Tag: plastic debris

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.

The Ocean Cleanup, based in the Netherlands, has launched a containment boom to be tested in the North Sea. The boom, which is 100 m long, is designed, produced and delivered by DESMI.

Every year 6.4 million tons of plastic are dumped into the ocean. 100,000 marine life die each year from plastic entanglement. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a collection of marine debris in the North Pacific Ocean.

The results of European Cleanup Day 2016 in Greece, which was coordinated by HELMEPA showed that cigarette butts and plastics are at the top of the list of litter items polluting our natural environment.

Eunomia has created an infographic which brings together some of the key findings from its recent research on the sources of marine plastics and includes a new estimate of annual global emissions of primary microplastics.

The founders of Seabin Pty Ltd have developed the "Seabin" a collector of floating waste in the fight against plastic pollution at its source. The Seabin Project aims to fight against water pollution by means of innovative technologies and educational activities for businesses, communities and individuals including the children.

A new report by the World Economic Forum forecasts that there would be more plastic than fish in the oceans by 2050. Entitled "The New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the future of plastics," the report contains statistics about the amount of plastic polluting the ocean.

 Ocean Conservancy recently released a study that notes that five countries - China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand - account for nearly three-fifths of the estimated annual input of plastic into the global ocean, due to these nations' inadequate waste disposal and collection systems.The study concludes that by implementing fundamental waste management systems in the five nations, the amount of plastic entering the global ocean could be cut by 45%. At a glanceAt least 80 percent of ocean plastic comes from land-based sources, but the actual number is probably much higher.Three-fourths of land-sourced ocean plastic comes from uncollected waste or litter, while the remainder comes from gaps in the collection system itself.Low-residual-value plastic waste is more likely to leak than high-value plastic.Collected and uncollected plastic waste enters the ocean from five physical locationsImported end-of-life plastic contributes to the waste stream in China but is not a significant contributor in the Philippines.Treat waste by using gasification or incineration with energy recoveryIn the short term (by 2020), improving collection infrastructure and plugging postcollection gaps reduce annual leakage by nearly 50 percent.In the medium term (by 2025), the development of commercially viable waste treatment can reduce annual leakage by an additional 16 percent, ...