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

Case study - Virgin Pellets in River Itchen

• A large number found on the shoreline and water column of the river Itchen

• Chessel Bay Nature Reserve has large numbers on the shoreline

• Used to make Plastic sheeting

(Rees, 2011)

Case study – Virgin Pellets on world beaches

• These pellets are present on beaches world wide

• They can absorb pollutants such as PCBs and DDTs

(International pellet watch, 2014)

Sources – Fly tipping

• Fly tipping can occur at sea and beaches

• A wide range of items dumped including tyres and TVs

• Made up 0.9% of litter on beaches in 2006 and 2013

(Berkley, 2007: Marine Conservation Society, 2013)

Sources – Litter left on beaches

• Visitors leave litter on beaches when visit

• Includes take away wrappers, buckets, etc.

• In 2003 33.9% cam from litter left on beaches and in 2013 39.4%

(Berkley, 2007: Marine Conservation Society, 2013)

Sources – fishing

• In 2006 commercial and recreational fishing made up 11.2% of beach litter and in 2013 12.6%

• Items include nets, line, weights, etc.

• Kills thousands of marine life each year

• Nets continue to fish ‘Ghost fishing’

(Berkley, 2007: Marine Conservation Society, 2013)

Types of plastic in the oceans

• There are large plastic items such as plastic bottles and bags

• Microplastics which are under 5mm in size

• Microplastics can be virgin pellets or larger item broken down by sunlight and wave action, some come from washing clothes (fibres)

• Plastics not the only problem metal cans, glass bottles, etc. also an issue

Microplastics

• Used in cleaning and beauty products as abrasive agents – in many toothpastes and face scrubs – possible ban

• 1900 fibres released from a polymer item of clothing every wash

• Every beach and every water column world wide will be covered in Microplastics – many cannot be seen by naked eye

(Gallagher et al., 2015)

Microplastics

• Found in a wide range of marine species (400) • Every fish sampled in English Channel contained

Microplastics • Same in Plymouth area (Unpublished) • Otters also had virgin Pellets in faeces, 40%

spraints on river Dee, rural location (Winter-watch, 2015)

• Birds swallow small items • Whales found to contain them • Likely not to be just a marine issue

Microplastics – found in Southampton Water

• Trawl of water column showed Southampton Water to be no exception

• Large numbers of Microplastics found

• Fibres and small beads most abundant

(Gallagher et al., 2015)

Microplastics – found in Southampton Water

• Trawls were done at four locations in Hamble, Test, Itchen and Southampton Water

• Total of 2759 Microplastic particles found

• Itchen had most with 1155 and Hamble least with 296

• Fibres and round beads in cleaning and beauty products most common

• Wide range of shapes and colours found e.g. rounded, irregular and black, white, red, blue and yellow

(Gallagher et al., 2015)

Examples of broken up plastic items – Perran Sands Cornwall

(Rees, 2014)

How much plastic is in the ocean?

How much plastic is in the ocean?

The extent of the problem

• Estimates show at least 5.25 trillion plastic particles weighing 268,940 tons are floating in oceans

• 55% is in Northern Hemisphere

• Indian Ocean has more than Pacific

• 288 million tonnes of plastic is produced each year, estimates only 0.1% of this

• Where is the rest of the plastic?

(Eriksen et al., 2014)

The extent of the problem

• Approx. 8 million pieces of litter enter sea everyday

• 1 million sea birds and 100,000 mammals die annually from ingestion and entanglement in marine litter

(Surfers Against Sewage, 2014)

Where is the rest of the plastic?

• Small amount recycled compared to world production

• A lot has ended up on the ocean floor • The deep sea is a major sink for Microplastic

debris and macro debris • Every environment from seamounts to canyons

have plastic, often many yet to be discovered • Sediment cores from the deep ocean contain

Microplastics in form of fibres and broken fragments.

(Eriksen et al., 2014; Woodall et al., 2014)

How do plastics move around the oceans

• Plastics are moved by ocean currents, tides and winds

(Eriksen et al., 2014)

Five main areas plastic accumulate

Effects of plastic on marine life

Effects of plastic on marine life

Effects of plastic on marine life

• A wide range of species are effected • Seals and birds get caught in items and also feed

to young • ‘Ghost fishing’ catches more fish than fisherman

a year – 136,000 seals and whales trapped each year

• Filter feeders consume Microplastics with plankton, as do fish

• Microplastics can block intestines or introduces pollutants to organism

(Surfers Against Sewage, 2014)

Plastics can be a form of transport for alien species

• Alien species can hitch a lift on floating plastic, alters ecosystems were they wash up or end up

• 2011 Japan tsunami is an example of this, with seaweeds, crabs, etc. coming to USA on debris

• Could alter ecosystems

• 100 tonnes of species present on one dock, many could be non-native

(Guardian, 2012; Pappas, 2012 )

How much does this all cost?

