Annually, 350 million tons of plastic waste are generated worldwide. Recent research indicates that 1.7 million tons of this waste ends up in the ocean. The World Economic Forum forecasts that plastic production will double in the next 20 years, which will likely significantly increase the amount of plastic pollution in the ocean.
Some of the plastic that reaches the ocean floats on the surface and is carried by currents, accumulating in huge oceanic gyres. One of them is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, located between Hawaii and California, covering an estimated area three times the size of France. But, how do these plastic waste end up in the ocean?
The crucial role of rivers
The answer is rivers. Rivers are the main source of plastic pollution in the oceans, as they transport plastic waste from land to sea.
The Ocean Cleanup, an organization dedicated to developing technologies to remove plastic from the oceans, has discovered that only 1,000 of the hundreds of thousands of rivers in the world contribute to 80% of the plastic pollution that reaches the ocean.
Innovative solutions to curb Plastic Pollution
Good news: it is beginning to be understood that the best way to reduce plastic pollution in the ocean and prevent the creation of more plastic swirls like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, is to stop the flow of waste from rivers to the ocean.
Several organizations are shifting from focusing on removing plastic waste from the ocean to preventing its arrival. The Ocean Cleanup, for instance, has developed a device called the Interceptor. These are solar-powered vessels operating in polluted rivers collecting trash to transport it to waste management facilities.
There are several models and technologies of Interceptor, but all successfully prevent significant amounts of waste from reaching the ocean. By 2024, Interceptors will be found in rivers in Guatemala, Indonesia, Jamaica, Malaysia, the United States, the Dominican Republic, Vietnam, and Thailand.
In Amsterdam, there is Bubble Barrier, the first technology of its kind that uses a bubble curtain to trap plastic pollution from rivers. Through the bubble curtain, plastic is directed to a waste collection system and then removed for processing.
What can we do to help?
Despite the success of these innovative approaches to reduce the amount of plastic in the ocean, the real solution to the problem is to reduce the amount of plastic waste we produce, which means reducing our dependence on plastic.
It’s easy to reduce the amount of single-use plastic we use. Bring a reusable cup to the café, use a reusable water bottle, use a mesh bag when buying fruits and vegetables at the supermarket instead of a plastic bag.
Talk to your family and friends about what you are doing and why, and encourage them to do the same. Before you know it, they will be generating less plastic waste and contributing to keeping our oceans clean and healthy.
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