Marine Plastic Cleanup
Plastic pollution in our ocean waters is a compounding issue that requires ingenuity and significant collective efforts in order to be resolved. Marine plastics harm aquatic species, degrade ecosystems and may negatively impact human health. Years of pollution has literally piled up and action is needed. Fortunately, organizations such as The Ocean Cleanup are stepping up to provide a cleaner future for our oceans.
The Ocean Cleanup: System 002
The Ocean Cleanup was founded as a non-profit organization in 2013 by an 18-year-old Dutch inventor, Boyan Slat, with a mission to reduce 90% of floating ocean plastic by 2040.5 After several years of successful crowd funding campaigns, testing and research, The Ocean Cleanup launched System 001 on September 8, 2018 into the North Pacific Ocean.5 It was the first cleanup system to be launched into the Great Pacific Garbage Patch with the expedition lasting approximately four months.5 As expected, the organization learned a lot from System 001’s first launch and went straight to making improvements on its plastic collection technology which resulted in the creation of System 001/B.5 This new system was successful at capturing plastic debris, but the speed of collection was not quite up to par and was not feasible for meeting their 2040 goal.5 The team was then led to the creation of System 002, also called Jenny.5
On October 20th 2021 , Jenny completed its 12-week trial run through the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and proved itself to be efficient and effective for transition to System 003 which would be the launch of a fleet of systems.5
Watch the video below to learn how System 002 operates as a plastic cleanup machine!
The Ocean Cleanup plans to focus their ocean cleanup efforts on dense garbage patches which mostly consist of larger sized plastics.5 The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, for example, has the largest accumulation at approximately 1.8 trillion pieces of floating plastics.2 Their decision to focus on regions such as these is for good reason.
Plastic Pollutants by Size
Macroplastic & Megaplastics (50-500 mm, >500 mm)5—these consist of larger floating plastics, such as fishing nets, and are the most abundant form of marine debris.1 Poor waste management, littering and extreme weather events can cause these larger plastics to enter the ocean.3
Microplastics (<5 mm)1—these typically originate from macroplastics that have broken down over time due to rain, wind, rough water currents or UV solar radiation.1They also come from products that contain microbeads such as facewashes or toothbrushes.3 Microfibers are another form of microplastics that come from synthetic clothing.3
Nanoplastics (< 100 nm)1—these are so tiny that they cannot be seen with the naked eye or even through an ordinary optical microscope.4 Because of their incredibly small size, nanoplastics can be absorbed through the intestinal wall and accumulate in organ tissues.4
Why does plastic size matter?
Smaller plastics (i.e., microplastics and nanoplastics) are more difficult to clean up than macroplastics or megaplastics.5 Because of their size, it is also harder to estimate just how much is within the ocean, as well as perform research on their potential harm to aquatic species.4 Special technologies that are not easily accessible, such as nuclear and isotopic tools, are needed to reveal how micro and nanoplastics affect aquatic wildlife.4 However, it is conclusive that micro and nanoplastics are accidently consumed by aquatic species resulting in the propagation of tiny plastic particles within aquatic food chains--also known as bioaccumulation.4 The seafood that humans eat are not an exception to this process meaning humans could also be consuming plastics that may be negatively impacting our health!5
Plastics carry various chemical pollutants on their surfaces, and when they breakdown into micro and nanoplastics they pose a toxicological risk to the fish that consume them.6 A recent study published in the journal of Environmental Science & Technology stated that smaller plastics can affect the biological functions of fish, including neurological functions, metabolism and microbiome diversity.6 To fully understand the implications of nano and microplastics on aquatic and mammalian life, more research is needed.6
Because of the unknown risks smaller plastic particles can pose on the health of our environment and human populations, it is important that larger, floating plastics get cleaned up before they breakdown to a point where cleanup is substantially more difficult! Larger plastics can also increase the spread of invasive species and bacteria, potentially degrading ecosystems and negatively impacting environmental and human health.1 Entanglement of wildlife is another risk that larger plastics are responsible for.5
Images are sourced from the International Atomic Energy Agency and The Ocean Cleanup
Current Status
Photo by Magda Ehlers from Pexels
8 million tons of plastic pollute the ocean each year contributing to 80% of all marine debris--floating plastics being the most abundant.1
Photo by Sarah Chai from Pexels
Low-income countries produce less plastic waste per-person than high-income countries, but they tend to have inadequate waste management resulting in a higher risk of environmental plastic pollution.2
Photo by Yogendra Singh from Pexels
Marine plastics originate from approximately 20% ocean-based sources, such as the fishing industry, and 80% land-based sources which includes river systems.2
Plastic Pollution Pathways
Rivers act as major entry points for plastics going into our ocean waters.2 To the right is a chart of the top 20 rivers of 2015 responsible for the transportation of plastic pollution as provided by Our World in Data.
Plastics enter rivers for various reasons:
Poor waste management7
Illegal dumping7
Storm run-off7
Extreme weather events, such as high winds7
The Ocean Cleanup: The Interceptor
The Interceptor is a system that addresses the issue of plastics entering the ocean via river systems. Currently, this system is being used in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Dominican Republic.5 In order for The Interceptor to be utilized in various regions of the world, support from governments and river owners is needed as permits are required for operation.5
Watch the video below to see how The Interceptor operates!
References
Marine plastics. IUCN. (2018, December 5). Retrieved November 7, 2021, from https://www.iucn.org/resources/issues-briefs/marine-plastics.
Ritchie, H., & Roser, M. (2018, September 1). Plastic pollution. Our world in data. Retrieved November 7, 2021, from https://ourworldindata.org/plastic-pollution.
NOAA's National Ocean Service. (2018, September 20). A guide to plastic in the ocean. NOAA's national ocean service. Retrieved November 12, 2021, from https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/hazards/marinedebris/plastics-in-the-ocean.html.
Oreyeva, J. (2020, April 27). New research on the possible effects of micro-and nano-plastics on Marine Animals. IAEA department of nuclear sciences and applications . Retrieved November 12, 2021, from https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/new-research-on-the-possible-effects-of-micro-and-nano-plastics-on-marine-animals.
The Ocean Cleanup. (2021). Oceans. The Ocean Cleanup. Retrieved November 14, 2021, from https://theoceancleanup.com/.
Jacob, H., Besson, M., Swarzenski, P. W., Lecchini, D., & Metian, M. (2020). Effects of virgin micro- and nanoplastics on fish: Trends, meta-analysis, and Perspectives. Environmental Science & Technology, 54(8), 4733–4745. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b05995
Emmerik, T., & Schwarz, A. (2019). Plastic debris in Rivers. WIREs Water, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1002/wat2.1398