The 5 Gyres Institute

5 GYRES MISSION IS TO EMPOWER ACTION AGAINST THE GLOBAL HEALTH CRISIS OF PLASTIC POLLUTION THROUGH SCIENCE, EDUCATION, AND ADVENTURE.

SOLUTIONS BY SECTORSCIENCE HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE CORNERSTONE OF 5 GYRES' WORK, INFORMING OUR SOLUTIONS, STRATEGIES, AND FOCUS. OUR 15 YEARS OF RESEARCH ON OCEAN AND TERRESTRIAL PLASTICS LEADS US TO FOCUS ON UNDERSTANDING SPECIFIC SOURCES, OR SECTORS, THAT GENERATE PLASTIC POLLUTION, TO BETTER DESIGN INTERVENTION STRATEGIES. THE SOLUTIONS FOR EACH OF THESE SECTORS REQUIRE SPECIFIC DESIGNS, POLICY APPROACHES, AND INNOVATION. OUR SCIENCE TEAM IDENTIFIED17 UNIQUE SECTORS AROUND WHICH WE ARE DESIGNING OUR CURRENT AND FUTURE RESEARCH PRIORITIES. ORGANIZATIONALLY, WE CONTINUE TO SHIFT OUR SCIENCE LENS FURTHER UPSTREAM AS WE CONTINUE STUDYING PLASTIC'S IMPACTS WITHIN SECTORS WHERE SCIENTIFIC QUESTIONS REMAIN.RESEARCH:IN 2022 AND INTO 2023, WE ARE CONTINUING TO FOCUS ON BETTER UNDERSTANDING BIOMATERIALS, AS A POTENTIAL ALTERNATIVE TO FOSSIL-FUEL BASED PLASTICS. WE COMPLETED OUR FIELD TESTING OF PHA (POLYHYDROXYALKANOATE), EVALUATING DEGRADATION IN SITU OVER AN 18 MONTH TIMEFRAME, IN BOTH AQUATIC AND TERRESTRIAL ENVIRONMENTS. THESE RESULTS WILL BE SYNTHESIZED IN A REPORT CALLED BETTER ALTERNATIVES 3.0, AND DISTRIBUTED TO KEY STAKEHOLDERS THROUGH A ROBUST MEDIA STRATEGY. WE ALSO COMPLETED FIELD TESTING FOR OUR PLASTIC AIR STUDY, TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE DEGREE TO WHICH COMMERCIAL DRYERS ARE A POINT SOURCE FOR AIRBORNE EMISSIONS OF PLASTIC MICROFIBERS. THESE DATA WILL BE PROVIDED TO POLICYMAKERS, ADVOCACY GROUPS AND PRODUCT DESIGNERS, TO BETTER IDENTIFY POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS. WE PUBLISHED SEVERAL KEY STUDIES IN 2022, AVAILABLE IN THE PUBLICATIONS SECTION OF OUR WEBSITE. THE PRIMARY STUDY WAS OUR UPDATED GLOBAL ESTIMATE OF OCEAN PLASTICS, PUBLISHED IN THE REPUTABLE JOURNAL PLOS ONE AFTER THREE YEARS OF WORK, WITH NUMEROUS CO-AUTHORS. THE PUBLICATION RECEIVED SIGNIFICANT MEDIA ATTENTION, WITH ARTICLES IN MANY POPULAR MEDIA OUTLETS, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO: CNN, CBS, CBC, WIRED, NYT, MSNBC, AND MORE. THUS FAR THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE ESTIMATE OF OCEAN PLASTICS WITH A DATASET OF OVER 10,000 SAMPLING STATIONS, THIS ESTIMATE DOCUMENTS AN ALARMING, RAPIDLY INCREASING TREND.

