Tag: plastic debris

UN Environment has launched an unprecedented global campaign in order to eliminate major sources of marine litter: microplastics in cosmetics and the excessive, wasteful usage of single-use plastic by the year 2022.

A study conducted by researchers at the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, reveals that the Arctic has a serious litter problem: in just ten years, the concentration of marine litter at a deep-sea station in the Arctic Ocean has risen 20-fold.

Wärtsilä has announced that it signed an agreement with the Seabin Project in order to join a global pilot programme, which addresses the worldwide littering problem affecting our oceans.The project aims at approaching the challenge from multiple angles with a key emphasis on education, research and technology.

Microplastics have been found in a variety of commercial fish and shellfish, including samples purchased from retail outlets, according to a new study, published by the Joint Group of Experts on the GESAMP.

The Convention on Biological Diversity has published report highlighting that the number of marine species affected by marine debris has risen to 817 when effects such as ingestion, entanglement, ghost fishing, dispersal by rafting and provision of new habitat are all considered.

The governing bodies of the London Convention and Protocol, at their joint session held at the IMO Headquarters in London expressed concern around the issue of litter and plastics in the marine environment.

It is said that by 2050 there could be more plastics in the ocean than fish, if human habits don’t change. The India Clean Seas Conference took place in Goa, India during 22-24 September, with the aim to discuss what needs to be done to keep the oceans clean.

A recent report predicts that by 2050, there’ll be more plastic in the ocean than fish. One result is so-called ocean “garbage patches” like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which scientists have estimated to be about twice the size of Texas. Grace Hanley, OECD, suggests to start using plastic more responsibly.

Based on the oceanic circulation modelling work conducted in the Pacific, the IRD and CNRS researchers have recently shown that there are exit currents for these areas of the sea where these piles of waste build up. This means that they are not caught in a never-ending whirlpool in the middle of the ocean, as had been previously thought.