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Since Hardin (1968) published his seminal piece outlining the difficulties with managing the commons, the oceans have been identified as a common pool resource that are susceptible to degradation and over exploitation. In our modern “plastic era” plastic debris in the marine environment has become as much a “commons” and a “tragedy” as is the ocean itself. It is now estimated that 8,300 metric tons of plastic have been produced by humans since the 1950s and if these rates continue, 12,000 metric tons will be in the natural environment by 2050 (Geyer et al., 2017). Plastics have been found in even the most remote parts of the Arctic and Antarctic oceans and microplastics in particular (particles ≤ 5 mm in size, see Masura et al., 2015) have been identified in every marine habitat (Ivar do Sul and Costa, 2014).

Plastic pollution, and indeed, littering is not a new phenomenon. Plastics have been used since World War II (Joyner and Frew, 1991), with plastic production growing exponentially for an array of polymer types since the 1950s (Andrady and Neal, 2009). However, plastic pollution did not become a concern to the global community until the 1960s. Similarly to other pollutant problems of the time, it has become increasingly recognized as a potential significant detriment to the health of ocean; similarly to how DDT was identified by Rachel Carson in “Silent Spring” (Carson, 2002; Worm, 2015).

Marine litter has been defined by the United Nations Environment as “any persistent, manufactured or processed solid material discarded, disposed of or abandoned in the marine and coastal environment. Marine litter consists of items that have been made or used by people and deliberately discarded into the sea or rivers or on beaches; brought indirectly to the sea with rivers, sewage, storm water or winds; accidentally lost, including material lost at sea in bad weather (fishing gear, cargo); or deliberately left by people on beaches and shores)” (Jeftic et al., 2009).

Litter, much of which is plastic, is found in the marine environment and ranges from large industrial containers to plastic bags, drink containers, cigarette butts, plastic fragments, manufactured plastic pellets (often called nurdles) (see Ogata et al., 2009) and numerous other consumer items. This anthropogenic litter, interacts not only with marine megafauna such as seabirds (Spear et al., 1995; Wilcox et al., 2016, others), turtles (Schuyler et al., 2014 and references therein), marine mammals and fish (Davison and Asch, 2011; Choy and Drazen, 2013; Rochman et al., 2015 and others), but also with bivalves, lugworms, oysters and corals (Hall et al., 2015; Van Cauwenberghe et al., 2015). To date, the demonstrated impacts to wildlife have most frequently been documented and reported at the individual organism and sub-organismal levels (Rochman et al., 2016), with experts viewing entanglement, ingestion and chemical contamination as all having the potential for significant (e.g., lethal or sub-lethal) impacts to marine vertebrate fauna (Wilcox et al., 2016).

Microplastics are a specifically identified subset of marine pollution that is of increasing concern. They result from the breakdown of larger plastics and are also manufactured specifically for use in consumer goods (as microplastic beads). These small particles have high surface to volume ratios and can sorb environmental contaminants. Also, they are accessible to a wide array of marine organisms from the smallest (e.g., plankton) to the largest marine fauna (e.g., whales, fish, seabirds, and so on). Furthermore, as people eat filter-feedings marine delicacies such as shrimp, scallops, mussels and sea cucumbers, the relationship to human health and food security becomes an increasing concern (Ivar do Sul and Costa, 2014).

In addition to impacts on biodiversity, anthropogenic debris or litter has implications for aesthetics and economics, which are tightly intertwined (Hardesty et al., 2017). For example, after a heavy rainfall event which resulted in a significant increase in coastal debris loads in South Korea, revenue losses from tourism were estimated at $29–37M USD (Jang et al., 2014). In coastal California, visitors are reported to travel longer distances to avoid beaches with more waste (Leggett et al., 2014), and in Brazil, a recent survey reports that 85% of beachgoers will avoid beaches with high litter loads (>15 pieces per m²) (Krelling et al., 2017). This is also interesting in light of numerous reports (and anecdotal evidence) that beachgoers themselves can be a contributing source of debris (Santos et al., 2005).

