Institute
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