tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37844252212482482492023-11-16T03:26:11.545-08:00Plastic Soup Newsbigmuddygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16209291095727799522noreply@blogger.comBlogger465125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784425221248248249.post-22583430573359717242022-05-10T14:51:00.002-07:002022-05-10T14:51:28.119-07:00Scientists Discover Method to Break Down Plastic in Days, Not Centuries<br /><a href="#">Published on Vice.com</a> (see video) by <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/contributor/audrey-carleton">Audrey Carleton</a> - May 3, 2022<div><br /></div><div><b>Scientists modified an enzyme that can break down plastic in one week to create fresh material for new products.</b></div><div><b><br /></b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4an1tEzNjglzrIkKeKBGAg8cquuVg0_yf2R7858LhQNmLUmCk7VOudjLZXcqZk-7X_iFiXo-icklbMzZS0jGD1hcZDxjyIz9zggr6xYc_lvSabCjvC7twvxmP4iOSghgzJozkpVPV2Ji0yECR0o4fnDzxEevA2mmCuAFn8nhIuczKmImLqo-BgezKrw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="500" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4an1tEzNjglzrIkKeKBGAg8cquuVg0_yf2R7858LhQNmLUmCk7VOudjLZXcqZk-7X_iFiXo-icklbMzZS0jGD1hcZDxjyIz9zggr6xYc_lvSabCjvC7twvxmP4iOSghgzJozkpVPV2Ji0yECR0o4fnDzxEevA2mmCuAFn8nhIuczKmImLqo-BgezKrw=w400-h224" width="400" /></a></div><br />A group of scientists at the University of Texas at Austin have created a modified enzyme that can break down plastics that would otherwise take centuries to degrade in a matter of days. <br /><br />The researchers, who <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04599-z">published their findings</a> in the peer-reviewed journal Nature last week, used machine learning to land on mutations to create a fast-acting protein that can break down building blocks of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a synthetic resin used in fibers for clothing and plastic that, per the study, accounts for 12 percent of global waste. <br /><br />It does so through a process called depolymerization, in which a catalyst separates the building blocks that make up PET into their original monomers, which can then be repolymerized—built back into virgin plastic—and converted into other products. Most impressively, the enzymes broke down the plastic in one week. <br /><br />“One thing we can do is we can break this down into its initial monomers,” Hal Alper, professor in Chemical Engineering and author on the paper, told Motherboard over the phone. “And that's what the enzyme does. And then once you have your original monomer, it’s as if you're making fresh plastic from scratch, with the benefit that you don't need to use additional petroleum resources.” <br /><br />“This has advantages over traditional belt recycling,” Alper added. “If you were to melt the plastic and then remold it, you'd start to lose the integrity of the plastic each round that you go through with recycling. Versus here, if you're able to depolymerize and then chemically repolymerize, you can be making virgin PET plastic each and every time.” <br /><br /><br />Their work adds to an existing line of query on plastic-eating enzymes, which were first recorded in 2005 and have since been followed by the discovery of 19 distinct enzymes, the paper notes. These are derived from naturally occurring bacteria that have been located living on plastic in the environment.<br /><br />But many of these naturally-occurring enzymes are made up of permutations of proteins that function well in their specific environments, but are limited by temperature and pH conditions, and thus can’t be used in a wide range of settings, like across recycling centers, the authors argue. The enzyme Alper and his team discovered, by contrast, can break down 51 types of PET across a range of temperature and pH conditions.<br /><br />The researchers named the enzyme FAST-PETase, acronymic for “functional, active, stable, and tolerant PETase,” and they landed on its exact structure using machine learning. An algorithm was fed with 19,000 protein structures and taught to predict the positions of amino acids in a structure that are not optimized for their local environments. They also used the formula to rearrange amino acids from existing types of PETase into new positions, identified improved combinations, and landed on one structure that saw 2.4 times more activity than an existing PETase enzyme at 40 degrees Celsius and 38 times more activity at 50 degrees Celsius. <br /><br />It was then tested across a range of temperatures and pH conditions, and continued to outperform existing variants. <br /><br />“What you see in nature is probably somewhat optimal, at least within the local environment around each and every one of those amino acids,” Alper said. “We can start looking at the protein of interest, and start going through each and every one of the amino acids in there and looking at its own microenvironment and seeing what fits and what doesn't fit.” <br /><br />Alper and his team’s hope is that their enzyme will be more scalable than most, and will truly put PET-ase to the test of tackling the global plastics crisis. Already able to withstand a range of conditions, FAST-PETase must now prove that it can be both “portable and affordable at large industrial scale.” <br /><br />First, Alper says, he and his team must test FAST-PETase on the wide range of different types of PET found in the waste stream, and the detritus that’s often found in plastic bottles or on top of plastic containers when it’s recycled. Should the researchers find an enzyme or group of enzymes with the robustness to be used practically, they believe it can help tackle the “<a href="https://news.utexas.edu/2022/04/27/plastic-eating-enzyme-could-eliminate-billions-of-tons-of-landfill-waste/">billions of tons</a>” of waste in our environment. </div><div><br /></div><div>ABSTRACT breaks down mind-bending scientific research, future tech, new discoveries, and major breakthroughs.<br /><a href="https://www.vice.com/en/topic/abstract">SEE MORE →</a></div>bigmuddygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16209291095727799522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784425221248248249.post-77776136904336613672022-05-02T08:40:00.004-07:002022-05-02T08:40:42.105-07:00Microplastics are in our bodies. How much do they harm us?<p> <span style="font-family: GeoEditRegular, "Franklin Gothic Medium", "Franklin Gothic", "ITC Franklin Gothic", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; letter-spacing: 0.1px;">The science is unsettled, but researchers say there is cause for concern.