Pacific Ocean trash, which is an expanse of plastic known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, covers some 620,000 square miles, nearly twice the size of Texas. In this regard, a team has committed to clean up the more than 100,000 tons of waste, with the goal of collecting the same amount of garbage as a soccer field every five seconds.
Funding for The Ocean Cleanup
Since 2019, The Ocean Cleanup has been collecting plastics found floating in rivers for recycling. Now, thanks to $15 million in funding from the Helmsley Charitable Trust, awarded as part of World Ocean Day tomorrow, the organization will move forward with its ambitious $189 million project that aims to eliminate 15 million pounds of plastic.
Eliminating plastics now is crucial to avoid an “ecological time bomb” by stopping them from degrading into microplastics according to Matthias Egger, head of environmental and social affairs at Ocean Cleanup, who spoke to CBS News.
Marine life that ingests plastics can be consumed by larger predators and eventually by humans, which means that these microplastics end up in the human food chain. Today, microplastics are present everywhere, from human lungs to breast milk.
Technology used in the collection of plastics
Walter Panzirer, trustee of the Helmsley Charitable Trust, expressed concern about the amount of plastics in the ocean. plastics in the ocean and the health risks their decomposition poses. Panzirer stressed the importance of addressing this issue due to the adverse effects of microplastics on the human body, as several scientific studies have shown.
With the new funding, the latest version of The Ocean Cleanup’s cleanup system involves a ship that takes about five days to reach the world’s largest plastic accumulation zone. This boat drags a barrier nearly a mile and a half long to collect the plastic, guided by AI monitoring and underwater cameras that ensure the release of trapped marine life.
Egger, who has visited the area twice, describes the experience as “mind-blowing”. He points out that, in the middle of a beautiful open ocean, it is common to find objects such as toothbrushes and toys floating, highlighting the extent of human-caused pollution.
Ocean trash impacts marine life and human health
The term “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” was coined by oceanographer Charles J. Moore in 1997 and it is now known that approximately 85% of marine debris is plastic.
Panzirer emphasizes that plastic trash stays in the ocean and enters our food system. He stresses the importance of working collectively to eliminate it, as health problems affect the entire world, not just the United States.
Plastic pollution also seriously affects marine life. Animals mistake plastics for food, which can cause malnutrition. Sea turtles, for example, can have up to 74% of their diet composed of plastics.
Discarded fishing nets, or ghost nets, account for 46% of the mass of the garbage patch and are lethal to marine wildlife. In addition to impacts on health and marine life, plastic pollution also carries significant economic costs, estimated at $13 billion per year.
Education and reduction of plastic waste
With the new funding, The Ocean Cleanup expects to use a more efficient cleaning system and expand it. Egger mentions that cleaning up the entire slick would cost billions of dollars.
The United Nations is currently in negotiations for a global plastics treaty that aims to be legally binding and address plastic pollution by the end of this year.
In addition to the ocean cleanup, the funding will also enable The Ocean Cleanup implement educational programs in coastal communities to encourage sustainable practices and reduce plastic waste generation at its source.
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Source: cbsnews
Photo: Shutterstock
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