Using Robots to clean the oceans of plastic pollution PDF
Preview Using Robots to clean the oceans of plastic pollution
Green solution to ocean plastic pollution? Aldous Rees Content • Sources of plastic to oceans • Types of plastics in oceans • Effects of plastic on marine life • Methods of cleaning up plastic • Green IT: Vision 2024 - How it would work • Conclusions Sources – Rivers • Rivers provide large amount of waste to Oceans • Rubbish dropped on streets will end up in river • Litter blows into rivers • Sewage works discharge into rivers • Rivers transport to oceans Sources – Ship waste dumping • Ship dump waste over side • Oil and fuels dumped • Despite a number of policies from the International Maritime Organisation, this waste is not diminishing • In North Atlantic shipping and fisheries biggest sea based sources of marine litter • Ship waste 2% in 2006 and 4.5% in 2013 on beaches (Berkely, 2007; Seas at risk, 2014) Sources – Cargo lost at sea • Containers can fall over board in storms • Famous examples include a container of Lego of Cornwall in 1997 • Container of Trainers in 1980s which helped map ocean currents (Cacciottolo, 2014) Case study- Lego lost at sea • In 1997 a cargo ship lost containers in a storm of Cornish Coast • 62 containers were lost 20 miles of Lands End • 4.8 million pieces of Lego were bound for New York • Content of 61 other containers unknown • Lego items include flippers, dragons, daisy flowers, black octopus, etc. (Cacciottolo, 2014) Case study – Lego location map (Cacciottolo, 2015) Sources – Sewage and waste water treatment works • Microplastic particles can go through filters of treatment works • Sanitary items can sometimes end up on beaches, if filters not working properly e.g. cotton bud sticks • In 2006 provided 10.4% of litter on beaches and 4.6% in 2013 • Wet wipes increased by 50% from 2013 to 2014 on beaches • Flooding and storms make issue worse (Berkley, 2007; Browne et al., 2011; Marine Conservation Society, 2015) Sources – Industrial Processes • Industry can also contribute to waste in oceans and on beaches • Items can include dumped oil cans and gloves Sources – Virgin Pellets • Virgin Pellets also known as micro-beads • Used to make other plastic product from plastic bottles to plastic sheeting • These can spill from ships or factories • Come in a range of colours • Found on most beaches
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