</span></p><div class="ImmersiveLeadWrapper" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="ImmersiveLeadWrapper__CaptionContent" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; margin: auto; max-width: 968px;"><div class="ImmersiveLeadWrapper__CaptionContent__Wrapper" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; max-width: 660px; padding-left: 12px; padding-right: 12px;"><div class="Caption__Wrapper" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="Caption Caption--hideEndBug" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; font-family: GeoBrandRegular, CenturyGothic, AppleGothic, "Gill Sans", "Gill Sans MT", sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 16px 0px 8px;"><div class="Caption__TextWrapper" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box;"><div aria-live="polite" class="Caption__Text" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; font-family: GeoEditRegular, "Franklin Gothic Medium", "Franklin Gothic", "ITC Franklin Gothic", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.5;"><br />Tiny plastic particles like these—called microplastics—are added to some exfoliating skincare gels. From there, they get into the environment and may enter our bodies.</div></div><span aria-label="Photograph by Alexander Stein, JOKER/ullstein bild/Getty Images" class="RichText Caption__Credit" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: inherit; color: #555555; display: block; letter-spacing: 3px; line-height: 1.5; text-transform: uppercase;">PHOTOGRAPH BY ALEXANDER STEIN, JOKER/ULLSTEIN BILD/GETTY IMAGES</span></div></div></div></div></div><div class="StackModule" id="natgeo-template1-frame-1-module-1" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; display: contents; font-family: GeoBrandRegular, CenturyGothic, AppleGothic, "Gill Sans", "Gill Sans MT", sans-serif;"><div class="ScrollSpy_container" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: inherit;"></span><div class="Article flex ArticleBodyTile" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); 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-webkit-box-pack: justify; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); align-items: center; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; justify-content: space-between;"></div><div class="Article__Headeer__Interactives" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box;"></div><div class="Article__Header__Meta" style="-webkit-box-align: end; -webkit-box-pack: justify; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); align-items: flex-end; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-wrap: nowrap; justify-content: space-between; position: relative;"><section class="Byline flex items-center" style="-webkit-box-align: center; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); align-items: center; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; width: 511.125px;"><div class="Byline__Content" style="-webkit-box-flex: 1; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; flex-grow: 1;"><div aria-label="By Laura Parker" class="Byline__Group" style="-webkit-box-align: center; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); align-items: center; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 15px;"><span aria-hidden="true" class="Byline__ByCopy" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: inherit; display: inline; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 3px; line-height: 1.5; margin-right: 4px; text-transform: uppercase;">BY</span><span aria-hidden="true" class="Byline__AuthorRow" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; font-family: GeoBrandBold, CenturyGothic, AppleGothic, "Gill Sans", "Gill Sans MT", sans-serif; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 3px; line-height: 1.5; text-transform: uppercase; white-space: nowrap;"><span class="Byline__AuthorContainer" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: inherit; display: inline;"><span class="Byline__Author " style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; line-height: 1.5;">LAURA PARKER</span></span></span></div><div class="Byline__TimestampWrapper" style="-webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); border-top: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-direction: row; justify-content: left; line-height: normal; padding-top: 33px;"><div class="Byline__Meta Byline__Meta--publishDate" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 3px; line-height: 1.5; opacity: 1; text-transform: uppercase;"><a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/microplastics-are-in-our-bodies-how-much-do-they-harm-us?position=3&sponsored=0&utm_medium=email&utm_source=pocket_hits&utm_campaign=POCKET_HITS-EN-DAILY-RECS-2022_04_28" target="_blank">PUBLISHED in National Geographic APRIL 25, 2022</a></div><div class="Byline__ReadTime Byline__Meta" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 3px; line-height: 1.5; opacity: 1; text-transform: uppercase;"><br /></div></div></div></section><section class="Share flex flex-no-wrap Article__Header__Share" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); 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align-items: center; appearance: button; border-color: initial; border-radius: 0px; border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer; display: flex; font-family: GeoBrandRegular, CenturyGothic, AppleGothic, "Gill Sans", "Gill Sans MT", sans-serif; font-size: 0.875rem; font-weight: 600; height: 32px; justify-content: center; line-height: 1; margin: 0px 0px 0.675em 5px; max-width: 414px; outline: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: relative; transition: all 0.4s ease 0s; white-space: nowrap; width: 32px;" tabindex="0"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="Share__Icon icon__svg" focusable="false" viewbox="0 0 24 24"><use xlink:href="#icon__email__filled"></use></svg></button></section></div></header></div><section class="Article__Content Article__Content--endbug" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 19px; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.632;"><div style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.632; margin: 12px 0px 24px;">As plastic waste proliferates around the world, an essential question remains unanswered: What harm, if any, does it cause to human health?