‘’Insights from our data can inform evidence-based
policy decisions that tackle pollution in an efficient and
effective way.’’
Interview with Dr James Doherty, Co-Founder and CEO of Plastic-i, the World’s First Marine Plastic Mapper.
Q1. Who is Dr James Doherty?
I wear many hats but these days describe myself as an entrepreneur. I am running Plastic- i, a company focused on promoting ocean health and creating a stable and just marine environment to be enjoyed by our and future generations. I studied Law at the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford before going to London to practice for a number of years and ended up specializing in property law. Later I studied Physics and Astronomy at the Open University in the UK and went on to do a PhD. My PhD focused on extreme exoplanets that orbit very close to their host stars and have their atmospheres boiled off. This provided me with a profound appreciation of Earth’s beautiful but delicate
environmental balance. I emerged with good skills in machine learning and data analysis, which allowed me to start using these skills for the good of the planet.
Q.2 Why Plastic-i?
The company’s first mission is to address #plasticpollution, which is one the most pressing issues surrounding ocean health and sustainability. To address this global problem, we require data on a global scale and to get this data we use satellites. Satellites take pictures of the entire surface of the earth on a daily basis. This allows us to gain an accurate picture of the problem of plastic pollution on a global scale. By doing this, we aim to track pollution changes, either as it gets worse or how it improves as interventions are made.
Q3. How did Plastic-I begin?
We are a small team and we entered a competition called Hack the Planet. It was an ideas competition which offered a blank canvas to think about ideas of using satellite data and how we can deploy these to address issues facing the ocean. We spent 6 months in a ‘knowledge exchange program’, during which we developed the idea of Plastic-i.
The ‘big vision’ was to generate plastic pollution maps on a global scale and on daily basis, so that we can have a bird’s eye-view of the problem and how it is evolving.
Q4. What is the role of satellite imaging in the fight against plastic pollution?
Satellite imaging has the benefit of being objective. If you are trying to monitor pollution levels, along the coast of Kenya for example, satellite data can cover large areas regularly at much lower cost than using drones or putting vessels in the ocean. Satellite helps with scale, objectivity, and how regularly you monitor a particular area.
Q5. What have you already observed so far?
We have been focusing on a dozen different regions to help us develop the technology. It’s somewhat dependent on where we can get ground-truth data. We need to train our algorithms to be able to recognize floating debris and for that we need images which have been verified by somebody on the ground — essentially saying, yes, this is plastic in this image, so that we can label it as plastic and then teach the algorithm to recognize that. We have identified considerable debris accumulations. For instance, we have identified a 30-kilometer stretch of floating material along the Ghanaian coast.
Q6. There is a lot of solid waste in the environment, ranging from tree logs, metal, and plastic, how are you able to distinguish plastic from other waste?
This is a significant challenge and by no means perfected yet. Step one of what we do is to identify debris accumulations, then study what is within the debris slick. Basically, we can take every pixel of an image and look at its color. Anthropogenic waste, such as plastic, is a different color from natural waste such as driftwood. In theory, each material has its own unique spectrum and we should be able to distinguish between those using the instruments on the satellite. We use indices or metrics that highlight how likely it is that plastic is present in a particular pixel. This gives us a kind of a score that allows us to predict if debris is plastic or natural waste. These methods are still under development but new instruments, such as hyperspectral cameras, will help mature this type of analysis.
Q7. The world needs to see evidence of pollution from all perspectives, have you been able to share you work with UN, especially now that there are negotiations to come up with a plastics treaty?
We haven’t communicated directly with the UN yet, but we are speaking with various organizations involved with #PlasticTreaty negotiations. For reporting, UN member countries will likely be required to produce evidence that they are meeting obligations or making progress towards ending plastic pollution by 2040. Plastic-i is designing bespoke tools for that purpose.
Q8. What are possible solutions to ending plastic pollution?
Various, including turning off the tap to stop pollution getting into the oceans and from leaking into natural environments.
Insights from our data can inform evidence-based
policy decisions that tackle pollution in an efficient and
effective way.
Also, our data can help boost the efficiency of cleanup operations through providing operators with coordinates of debris hotspots. The data we collect also aims to predict future pollution events. These can help address the problem more sustainably.
Q9. What challenges have you encountered so far?
Just like any startup, it has been challenging to source the right talent and raise investment. We must convince investors of the commercial opportunities around solving the plastic pollution crisis.
Find out more about PLASTIC-I https://www.plastic-i.com/
This interview can be republished with permission