Solutions to managing the tragedy of plastic pollution, as any commons, are multifaceted requiring a mixture of regulation, economic/market and community-based efforts (Feeny et al., 1990; Ostrom et al., 2002; Dietz et al., 2003). They range from local community efforts to global actions (Vince and Hardesty, 2016). Globally, the need to address the plastic problem is increasingly recognized with discussions on marine plastic pollution occurring at international fora such as the World Oceans Summit (2017) and at recent meetings of the top seven and top 20 global economies G7 and G20. Furthermore, a Ministerial Declaration “Toward a Pollution Free Planet” was adopted by consensus by the UN Environment Assembly (2017). While a new legally binding international agreement is urgently needed (Chen, 2015; Vince and Hardesty, 2016; Raubenheimer and McIlgorm, 2017; Worm et al., 2017), it will need to work in context with economic and biodiversity goals.

We discuss solutions to the marine plastic pollution issue, and we describe examples of successes, opportunities and levers for change. These can be achieved in addition to regulatory measures including community's ability to give or withhold social license to operate (SLO) and self-regulatory measures in the private sector (through tools such as corporate or environmental social responsibility policies). We argue that marine plastic pollution is a tragedy of the commons. However, it is a tragedy that can be reversed, and one where communities both local and global can successfully contribute to change.

Governance solutions can also come from communities. Dietz et al. (2003) reported that effective commons governance is achieved when communities communicate effectively. Through communication, communities become involved in strong social networks and increase their social capital. This results in a decrease in monitoring of behavior and increases compliance. They also found that the tragedy of the commons can be overturned not only by regulation and market-based mechanisms but also through adaptive governance strategies (Dietz et al., 2003). Although regulation and market approaches do manage resources successfully, the socio-economic environment contributes to the degree of this success (Feeny et al., 1990). Furthermore, public opinion and good will is a key component to driving change.

Strength to create social change (and SLO) can be found in communities and other non-state actors. For example, there has been a swell in grass root efforts, such as those initiated by the global #breakfreefromplastic movement which was launched in September 2016 (www.breakfreefromplastic.org). Since then, more than 1,000 non-governmental organizations from across the world have joined the movement demanding massive reductions in single-use plastics and to encourage new lasting solutions to plastic pollution. The organizations involved in the movement share the common values of environmental protection and social justice. This in turn helps guide their work at the community level while representing a global, unified vision through the #breakfreefromplastic campaign. Movement members deliver campaigns that help avoid the plastics crisis from worsening. Some of these campaigns include working with local governments to implement zero waste programs, and exposing the role of companies in promoting and perpetuating the use of non-recyclable packaging (Von Hernandez, pers. comm. 4 Dec 2017). Another example is “Plastic Free July” (http://www.plasticfreejuly.org/). Started by a local government organization (Western Metropolitan Regional Council) in Western Australia in 2011, Plastic Free July is a campaign to nudge citizens into changing their consumer behavior in favor of avoiding single-use plastics. Individuals, schools, and organizations pledge to refuse single-use plastic during a single month (or week or day). The focus is on solutions and providing a toolbox in which participants can select appropriate measures for themselves (or their institutions). To date, more than 2 million people have participated in the event, which supports networking, storytelling and collaborative approaches to the challenge of single-use plastics in society (R. Prince-Ruiz, pers. comm., 1 Dec 2017).

There are many situations where communities have the capacity for self-management and it makes administrative and economic sense to include them in decision making in resource management (Feeny et al., 1990). Bye Bye Plastic Bags is one example (see http://www.byebyeplasticbags.org/) of a recent, successful community-based campaign aimed at reducing single use plastics, which has been driven by a change in public perception. This social initiative is driven by youth in Bali, Indonesia. Their community-based campaign aims to reduce single use plastic bags and has become a well-known international movement which focuses on education, joint messaging and youth empowerment. Shared governance between the community and the state, along with self-management (or co-management) “can capitalize on the local knowledge and long-term self-interest of users, while providing for coordination with relevant uses and users over a wide geographic scope at potentially lower transaction (rule-enforcement) cost” (Feeny et al., 1990). Large scale co-management, where communities drive the solution and share responsibilities with regulatory bodies, is one of the many means of combatting the plastic marine pollution problem. Such an approach, similar to the 1987 Montreal Protocol, would be a practical option internationally to help resolve this transboundary problem.