</p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.632; margin: 12px 0px 24px;">A few years ago, as microplastics began turning up in the guts of fish and shellfish, the concern was focused on the safety of seafood. Shellfish were a particular worry, because in their case, unlike fish, we eat the entire animal—stomach, microplastics and all. In 2017, Belgian scientists announced that seafood lovers could consume up to 11,000 plastic particles a year by eating mussels, a favorite dish in that country.</p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.632; margin: 12px 0px 24px;">By then, however, scientists already understood that plastics continuously fragment in the environment, shredding over time into fibers even smaller than a strand of human hair —particles so small they easily become airborne. A team at the U.K.’s University of Plymouth decided to compare the threat from eating contaminated wild mussels in Scotland to that of breathing air in a typical home. Their conclusion: People will take in more plastic during a mussels dinner by inhaling or ingesting tiny, invisible plastic fibers floating in the air around them, fibers shed by their own clothes, carpets, and upholstery, than they will by eating the mussels.</p><div class="ResponsiveWrapper" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box;"><aside aria-label="Image" class="InlineElement InlineElement--below-paragraph InlineElement--content-width InlineElement--desktop InlineImage" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; margin: 24px auto;"><div class="CopyrightImage" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; position: relative; transform: translateZ(0px);"><figure class="Image aspect-ratio--parent InlineImage--image" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: inherit; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow: hidden; position: relative;"><div class="RatioFrame aspect-ratio--auto" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; overflow: hidden; position: relative;"></div><div class="Image__Wrapper Image__Wrapper--relative" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; position: relative; z-index: 1;"><img alt="a small fish in a petri dish containing plastics" class="" data-mptype="image" src="https://i.natgeofe.com/n/9855f166-a41e-43b4-9d34-2d17d774a041/NationalGeographic_2723980.jpg?w=636&h=463" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); border-style: none; box-sizing: inherit; vertical-align: top; width: 636px;" /></div><figcaption style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="Caption__Wrapper" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="Caption" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; font-family: GeoBrandRegular, CenturyGothic, AppleGothic, "Gill Sans", "Gill Sans MT", sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 16px 0px 8px;"><div class="Caption__TextWrapper" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box;"><div aria-live="polite" class="Caption__Text" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; color: black; display: inline; font-family: GeoEditRegular, "Franklin Gothic Medium", "Franklin Gothic", "ITC Franklin Gothic", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.5;">A sample collected off Hawaii contains living organisms and plastic.</div></div><span aria-label="Photograph by David Liittschwager, Nat Geo image collection" class="RichText Caption__Credit" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: inherit; color: #555555; display: block; letter-spacing: 3px; line-height: 1.5; text-transform: uppercase;">PHOTOGRAPH BY DAVID LIITTSCHWAGER, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION</span></div></div></figcaption></figure><div class="Image__Copyright" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6); border: 1px solid rgba(51, 51, 51, 0.8); box-sizing: border-box; color: white; font-family: GeoEditRegular, "Franklin Gothic Medium", "Franklin Gothic", "ITC Franklin Gothic", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; left: 318px; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.429; opacity: 0; padding: 10px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transform: translate(-50%, -50%); transition: visibility 0s linear 0.25s, opacity 0.25s linear 0s; visibility: hidden; width: 222px; z-index: 2;"></div></div></aside></div><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.632; margin: 12px 0px 24px;">This spring, scientists from the Netherlands and the U.K. announced they had found tiny plastic particles in living humans, in two places where they hadn’t been seen before: deep inside the lungs of surgical patients, and in the blood of anonymous donors. Neither of the two studies answered the question of possible harm. But together they signaled a shift in the focus of concern about the plastics toward the cloud of airborne dust particles we live in, some of them so small they can penetrate deep inside the body and even inside cells, in ways that larger microplastics can’t.</p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.632; margin: 12px 0px 24px;"><a href="https://www.deltares.nl/en/experts/dick-vethaak-2/" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(120deg, rgb(255, 204, 0), rgb(255, 204, 0)); background-position: 0px 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 100% 0px; border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(255, 204, 0); border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; line-height: 28px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.125s ease-in 0s;" target="_blank">Dick Vethaak</a>, a professor emeritus of ecotoxicology at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and co-author of the blood study, doesn’t consider his results alarming, exactly—“but, yes, we should be concerned. Plastics should not be in your blood.”</p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.632; margin: 12px 0px 24px;">“We live in a multi-particle world,” he adds, alluding to the dust, pollen, and soot that humans also breathe in every day. “The trick is to figure out how much plastics contribute to that particle burden and what does that mean.”