Tag: plastic debris

Swedish shipping company Stena Line released its yearly overview for 2017, revealing a 15% decrease in its sulphur emissions, reduced plastic onboard and a decreased number of accidents among the seagoing staff, in line with its sustainability strategy initiated in 2016.

In a bid to reduce ocean plastics pollution, ABP facilities in Hull and Goole are trialing a recycling scheme which turns waste into shampoo bottles. Recycling company TerraCycle in collaboration with Proctor and Gamble will transform the compliant materials into shampoo bottles that will go on sale at a major UK retailer later this year. 

The novel 3-D animation video, produced by motion graphic artist Andreas Tanner and published by National Geographic, provides an insight on all aspects of plastic production, consumption, and breakdown, diving into how our consumption of plastics has affected marine species deaths and increased human health risks.

The short film, published by National Geographic, illustrates dozens of plastic bottles on the seafloor, giving a picture of the magnitude of marine pollution. It is estimated that humans have produced about 6 billion metric tons of plastic waste up to 2015, only 9% of which was recycled. 

A new study published in Science Direct, called "Human footprint in the abyss: 30 year records of deep-sea plastic debris," reports the size of plastic debris pollution in the deep-sea based on the information from a recently developed database. 3425 man-made debris items were counted. More than 33% of the debris was macro-plastic, of which 89% was single-use products, and these ratios increased to 52% and 92%, respectively, in areas deeper than 6000 m.

The UK Government announced plans to ban the sale of plastic straws, drink stirrers and plastic-stemmed cotton buds at the start of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Summit. In order to eliminate these items from use, UK will work with industry to develop alternatives and ensure there is sufficient time to adapt.

The Port of Amsterdam constructs a new facility that will convert non-recyclable plastic into fuel for the transport sector, which will reduce CO2 emission by 57,000 tonnes per year. The plant will be built in collaboration with Port of Amsterdam and is expected to running by the end of this year. The first plant will produce more than 30m litres of fuel per year.

The video, released by Greenpeace UK, attempts to explain shortly how the plastic enters the world's oceans and accumulates in places worldwide, even in uninhabited and remote environments, that lie far away from the human impact. Plastics are the most common form of marine debris.

In October of 2015, Versova beach was a little more of a dumping ground on the west coast of Mumbai. After what the UN called the world's largest beach clean up, this is Versova beach today! 

The Swedish Institute for the Marine Environment and tanker operator Concordia Maritime have initiated a preliminary study to determine the feasibility of gathering information on the volume of micoplastics in the oceans. By installing a collection device on a tanker, water samples can be collected, while the ship is underway, for subsequent analysis.