Education is also a key to strengthening community support and understanding of the impact of plastic on the marine environment. Supported by the United Nations, the GPML has sponsored numerous projects aimed to increase understanding of losses and movement of debris in the marine environment. These efforts have aimed to increase educational and public awareness through the development of a Massive Online Open Course (MOOC) on marine debris (https://www.ou.nl/documents/40554/72652/MOOC_Marine_Litter_2017_leaflet.pdf/5d520cb2-b334-488e-826b-e19284916935) and to broaden the community engagement with the topic more generally. Around the world there are hundreds of groups that have engaged with the public and with school children around marine litter. Whilst many organizations focus on an advocacy approach, others use the topic as an educational tool, developing content that addresses curriculum requirements (e.g., www.Teachwild.com.au). NOAA, for example, developed a “Turning the Tide on Trash” program in the United States (see www.marinedebris.noaa.gov for details); The University of California at Davis has developed a marine debris lesson, which includes analysis of debris on university campuses; and the Plastic Pollution Coalition (http://www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org/) has developed curriculum content for grades 7–12 that can be used in educational systems across the world. These organizations and dozens more make their content freely available on line. While there are a growing number of groups providing content and making materials available in different countries, a consistent message is the role and value of community engagement around an environmental issue that is relevant for people of all ages, from primary school children to senior citizens (see van der Velde et al., 2017 and references within).

The traditional form of governance through government and regulation has been unable to solve many of the world's “tragedy of the commons” environmental issues. Regulatory frameworks have often experienced difficulties and challenges with the implementation of sustainable, conservation measures, demonstrating that these regulatory measures alone cannot bring about the required change to effectively stop marine plastic pollution and land-based waste. However, when regulatory and market based incentives are combined, interesting developments can occur in the reduction of plastic use and pollution. A recent analysis highlighted the effectiveness of small incentives in reducing waste mismanagement in Australia and the United States. An incentive of as little as 5–10 cents through container deposit legislation (CDL) or cash for containers was effective in reducing beverage container waste (Schuyler et al., in press). The proportion of beverage containers found in coastal surveys from states with incentives was approximately 40% less than in states without incentives—and was consistent between the two countries (Schuyler et al., in press). Importantly, the reduction in beverage containers was greater in areas with lower socio-economic status, where debris loads are highest, providing strong evidence that incentives are particularly effective where incomes are lower (Schuyler et al., in press). This suggests that putting a price on plastic would likely be effective in terms of material recovery and would reduce loss rates to the environment. We already see this with material such as aluminum, steel and copper, as these materials are valuable and can be sold back into the market.

Market governance solutions are being developed and tested and indeed the economic cost of marine plastic pollution is another factor that needs to be considered as part of this solution (McIlgorm et al., 2011). For instance, there are efforts to clean up the well- known “Pacific Garbage Patch” located in both the East and West parts of the Pacific (Moore et al., 2001; Kaiser, 2010). However, such clean-up efforts are complex and unlikely to yield desired results. They are also addressing the “end of the pipe” rather than where efforts are likely prove successful (Rochman, 2016; Sherman and Van Sebille, 2016). Moreover the gap in international law addressing areas beyond national jurisdiction complicates the mitigation and removal of marine debris from these ABNJ areas. Finding solutions to removing marine debris or taking responsibility for it within the high seas from a governance and practical perspective adds another layer of complexity.

As a result, alternative tools and approaches, including external third party assessment and certification systems, have been developed to address perceived regulatory failure, including economic and community based management. These approaches (see link between the community and market in Figure 1) step outside state-based governance and address market and consumers directly through product certificates and ecolabels (Potts and Haward, 2007). Certification and labeling initiatives encourage industry best practices that influence shareholders and the market (such as sustainability labeling, green labeling, etc.). Moreover, certification and labeling can add another layer of legitimacy for community groups in providing their SLO. The legitimacy of third party certifiers can be removed at any time if the community decides not to accept the standards or organization. Certification schemes can therefore be considered “new markets of governance” through their organizational set up, consultancy services and contractual arrangements (Foley and Hébert, 2013). Although self-regulatory industry measures, policies and standards can also be effective in the plastics pollution issue, the opportunity to use third party certification organization as a regulatory measure has been little explored. Landon-Lane (2018) suggests that a “Plastics Stewardship Council” be enacted, based on the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) model and we believe that this gap in governance will provide a unique and innovative way to address plastic pollution issues and to identify additional solutions to this problem.