</p><h2 style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: GeoEditBold, "Franklin Gothic Medium", "Franklin Gothic", "ITC Franklin Gothic", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 24px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.214; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.214;">Harm is the hard part</span></h2><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.632; margin: 12px 0px 24px;">Scientists have been studying microplastics, defined as particles measuring less than five millimeters (a fifth of an inch) across, for a quarter century. <a href="https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/staff/richard-thompson" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(120deg, rgb(255, 204, 0), rgb(255, 204, 0)); background-position: 0px 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 100% 0px; border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(255, 204, 0); border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; line-height: 28px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.125s ease-in 0s;" target="_blank">Richard Thompson</a>, a marine scientist at the University of Plymouth, coined the term in 2004 after finding piles of rice-sized plastic bits above the tideline on an English beach. In the ensuing years, scientists located microplastics <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/microplastics-in-virtually-every-crevice-on-earth" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(120deg, rgb(255, 204, 0), rgb(255, 204, 0)); background-position: 0px 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 100% 0px; border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(255, 204, 0); border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; line-height: 28px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.125s ease-in 0s;" target="_blank">all over the globe, from </a>the floor of the <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/plastic-bag-mariana-trench-pollution-science-spd" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(120deg, rgb(255, 204, 0), rgb(255, 204, 0)); background-position: 0px 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 100% 0px; border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(255, 204, 0); border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; line-height: 28px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.125s ease-in 0s;" target="_blank">Mariana Trench</a> to the summit of <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/microplastics-found-near-everests-peak-highest-ever-detected-world-perpetual-planet" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(120deg, rgb(255, 204, 0), rgb(255, 204, 0)); background-position: 0px 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 100% 0px; border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(255, 204, 0); border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; line-height: 28px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.125s ease-in 0s;" target="_blank">Mount Everest.</a></p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.632; margin: 12px 0px 24px;">Microplastics are in salt, beer, fresh fruit and vegetables, and drinking water. Airborne particles can circle the globe in a matter of days and fall from the sky like rain. Seagoing expeditions to count microplastics in the ocean produce incomprehensible numbers, which have multiplied over time as more tonnage of plastic waste enters the oceans every year and disintegrates. A <a href="http://ournals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0111913" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(120deg, rgb(255, 204, 0), rgb(255, 204, 0)); background-position: 0px 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 100% 0px; border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(255, 204, 0); border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; line-height: 28px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.125s ease-in 0s;" target="_blank">peer</a><a href="http://ournals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0111913" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(120deg, rgb(255, 204, 0), rgb(255, 204, 0)); background-position: 0px 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 100% 0px; border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(255, 204, 0); border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; line-height: 28px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.125s ease-in 0s;" target="_blank">-</a><a href="http://ournals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0111913" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(120deg, rgb(255, 204, 0), rgb(255, 204, 0)); background-position: 0px 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 100% 0px; border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(255, 204, 0); border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; line-height: 28px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.125s ease-in 0s;" target="_blank">reviewed</a> count published in 2014 put the total at five trillion. In the latest tally, made last year, Japanese scientists from Kyushu University estimated <a href="https://www.kyushu-u.ac.jp/en/researches/view/221#:~:text=The%20team%20estimates%20there%20are,500-ml%20plastic%20water%20bottles." style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(120deg, rgb(255, 204, 0), rgb(255, 204, 0)); background-position: 0px 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 100% 0px; border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(255, 204, 0); border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; line-height: 28px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.125s ease-in 0s;" target="_blank">24.4 </a>trillion microplastics in the world’s upper oceans—the equivalent of roughly 30 billion half-liter water bottles—a number in itself hard to fathom.</p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.632; margin: 12px 0px 24px;">“When I started doing this work in 2014, the only studies being done involved looking for where they are,” says <a href="https://noc.ac.uk/n/Alice+Horton" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(120deg, rgb(255, 204, 0), rgb(255, 204, 0)); background-position: 0px 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 100% 0px; border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(255, 204, 0); border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; line-height: 28px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.125s ease-in 0s;" target="_blank">Alice Horton</a>, a marine scientist at the UK’s National Oceanography Center who specializes in microplastic pollution. “We can stop looking now. We know wherever we look, we will find them.”