• Local authorities spend 18 million each year cleaning beaches

• Costs UK harbours an average of £8,034.37 a year

• Costs Scottish fishing fleet £11.7 - 13 million per year

(Surfers Against Sewage, 2014)

Cleaning the oceans of Rubbish

What can be done to clean the ocean of rubbish?

Suggested methods of cleaning the oceans

• Fishing nets have been suggested – this would work- but manpower and cost

• It would also catch fish at the same time

• Most rubbish is spread out over a large area

• Self powered system needed

(BBC, 2014)

Methods of cleaning the oceans – ‘The Dutch method’

• A Dutch student devised a method to rid the oceans of litter

• It had a number of floating barrier anchored to the sea bed, to catch the debris

• Plastic would move along the barrier to a platform, to be extracted

• Currents would mean marine life would float past

(BBC, 2014)

Methods of cleaning the oceans – ‘The Dutch method’

(BBC, 2014)

Green IT: Vision 2024 Could a robot clean our seas?

• Robots have been used and are being developed for a wide range of jobs

• Including ocean exploration, medical procedures and the military

• Ocean cleaning could be one of them!!

Robots already being used in marine industry

• Robots are used at sea already: - Photo and map archaeological sites - Record nutrients data - Map ocean currents - Robotic subs for exploration - A range of other uses • Ideas can be drawn from these

References • BBC (2014) The Dutch boy mopping up a sea of plastic, available online: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-29631332

last accessed 20/01/2015

• Browne, M.A., Crump, P., Niven, S.J., Teuton, E., Tonkin, A., Galloway, T., Thompson, R.C., (2011) Accumulation of microplastic on shorelines woldwide: sources and sinks, Environmental Science and Technology 45: 9175–9179

• Cacciottolo M., (2014) The Cornish beaches where Lego keeps washes up, available online: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-28367198 last accessed 12/1/2015

• Cacciottolo M., (2015) Mapped: The beaches where Lego washes up, available online: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-28582621 last accessed 12/1/2015

• Eriksen M., Lebreton L. C. M., Carson HS, Thiel M., Moore C. J, Borrerro J. C., Galgani F., Ryan P. G., and Reisser J., (2014) Plastic Pollution in the World's Oceans: More than 5 Trillion Plastic Pieces Weighing over 250,000 Tons Afloat at Sea. PLoS ONE 9(12): e111913. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0111913

• Guardian (2012) As Japan debris washes up in the US, scientists fear break in natural order, Available online: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/jun/09/japan-tsunami-debris-marine-life last accessed 22/01/2015

• International Pellet Watch (2014) Global Pollution maps, available online: http://www.pelletwatch.org/maps/ last accessed 13/1/2015

• Marine Conservation Society, Beachwatch big weekend 2013, available online: http://www.mcsuk.org/downloads/pollution/beachwatch/latest2014/Beachwatch_Summary_Report_2013.pdf last accessed 19/01/2015

• Marine Conservation Society, 2015, Beachwatch big weekend 2104 report, available online: http://www.mcsuk.org/downloads/pollution/beachwatch/latest2015/MCS_GBBC_2014_Report.pdf last accessed 23/3/2015

• Pappas S., (2012) 100 Tons of 'Alien' Sea Life Wash Up With Tsunami Dock, Available online: http://www.livescience.com/20816-invasive-species-japanese-tsunami-dock.html last accessed 22/01/2015

• Seas at risk (2014) Ship waste dumping, available online: http://www.seas-at-risk.org/n3.php?page=99 last accessed 13/1/2015

• Surfers Against Sewage, (2014) Marine litter report, available online: http://www.sas.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/SAS-Marine-Litter-Report-Med.pdf last accessed 20/01/2015

• Woodall L. C., Sanchez-Vidal A., Canals M., Paterson G. L. J., Coppock R., Sleight V., Calafat A., Rogers A. D., Narayanaswamy B. E., and Thompson R. C., (2014) The deep sea is a major sink for microplastic debris. Royal Society open science 1: 140317. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.140317

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