Industry can also obtain social license through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) (Gjølberg, 2009). Corporate Social Responsibility is becoming an increasingly important priority for some companies involved in the development, distribution and life cycle of plastics. Although social license and CSR concepts are interrelated and overlap, there are key differences (Parsons and Moffat, 2014). SLO is an intangible, unwritten and impermanent social contract between industry and social groups (Parsons and Moffat, 2014). Through social license, communities and consumers can instigate changes to corporate policies and products (Morrison, 2014). Industry is, however, ultimately in control of its CSR policies and activities. According to Steurer (2013) “new governance and CSR are complementary concepts that both fundamentally reshape the roles of the public and the private sectors in similar directions.” CSR can be driven by community support through social license or government regulation (Vince and Hardesty, 2016). Solutions to plastic pollution can be driven by willing industry and their use their CSR policies to gain consumer confidence and to demonstrate their commitment to social and environmental issues. The Australian Packaging Covenant is but one co-regulatory non-government organization that partners government and industry with a goal of helping its industry-based signatories realize CSR opportunities.

The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel - GEF (2012) has stated that “many companies now see packaging and plastics sustainability as part of broader corporate social responsibility, and negative brand image is becoming a major driving force which is being harnessed in the interests of improving packaging materials and technologies.” This has been evidenced by a global Declaration for Solutions on Marine Litter which was developed and signed by industry plastics associations in 2011. Their aims include to “contribute to solutions by working in private-public partnerships aimed at preventing marine debris” and to promote science-based policies and enforcement of existing legislation. As of May 2016, 65 members from 34 countries have signed this Declaration and supported 260 projects (https://www.marinelittersolutions.com; accessed 4 Dec 2017). Industry is also being encouraged to take responsibility of the full life-cycle of the products they produce through Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). This can be voluntarily driven by CSR policies, or in the case of many European nations EPR legislation has been enacted to reduce use and increase the reuse and recycling of plastics (Tibbetts, 2015; Worm et al., 2017). Changes to market and industry through EPR can result in an increase in Sustainable Development and Consumption production methods and address the SD goal 12—Responsible Consumption and Production (see https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-consumption-production/).

The flow on effect of this in industry decision making is becoming evident. For example, Selfridges and Company, a UK based high end department store, initiated an intense oceans campaign that highlighted the impacts of single-use plastics on marine fauna. As part of their campaign, they no longer offer plastic bags in their stores, they aim to make communities and cities plastic water bottle free, and have a growing “Project Ocean” which targets consumer awareness with respect to micro-bead free products, sustainable seafood practices, and responsible purchasing. Community acceptance and trust offers stronger and higher levels of social license (Thomson and Boutilier, 2011; Parsons and Moffat, 2014), which may be apparent with the public's positive response to Selfridge's recent campaign.

Local communities in South Korea have used SLO to reduce mismanagement of polystyrene buoys (Lee et al., 2015). In this instance, their broader community views were represented in behavior change workshops with government and key stakeholders. A successful collaboration resulted in changes to national governmental policy—a significant SLO change that is particularly relevant when one considers that polystyrene buoys are the most abundant littered item found on Korea coastal beach surveys, and that they can account for 10% or more of marine debris nationwide (Lee et al., 2015).

As most are aware, the media is a powerful, non-state actor that is capable of steering trust and social license (Vince and Haward, 2017). The media has the ability to influence community views and public perception and can affect how industry is scrutinized (Lester, 2016). Consequently, social license through social media has become a useful tool to bring about change (Boutilier et al., 2012). Recent campaigns (2016, 2017) by Greenpeace to target major industry beverage manufacturers are but one example (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7Uxaw6YoRw) of the power of media to shape the conversation.