TRASHBLITZTRASHBLITZ IS A COMMUNITY SCIENCE PLATFORM, DESIGNED TO HELP COMMUNITIES ASSESS THEIR PLASTIC POLLUTION FOOTPRINT THROUGH COLLECTING AND AGGREGATING DATA ON THE MOST COMMON TRASH TYPES AND BRANDS. 5 GYRES DEVELOPED THE TRASHBLITZ PROTOCOL IN RESPONSE TO A GLOBALLY RECOGNIZED NEED TO BETTER STREAMLINE TRASH DATA COLLECTION. THIS PROCESS WAS INFORMED BY 5 GYRES' PARTICIPATION IN THE UNITED NATIONS WORKING GROUP GESAMP, A NETWORK OF SCIENTISTS WORKING TO HARMONIZE DATA COLLECTION METHODS, IN ORDER TO STRENGTHEN THE UTILITY OF DATA TO DRIVE SOLUTIONS. OUR THEORY OF CHANGE WITH TRASHBLITZ LIES IN THE POWER OF LOCALIZED DATA, AGAINST THE LARGER BACKDROP OF GLOBAL DATA SETS: BY PROVIDING LOCAL COMMUNITIES WITH EASY TOOLS TO DOCUMENT SPECIFIC TRASH TYPES, SECTORS, AND BRANDS WITHIN THEIR LOCAL ENVIRONS, THEIR ABILITY TO DRIVE TARGETED SOLUTIONS IS STRENGTHENED.

BREAK FREE FROM PLASTIC GLOBAL BRAND AUDITSOVER THE PAST 5 YEARS, WE HAVE PARTNERED WITH THE BREAK FREE FROM PLASTIC (BFFP) COALITION, A GLOBAL NETWORK OF OVER 2,000 NGOS WORKING TOGETHER TO ADDRESS PLASTIC POLLUTION. BFFP'S GLOBAL BRAND AUDITS USE THE TRASHBLITZ DATA COLLECTION PLATFORM TO HELP IDENTIFY THE TOP CORPORATE POLLUTERS GLOBALLY. THIS COMMUNITY SCIENCE DATA PUTS PRESSURE ON BIG CORPORATIONS, INCLUDING BRANDS LIKE COCA-COLA WHO HAVE EXPRESSED A COMMITMENT TO REDUCE THEIR PLASTIC FOOTPRINT AND REPLACE VIRGIN PLASTIC WITH POST-CONSUMER (RECYCLED) MATERIAL. PFNPIN 2022, WE PILOTED A NEW, NATION-WIDE TRASHBLITZ PROJECT TO TRACK PLASTIC POLLUTION TRENDS IN NATIONAL PARKS. MORE THAN 14,000 PIECES OF TRASH WERE CATALOGED ACROSS 44 SITES - THE MAJORITY (81%) BEING PLASTIC. RESULTS FROM THIS PROJECT AND FUTURE, ANNUAL ITERATIONS OF THE CAMPAIGN WILL BE USED TO SUPPORT LEGISLATION TO KEEP SINGLE?USE PLASTIC OUT OF OUR PROTECTED SPACES, WITH THE FULL REPORT AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE. KEEPING AUSTIN PLASTIC-FREEIN 2021 AND 2022, 5 GYRES PARTNERED WITH LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS IN AUSTIN, TX TO PRODUCE A TRASHBLITZ REPORT THAT IDENTIFIED SINGLE-USE PLASTIC FOODWARE AS A MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR TO AUSTIN'S WASTE FOOTPRINT. HERE WE PILOTED A NEW TACTIC - SUPPORTING LOCAL COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS WITH BOTH TECHNICAL EXPERTISE AND SMALL GRANTS. THIS TACTIC PROVED SUCCESSFUL, ONE THAT WE PLAN TO CONTINUE BUILDING UPON. AS A DIRECT RESULT, 5 GYRES COMMITTED TO THE PURSUIT OF WASTE REDUCTION LOCALLY WITH COMMUNITY LEADERS, BUSINESSES, MUNICIPAL STAFF, AND NGO PARTNERS. THIS CULMINATED IN THE CREATION OF THE AUSTIN REUSE COALITION, WHICH IS CURRENTLY SUPPORTING RESTAURANTS TO REDUCE THEIR PLASTIC FOOTPRINT AND TRANSITION TO REUSABLES THIS SUMMER. CONSIDERING THAT TEXAS IS A PRE-EMPTION STATE, MEANING THERE ARE BANS AGAINST BANS ON PLASTIC BAGS, UTENSILS, ETC, AUSTIN COALITION LEADERS ARE SEEING SUCCESS THROUGH BEHAVIOR CHANGE, RATHER THAN RELYING ON POLICY MEASURES TO ENFORCE REGULATION.