</p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.632; margin: 12px 0px 24px;">But determining if they cause harm is much harder. Plastics are made from a complex combination of chemicals, including additives that give them strength and flexibility. Both plastics and chemical additives can be toxic. The most <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.1c00976" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(120deg, rgb(255, 204, 0), rgb(255, 204, 0)); background-position: 0px 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 100% 0px; border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(255, 204, 0); border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; line-height: 28px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.125s ease-in 0s;" target="_blank">recent analysis </a>has identified more than 10,000 unique chemicals used in plastics, of which more than 2,400 are of potential concern, says Scott Coffin, a research scientist at the California State Water Resource Control Board. Many are “not adequately regulated” in many countries, the study says, and includes 901 chemicals that are not approved for use in food packaging in some jurisdictions.</p><div class="ResponsiveWrapper" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box;"><aside aria-label="Image" class="InlineElement InlineElement--below-paragraph InlineElement--content-width InlineElement--desktop InlineImage" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; margin: 24px auto;"><div class="CopyrightImage" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; position: relative; transform: translateZ(0px);"><figure class="Image aspect-ratio--parent InlineImage--image" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: inherit; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow: hidden; position: relative;"><div class="RatioFrame aspect-ratio--auto" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; overflow: hidden; position: relative;"></div><div class="Image__Wrapper Image__Wrapper--relative" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; position: relative; z-index: 1;"><img alt="a person sits in front of a computer monitor which displays microscopic plastic particles" class="" data-mptype="image" src="https://i.natgeofe.com/n/a1ca4935-77b6-4553-9e47-cb993f4ac25b/GettyImages-1235812406.jpg?w=636&h=424" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); border-style: none; box-sizing: inherit; vertical-align: top; width: 636px;" /></div><figcaption style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="Caption__Wrapper" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="Caption" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; font-family: GeoBrandRegular, CenturyGothic, AppleGothic, "Gill Sans", "Gill Sans MT", sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 16px 0px 8px;"><div class="Caption__TextWrapper" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box;"><div aria-live="polite" class="Caption__Text" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; color: black; display: inline; font-family: GeoEditRegular, "Franklin Gothic Medium", "Franklin Gothic", "ITC Franklin Gothic", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.5;">Felix Weber, research associate at the Institute of Environmental and Process Engineering at RhineMain University of Applied Sciences in Germany, sits in front of a picture of a 3-D microscope with plastic particles. </div></div><span aria-label="Photograph by Arne Dedert, picture alliance/Getty Images" class="RichText Caption__Credit" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: inherit; color: #555555; display: block; letter-spacing: 3px; line-height: 1.5; text-transform: uppercase;">PHOTOGRAPH BY ARNE DEDERT, PICTURE ALLIANCE/GETTY IMAGES</span></div></div></figcaption></figure><div class="Image__Copyright" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6); border: 1px solid rgba(51, 51, 51, 0.8); box-sizing: border-box; color: white; font-family: GeoEditRegular, "Franklin Gothic Medium", "Franklin Gothic", "ITC Franklin Gothic", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; left: 318px; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.429; opacity: 0; padding: 10px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transform: translate(-50%, -50%); transition: visibility 0s linear 0.25s, opacity 0.25s linear 0s; visibility: hidden; width: 222px; z-index: 2;"></div></div></aside></div><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.632; margin: 12px 0px 24px;">Additives can also leach into water, and one study found that up to 88 percent could leach, depending on factors that include sunlight and length of time. The same study found up to 8,681 unique chemicals and additives associated with a single plastic product. Sorting out which particular chemical combinations are problematic, and finding the level and length of exposure that causes harm in such a convoluted brew is no easy task.</p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.632; margin: 12px 0px 24px;">“You may find a correlation, but you would be hard pressed to find causation because of the sheer number of chemicals we’re exposed to in our daily lives,” says <a href="https://research.csiro.au/marinedebris/our-team/britta-denise-hardesty/" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(120deg, rgb(255, 204, 0), rgb(255, 204, 0)); background-position: 0px 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 100% 0px; border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(255, 204, 0); border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; line-height: 28px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.125s ease-in 0s;" target="_blank">Denise Hardesty</a>, a research scientist who has studied plastic waste for 15 years at Australia’s <a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(120deg, rgb(255, 204, 0), rgb(255, 204, 0)); background-position: 0px 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 100% 0px; border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(255, 204, 0); border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; line-height: 28px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.125s ease-in 0s;" target="_blank">Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization.</a></p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.632; margin: 12px 0px 24px;"><a href="https://uwrl.usu.edu/lro/people/faculty/brahney-janice" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(120deg, rgb(255, 204, 0), rgb(255, 204, 0)); background-position: 0px 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 100% 0px; border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(255, 204, 0); border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; line-height: 28px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.125s ease-in 0s;" target="_blank">Janice Brahney</a>, a biochemist at Utah State University who studies how dust transports nutrients, pathogens, and contaminants, says she is concerned because plastic production continues to increase dramatically, while so much about microplastics remains unknown. In 2020, 367 million metric tons of plastics were manufactured, an amount that is forecast to triple by 2050. “It is alarming because we are far into this problem and we still don’t understand the consequences, and it is going to be very difficult to back out of it if we have to,” she says.</p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.632; margin: 12px 0px 24px;">The American Chemical Council (ACC), an industry trade group, maintains a lengthy collection of <a href="https://www.americanchemistry.com/chemistry-in-america/chemistries/high-phthalates" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(120deg, rgb(255, 204, 0), rgb(255, 204, 0)); background-position: 0px 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 100% 0px; border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(255, 204, 0); border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; line-height: 28px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.125s ease-in 0s;" target="_blank">statements</a> on its website explaining chemical composition of various plastics and rebuttals to research claims that certain plastics are toxic.</p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.632; margin: 12px 0px 24px;">“No, microplastics are not the ‘New Acid Rain.’ Not even close,” the council said in response to media coverage of Brahney’s <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.aaz5819" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(120deg, rgb(255, 204, 0), rgb(255, 204, 0)); background-position: 0px 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 100% 0px; border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(255, 204, 0); border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; line-height: 28px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.125s ease-in 0s;" target="_blank">2020 paper, published in </a><a href="https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.aaz5819" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(120deg, rgb(255, 204, 0), rgb(255, 204, 0)); background-position: 0px 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 100% 0px; border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(255, 204, 0); border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; line-height: 28px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.125s ease-in 0s;" target="_blank"><i style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: inherit; color: #333333; line-height: 1.632;">Science</i></a>, which estimated that 11 billion metric tons of plastic will accumulate in the environment by 2025. (Brahney calculated that just in the western U.S., more than 1,000 metric tons of tiny particles are carried by the wind and fall out of the air every year.)</p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.632; margin: 12px 0px 24px;">The ACC also criticized that finding, saying, “The amount of microplastics in the environment represents only 4 percent of particles collected on average… The other 96 percent is comprised of natural materials like minerals, dirt and sand, insect parts, pollen and more.”</p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.632; margin: 12px 0px 24px;">Meanwhile, the ACC said through a spokesman it has launched a research program to help answer outstanding questions of microplastics, including those surrounding household dust, and help establish a global exchange of microplastics research between universities, research institutions, and industry. The work envisioned will include examining the environmental fate and potential routes of exposure of microplastics, identifying potential hazards, and developing a framework to assess risk. Findings will be published over the next few years.</p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.632; margin: 12px 0px 24px;">The topic is so complicated and controversial, Hardesty says, that even the definition of harm comes up for debate at times. Should we only worry about the effects of microplastics on human health? What about the harm they might do to animals and ecosystems?</p><h2 style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: GeoEditBold, "Franklin Gothic Medium", "Franklin Gothic", "ITC Franklin Gothic", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 24px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.214; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.214;">Plastics in animals</span></h2><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.632; margin: 12px 0px 24px;">The search for potential harm from plastics actually began with animal studies some 40 years ago, when marine biologists studying the diets of seabirds began finding plastic in their stomachs. As more marine wildlife began to be affected by plastics, either by entanglement or ingestion, studies expanded beyond birds to other marine species, as well as to rats and mice.</p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.632; margin: 12px 0px 24px;">In 2012, the <a href="https://www.cbd.int/doc/publications/cbd-ts-67-en.pdf" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(120deg, rgb(255, 204, 0), rgb(255, 204, 0)); background-position: 0px 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 100% 0px; border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(255, 204, 0); border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; line-height: 28px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.125s ease-in 0s;" target="_blank">Convention on Biological Diversity in Montreal</a> declared that all seven sea turtle species, 45 percent of marine mammal species, and 21 percent of seabird species were affected by eating or becoming entangled in plastic. The same year 10 scientists unsuccessfully called on the world’s nations to officially classify the most harmful plastic as hazardous, which would give their regulatory agencies “the power to restore affected habitats.”