Industry has called on science to help drive marine litter policy (Vince and Hardesty, 2016), and indeed, there is a growing body of work on plastic pollution that is being used to inform the discussion and to underpin policy decisions at a multitude of levels. The regional, national and sub-national plans of action acknowledge the importance of evidence-based informational at relevant scales (as described above). Increasingly we see the inclusion of scientific experts in discussions on the threat posed by plastic pollution with bodies such as the Convention on Biological Diversity, the International Whaling Commission and the United Nations Environment. Similar conversations are being held at numerous local, state, national and fora in countries around the world.

Documentation of the ubiquity of plastics interactions between fauna and marine debris has exploded in recent years (see review by Gall and Thompson, 2015), with the number of peer-reviewed publications on the topic having quadrupled in the last few years alone (Dauvergne, 2018). Researchers have even identified what commonplace debris items are expected to have the most significant, deleterious impacts on major marine taxa and where major marine taxa are at the most significant risk (Wilcox et al., 2016). Other work has evaluated the effectiveness of various policies on mismanaged waste (Hardesty et al., 2017; Schuyler et al., in press; Willis et al., in press) visitors' response to local litter loads (Leggett et al., 2014) and the economic costs of marine debris pollution due to major weather events (Jang et al., 2014). Scientists have moved beyond providing evidence alone of the interactions between plastic and the environment, with the field having matured to address questions around what we know vs. what is believed (i.e., demonstrated evidence, opinions and public perception) (Rochman et al., 2015; Hardesty and Wilcox, 2017).

In an ideal world, a holistic approach to the governance of plastic pollution, science would underpin policy decision making so that decisions are based upon best available evidence. Policies, whether local, national, regional or global; communities that grant or withhold social license; and industries that ignore or respond through CSR efforts, all have been steered by scientific evidence that identifies and quantifies the extent of plastic pollution and its impacts on biodiversity, economics and society. However, there remains a gap between the way science is interpreted and translated into policy. This challenge is being continually addressed by researchers in the ocean and coastal science and governance space (Nursey-Bray et al., 2014; Rudd, 2015; Vince and Hardesty, 2016).

Currently, one of the emerging scientific questions that has significant potential to shift the conversation, is whether there is an impact on human health from plastics in the environment. This is of particular concern with respect to the potential for chemical contaminants in seafood consumed by humans—and the question points to a difficult-to-resolve knowledge gap. Applying a risk-based approach to the issue and considering the severity and certainty of particular events may prove particularly useful, particularly as we view through the management and impact lenses (see Hardesty and Wilcox, 2017, Figures 3, 4).

Arguably, the conversation about plastics and society is changing. There is an increasing focus on a circular economy approach which focuses on purposeful design to minimize waste, along with repurposing, reusing or recycling products (MacArthur et al., 2016). This is in sharp contrast to the linear economy approach of make, use, discard. A societal shift in the form of a new global social movement advocating awareness of plastic pollution is also emerging (Vince and Stoett, in press). This movement or shift from liner to circular is supported through scientific evidence, educational tools (Hartley et al., in press) and citizen science initiatives that foster a greater understanding of the vast task facing the global community to reduce plastic pollution. The individuals in this social movement are also consumers who by granting or withholding social license can steer policy changes, and more broadly alter societal attitudes and behaviors. The tragedy of the plastic commons is tractable and solvable. It will take a shared public will, effective policies and coordination to work effectively on global, regional, national, local and individual levels. We propose that a new global agreement could prove important in driving change. We also acknowledge that coming to such an agreement will be a difficult and time-consuming process, as there are a multitude of actors, drivers and competing agendas. In the meantime, regional, national and local governance approaches will provide some of the regulatory measures required to reduce plastic losses to the environment. The success of some of these regulatory measures will be reliant upon resources being available to develop and support the essential infrastructure. Industry-based solutions that utilize market/economic based initiatives will also prove useful—if they are environmentally and socially responsible. Profit and CSR policies can be mutually beneficial in driving such change in the market. Presumably, when all of these align, consumers will be supportive.

There is no “silver bullet” or single approach that will effectively resolve this complex environmental and societal challenge. Instead, an ever-changing variety of actions, activities, legislative and cooperative approaches will ultimately help resolve this tragedy of the commons that plastic pollution has become.

All authors listed have made a substantial, direct and intellectual contribution to the work, and approved it for publication.