EDUCATION & COMMUNITY5 GYRES USES EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY?BASED SCIENCE TO DRIVE AND INFORM LOCAL, SCALABLE REUSE MODELS. BY ENGAGING KEY STAKEHOLDERS IN IDENTIFYING THE SOURCES AND POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS OF PROBLEMATIC PLASTICS IN THEIR OWN COMMUNITIES, WE CAN WORK TOGETHER TO DRIVE MORE EQUITABLE SOLUTIONS. THE FOLLOWING OUTLINES OUR COMMUNITY BASED INITIATIVES IN 2022. EDUCATION OUTREACH1. FILMED AND PRODUCED A 'SECTOR FOCUSED' TRASH ACADEMY SEASON 2, INCLUDING 26 NEW EPISODES IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH, AND ECTOR?BASED VIDEOS ABOUT TEXTILES, TIRES, AND AGRICULTURE. 2. PARTICIPATED IN THE CITY OF STEM PROGRAM THROUGH LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT. WITH 180 STUDENTS SERVED AND 16 LIVE STEM LESSONS TAUGHT, 5 GYRES HELPED FILL THE GAP OF STEM CURRICULUM DURING THE PAST FEW YEARS OF THE PANDEMIC.3. LAUNCHED THE RESTAURANT ASSISTANCE MICROGRANT PROGRAM WITH ESPERANZA COMMUNITY HOUSING TO SUPPORT SMALL RESTAURANTS TRANSITIONING FROM SINGLE?USE PLASTIC TO REUSABLE ALTERNATIVES. ADVOCACYLOCAL:5 GYRES HAS PLAYED A KEY ROLE IN SPEARHEADING LOCAL LEGISLATION IN LOS ANGELES, THROUGH HELPING TO FUNDRAISE AND PROVIDE LEADERSHIP TOWARDS THE CREATION OF REUSABLE LA (RULA), A COALITION MADE UP OF MANY STAKEHOLDERS WORKING COLLABORATIVELY TO DRIVE POLICY CHANGE. BUILDING OFF OF LAST YEAR'S MOMENTUM IN PASSING KEY LEGISLATION TO REDUCE SINGLE USE PLASTICS FROM FOOD DELIVERY PLATFORMS, THE REUSABLE LA COALITION SPEARHEADED TWO CAMPAIGNS THAT HAD A SIGNIFICANT PLASTIC REDUCTION IMPACT IN LOS ANGELES. LOS ANGELES COUNTY PASSED AN ORDINANCE REQUIRING SINGLE?USE FOODWARE TO BE COMPOSTABLE OR RECYCLABLE, BANS EXPANDED POLYSTYRENE (EPS) PRODUCTS, AND REQUIRES REUSABLES AT EATERIES, WHILE LOS ANGELES CITY PASSED THREE ORDINANCES BANNING EPS PRODUCTS, PROHIBITING ALL SINGLE?USE PLASTIC BAGS, AND REQUIRING ZERO?WASTE PLANS FOR ALL LA CITY FACILITIES AND EVENTS. STATE:THE PLASTIC POLLUTION REDUCTION & RECYCLING ACT (SB 54) WAS SIGNED INTO LAW, AIMING TO "TURN OFF THE TAP" ON SINGLE-USE PLASTICS IN CALIFORNIA. WE PLAYED A ROLE IN KEY STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS TO SHARE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND STAY TRUE TO OUR HONEST BROKER MISSION.FEDERAL:WE JOINED ADVOCATES FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY ON CAPITOL HILL TO LOBBY FOR THE #BREAKFREEFROMPLASTIC POLLUTION ACT. AS PART OF THE PLASTIC FREE PARKS WORKING GROUP, WE ARE ALSO LOBBYING THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR TO REDUCE THE 10-YEAR TIMELINE FOR PHASING OUT THE SALE AND CONSUMPTION OF SINGLE-USE PLASTICS IN NATIONAL PARKS AND FEDERAL LANDS.