</p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.632; margin: 12px 0px 24px;">In the decade since, the numbers and risks to animals have worsened. More than 700 species are affected by plastics. It is probable that hundreds of millions of wild birds have consumed plastic, scientists say, and by mid-century, all seabird species on the planet are predicted to be eating it. Certain bird populations are already thought to be threatened by widespread exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals contained in plastics. Laboratory studies of fish have found plastics can cause harm to reproductive systems and stress the liver.</p><div class="ResponsiveWrapper" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box;"><aside aria-label="Image" class="InlineElement InlineElement--below-paragraph InlineElement--content-width InlineElement--desktop InlineImage" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; margin: 24px auto;"><div class="CopyrightImage" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; position: relative; transform: translateZ(0px);"><figure class="Image aspect-ratio--parent InlineImage--image" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: inherit; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow: hidden; position: relative;"><div class="RatioFrame aspect-ratio--auto" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; overflow: hidden; position: relative;"></div><div class="Image__Wrapper Image__Wrapper--relative" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; position: relative; z-index: 1;"><img alt="scans of a quail's epididymis" class="" data-mptype="image" src="https://i.natgeofe.com/n/1b11461d-1074-45e1-9dde-b9ec88863164/fig4.jpg?w=636&h=480" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); border-style: none; box-sizing: inherit; vertical-align: top; width: 636px;" /></div><figcaption style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="Caption__Wrapper" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="Caption" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; font-family: GeoBrandRegular, CenturyGothic, AppleGothic, "Gill Sans", "Gill Sans MT", sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 16px 0px 8px;"><div class="Caption__TextWrapper" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box;"><div aria-live="polite" class="Caption__Text" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; color: black; display: inline; font-family: GeoEditRegular, "Franklin Gothic Medium", "Franklin Gothic", "ITC Franklin Gothic", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.5;">Japanese quail chicks in a study—the results shown here—fed microplastics weren’t more likely than unexposed chicks to get sick, die, or have trouble reproducing, though they did show minor delays in growth. </div></div><span aria-label="Photograph courtesy Lauren Roman" class="RichText Caption__Credit" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: inherit; color: #555555; display: block; letter-spacing: 3px; line-height: 1.5; text-transform: uppercase;">PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY LAUREN ROMAN</span></div></div></figcaption></figure><div class="Image__Copyright" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6); border: 1px solid rgba(51, 51, 51, 0.8); box-sizing: border-box; color: white; font-family: GeoEditRegular, "Franklin Gothic Medium", "Franklin Gothic", "ITC Franklin Gothic", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; left: 318px; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.429; opacity: 0; padding: 10px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transform: translate(-50%, -50%); transition: visibility 0s linear 0.25s, opacity 0.25s linear 0s; visibility: hidden; width: 222px; z-index: 2;"></div></div></aside></div><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.632; margin: 12px 0px 24px;">Animal studies have shown the ubiquity of plastic waste and helped inform research into its potential physiological and toxicological effects in humans.</p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.632; margin: 12px 0px 24px;">For example, although toxins from plastics can cause adverse health effects in birds, an Australian study in 2019, in which Japanese quail chicks were deliberately fed such toxins, found the opposite: The chicks suffered minor delays in growth and maturation, but weren’t more likely than unexposed chicks to get sick, die, or have trouble reproducing. The <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30776638/" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(120deg, rgb(255, 204, 0), rgb(255, 204, 0)); background-position: 0px 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 100% 0px; border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(255, 204, 0); border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; line-height: 28px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.125s ease-in 0s;" target="_blank">findings</a> surprised the scientists, who called them the “first experimental evidence” that the toxicological and endocrine effects “may not be as severe as feared for the millions of birds” carrying small loads of plastics in their stomachs.</p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.632; margin: 12px 0px 24px;">Hardesty, one of the co-authors, says the quail study serves as a cautionary reminder that assessing the threat posed by exposure to microplastics is “not that simple.” In particular, she says, the difficulty finding clear evidence of harm in quails “really highlights that we are still not able to answer the question of what the impact of eating plastic is for humans in a definitive way.”</p><h2 style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: GeoEditBold, "Franklin Gothic Medium", "Franklin Gothic", "ITC Franklin Gothic", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 24px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.214; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.214;">Plastics in humans</span></h2><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.632; margin: 12px 0px 24px;">Measuring possible adverse effects of plastics on humans is far more difficult than on animals—unlike quail and fish, human subjects can’t intentionally be fed a diet of plastics. In laboratory tests, microplastics have been shown to cause <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0304389421028302?dgcid=author" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(120deg, rgb(255, 204, 0), rgb(255, 204, 0)); background-position: 0px 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 100% 0px; border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(255, 204, 0); border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; line-height: 28px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.125s ease-in 0s;" target="_blank">damage to human cells</a>, including both allergic reactions and cell death. But so far there have been no epidemiologic studies documenting, in a large group of people, a connection between exposure to microplastics and impacts on health.