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Marine debris, also known as marine litter, is human-created solid material that has deliberately or accidentally been released in seas or the ocean. Floating oceanic debris tends to accumulate at the center of gyres and on coastlines, frequently washing aground, when it is known as beach litter or tidewrack. Deliberate disposal of wastes at sea is called ocean dumping. Naturally occurring debris, such as driftwood and drift seeds, are also present. With the increasing use of plastic, human influence has become an issue as many types of (petrochemical) plastics do not biodegrade quickly, as would natural or organic materials. The largest single type of plastic pollution (~10%) and majority of large plastic in the oceans is discarded and lost nets from the fishing industry. Waterborne plastic poses a serious threat to fish, seabirds, marine reptiles, and marine mammals, as well as to boats and coasts.
The Great Pacific garbage patch is a garbage patch, a gyre of marine debris particles, in the central North Pacific Ocean. It is located roughly from 135°W to 155°W and 35°N to 42°N. The collection of plastic and floating trash originates from the Pacific Rim, including countries in Asia, North America, and South America.
Ocean Conservancy is a nonprofit environmental advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., United States. The organization seeks to promote healthy and diverse ocean ecosystems, prevent marine pollution, climate change and advocates against practices that threaten oceanic and human life.
Plastic pellet pollution is a type of marine debris originating from the plastic particles that are universally used to manufacture large-scale plastics. In the context of plastic pollution, these pre-production plastic pellets are commonly known as 'nurdles'. These microplastics are created separately from the user plastics they are melted down to form, and pellet loss can occur during both the manufacturing and transport stages. When released into the open environment, they create persistent pollution both in the oceans and on beaches. About 230,000 tonnes of nurdles are thought to be deposited in the oceans each year, where they are often mistaken for food by seabirds, fish and other wildlife. Due to their small size, they are notoriously difficult to clear up from beaches and elsewhere.
A garbage patch is a gyre of marine debris particles caused by the effects of ocean currents and increasing plastic pollution by human populations. These human-caused collections of plastic and other debris are responsible for ecosystem and environmental problems that affect marine life, contaminate oceans with toxic chemicals, and contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. Once waterborne, marine debris becomes mobile. Flotsam can be blown by the wind, or follow the flow of ocean currents, often ending up in the middle of oceanic gyres where currents are weakest.
Marine plastic pollution is a type of marine pollution by plastics, ranging in size from large original material such as bottles and bags, down to microplastics formed from the fragmentation of plastic material. Marine debris is mainly discarded human rubbish which floats on, or is suspended in the ocean. Eighty percent of marine debris is plastic. Microplastics and nanoplastics result from the breakdown or photodegradation of plastic waste in surface waters, rivers or oceans. Recently, scientists have uncovered nanoplastics in heavy snow, more specifically about 3,000 tons that cover Switzerland yearly.
Charles J. Moore is an oceanographer and boat captain known for articles that recently brought attention to the 'Great Pacific Garbage Patch', an area of the Pacific Ocean strewn with floating plastic debris caught in a gyre.
The North Atlantic garbage patch is a garbage patch of man-made marine debris found floating within the North Atlantic Gyre, originally documented in 1972. A 22-year research study conducted by the Sea Education Association estimates the patch to be hundreds of kilometers across, with a density of more than 200,000 pieces of debris per square kilometer. The garbage originates from human-created waste traveling from rivers into the ocean and mainly consists of microplastics. The garbage patch is a large risk to wildlife through plastic consumption and entanglement.
Microplastics are fragments of any type of plastic less than 5 mm (0.20 in) in length, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the European Chemicals Agency. They cause pollution by entering natural ecosystems from a variety of sources, including cosmetics, clothing, food packaging, and industrial processes. The term microplastics is used to differentiate from larger, non-microscopic plastic waste. Two classifications of microplastics are currently recognized. Primary microplastics include any plastic fragments or particles that are already 5.0 mm in size or less before entering the environment. These include microfibers from clothing, microbeads, plastic glitter and plastic pellets. Secondary microplastics arise from the degradation (breakdown) of larger plastic products through natural weathering processes after entering the environment. Such sources of secondary microplastics include water and soda bottles, fishing nets, plastic bags, microwave containers, tea bags and tire wear. Both types are recognized to persist in the environment at high levels, particularly in aquatic and marine ecosystems, where they cause water pollution. 35% of all ocean microplastics come from textiles/clothing, primarily due to the erosion of polyester, acrylic, or nylon-based clothing, often during the washing process. However, microplastics also accumulate in the air and terrestrial ecosystems. Because plastics degrade slowly, microplastics have a high probability of ingestion, incorporation into, and accumulation in the bodies and tissues of many organisms. The toxic chemicals that come from both the ocean and runoff can also biomagnify up the food chain. In terrestrial ecosystems, microplastics have been demonstrated to reduce the viability of soil ecosystems and reduce weight of earthworms. As of 2023, the cycle and movement of microplastics in the environment was not fully known. Deep layer ocean sediment surveys in China (2020) show the presence of plastics in deposition layers far older than the invention of plastics, leading to suspected underestimation of microplastics in surface sample ocean surveys.
Save Our Shores (SOS) is a marine conservation nonprofit dedicated to "foster thriving and sustainable ecosystems in the Monterey Bay and surrounding habitats through equitable environmental action.”
Recycling can be carried out on various raw materials. Recycling is an important part of creating more sustainable economies, reducing the cost and environmental impact of raw materials. Not all materials are easily recycled, and processing recyclable into the correct waste stream requires considerable energy. Some particular manufactured goods are not easily separated, unless specially process therefore have unique product-based recycling processes.
The Indian Ocean garbage patch, discovered in 2010, is a marine garbage patch, a gyre of marine litter, suspended in the upper water column of the central Indian Ocean, specifically the Indian Ocean Gyre, one of the five major oceanic gyres. The patch does not appear as a continuous debris field. As with other patches in each of the five oceanic gyres, the plastics in it break down to ever smaller particles, and to constituent polymers. As with the other patches, the field constitutes an elevated level of pelagic plastics, chemical sludge, and other debris; primarily particles that are invisible to the naked eye. The concentration of particle debris has been estimated to be approximately 10,000 particles per square kilometer.
Marina DeBris is the name used by an Australian-based artist whose work focuses on reusing trash to raise awareness of ocean and beach pollution. DeBris uses trash washed up from the beach to create trashion, 'fish tanks', decorative art and other works of art. She has also used beach trash to provide one perspective on what the earth might look like from space. As well as creating art from debris, DeBris also is a fund raiser for environmental organizations, and collaborates with non-profit organizations and schools to educate children about ocean pollution. In 2021, DeBris found almost 300 face masks on beaches, and used them in her trashion and other displays.
Plastic pollution is the accumulation of plastic objects and particles in the Earth's environment that adversely affects humans, wildlife and their habitat. Plastics that act as pollutants are categorized by size into micro-, meso-, or macro debris. Plastics are inexpensive and durable, making them very adaptable for different uses; as a result, manufacturers choose to use plastic over other materials. However, the chemical structure of most plastics renders them resistant to many natural processes of degradation and as a result they are slow to degrade. Together, these two factors allow large volumes of plastic to enter the environment as mismanaged waste which persists in the ecosystem and travels throughout food webs.
Boyan Slat is a Dutch inventor and entrepreneur. A former aerospace engineering student, he is the CEO of The Ocean Cleanup.
The Ocean Cleanup is a nonprofit environmental engineering organization based in the Netherlands that develops technology to extract plastic pollution from the oceans and to capture it in rivers before it can reach the ocean. Their initial focus was on the Pacific Ocean and its garbage patch, and extended to rivers in countries including Indonesia, Guatemala, and the United States.
Elegushi Beach is a private beach located at Lekki, Lagos state, southwest Nigeria. The beach is owned by the Elegushi royal family in Lekki, Lagos state. Elegushi private beach is seen as one of the best beaches in Lagos and Nigeria at large. The beach entertains close to 40,000 guests every week with Sundays being the best day on the beach. Over half of all guests that are entertained on the beach weekly visit on Sundays. Their gate pass is at 2000 naira flat rate but can be discounted if you have like a group. Their official Instagram handle can be used to reach them.
4Ocean is a for-profit company founded in Boca Raton, Florida, in 2017. 4Ocean retails bracelets made from recycled materials, as well as apparel and other merchandise for which the materials are environmentally- and socially responsibly sourced.
National CleanUp Day is held annually in the United States and globally on the third Saturday of September. In the United States, there are cleanups held in every State and Territory. It encourages country-scale organized and individual cleanup events and volunteering to keep the outdoors clean and prevent plastic from entering the ocean. National CleanUp Day is organized by Clean Trails, a non-profit organization founded by Bill Willoughby and Steve Jewett.
Big Blue Ocean Cleanup is an international nonprofit environmental organization with offices in York (UK), Vancouver (Canada), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), and Sydney (Australia). It is focused on cleaning beaches and the oceans, protecting wildlife, ocean research and innovative technologies development.
References
- ↑ "Clean Oceans International". HydroHeart. Retrieved 2020-07-24.
- ↑ Hamel, Jessi (2011-04-20). "From Trash to Fuel". Good Times Santa Cruz. Retrieved 2020-07-24.
- ↑ "Turning the Ocean's Plastic Into Fuel". www.kazu.org. Retrieved 2020-07-24.
- ↑ "Clean Oceans International". HydroHeart. Retrieved 2020-07-24.
- ↑ Hamel, Jessi (2011-04-20). "From Trash to Fuel". Good Times Santa Cruz. Retrieved 2020-07-24.
- ↑ "Turning the Ocean's Plastic Into Fuel". www.kazu.org. Retrieved 2020-07-24.
- ↑ "The Response". The Clean Oceans Project. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
- ↑ Jennings, Cheryl. "Radar used to monitor currents in the bay". KGO-TV. Archived from the original on 25 April 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
- 1 2 Fairchilds, Kirsten. "Annie Morhauser, Annieglass to host Clean Oceans Project talk". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Archived from the original on 25 April 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
- ↑ "Santa Cruz Harbor: Businesses Listings". Santa Cruz Port District (Santa Cruz, California). Archived from the original on 25 April 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
- ↑ Mosko, Sarah. "Mid-Ocean Plastics Cleanup Schemes: Too Little Too Late?". E-The Environmental Magazine. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
- 1 2 "Jim Holm: The Clean Oceans Project". TEDxGramercy. Archived from the original on 10 December 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
- ↑ Hamel, Jessi. "From Trash to Fuel". Santa Cruz Good Times. Archived from the original on 25 April 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
- ↑ West, Amy E. "Santa Cruz nonprofit hopes to make fuel from ocean-based plastic". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
- ↑ Corby, Rhiannon. "Ocean dump cleanup: Nonprofit has plans for 4-million ton trash trap off Santa Cruz coastline". Monterey Herald. Archived from the original on 25 April 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
- ↑ "ABC & NBC News Feature Collaborative Plastic Pollution Recovery Project to Save Sea Turtles". Turtle Island Restoration Network. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
- ↑ Merrill, Ph.D., Michelle Y. "Flex Week Activities: Responding to Plastics in Our Oceans & Our Inner Otters". Cabrillo GreenSteps Blog. Archived from the original on 25 April 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2014.