</p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.632; margin: 12px 0px 24px;">Instead, research has involved small groups of people—a factor that limits conclusions that can be drawn beyond identifying the presence of microplastics in different parts of the body. A 2018 study found microplastics in the feces of eight people. Another study documented the presence of microplastics in the placentas of unborn babies.</p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.632; margin: 12px 0px 24px;">The recent study by Vethaak and his colleagues found plastics in the blood of 17 of 22 healthy blood donors; the lung study found microplastics in 11 of 13 lung samples taken from 11 patients. Virtually nothing is known about either group that would help inform the level and length of exposure—two essential attributes to determine harm.</p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.632; margin: 12px 0px 24px;">In both studies the plastic particles found were primarily nanoplastics, which are smaller than one micrometer. The ones found in the blood study were small enough to have been inhaled—though Vethaak says it’s also possible they were ingested. Whether such particles can pass from the blood into other organs, especially into the brain, which is protected by a unique, dense network of cells that form a barrier, isn’t clear.</p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.632; margin: 12px 0px 24px;">“We know particles can be transported throughout the body via the river of blood,” Vethaak says.The study is one of 15 <a href="https://www.zonmw.nl/en/research-and-results/microplastics-and-health/" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(120deg, rgb(255, 204, 0), rgb(255, 204, 0)); background-position: 0px 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 100% 0px; border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(255, 204, 0); border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; line-height: 28px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.125s ease-in 0s;" target="_blank">microplastics research studies </a>underway at the Dutch<a href="https://norecopa.no/inventory3rs/the-netherlands-organization-for-health-research-and-development#:~:text=ZonMw%20is%20the%20Dutch%20national,funding%20research,%20development%20and%20implementation." style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(120deg, rgb(255, 204, 0), rgb(255, 204, 0)); background-position: 0px 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 100% 0px; border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(255, 204, 0); border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; line-height: 28px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.125s ease-in 0s;" target="_blank"> National Organization for Health Research and Development.</a></p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.632; margin: 12px 0px 24px;">The <a href="https://reader.elsevier.com/reader/sd/pii/S0048969722020009?token=EB80DCBBC3816A674B73578EA0C98661A2748D4D3B551941D69403666C25F29C437D4FC5C5AE0FCD273B21C24964A42D&originRegion=us-east-1&originCreation=20220419154015" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(120deg, rgb(255, 204, 0), rgb(255, 204, 0)); background-position: 0px 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 100% 0px; border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(255, 204, 0); border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; line-height: 28px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.125s ease-in 0s;" target="_blank">lung study</a>, done at University of Hull in the U.K., showed just how intrusive airborne particles can be. While the scientists expected to find plastic fibers in the lungs of surgical patients—earlier research had documented them in cadavers—they were stunned to find the highest number, of various shapes and sizes, embedded deep in the lower lung lobe. One of the fibers was two millimeters long.</p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.632; margin: 12px 0px 24px;">“You would not expect to find microplastics in the smallest parts of the lung with the smallest diameter,” says Hull environmental ecologist <a href="https://www.hull.ac.uk/staff-directory/jeanette-rotchell" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(120deg, rgb(255, 204, 0), rgb(255, 204, 0)); background-position: 0px 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 100% 0px; border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(255, 204, 0); border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; line-height: 28px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.125s ease-in 0s;" target="_blank">Jeannette Rotchell</a>. The study, she says, enables her team to move to the next level of questions and conduct lab studies using cells or tissue cultures of lung cells to discover the effects of the microplastics they found.</p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.632; margin: 12px 0px 24px;">“There are many more questions,” she says. “I would like to know what levels are we exposed to in the course of our lives. What microplastics are we breathing in every day, whether working at home, going to the office, outdoors, cycling, running, in different environments. There’s a big knowledge gap.”</p><h2 style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: GeoEditBold, "Franklin Gothic Medium", "Franklin Gothic", "ITC Franklin Gothic", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 24px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.214; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.214;">The question of harm</span></h2><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.632; margin: 12px 0px 24px;">Scientists aren’t entirely fumbling around in the dark. There is extensive research on toxins found in plastics, as well as on lung diseases, from asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to cancer, which kill millions of people every year and have been linked to exposure to other pollutants. The American Lung Association, in its <a href="https://www.lung.org/research/sota" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(120deg, rgb(255, 204, 0), rgb(255, 204, 0)); background-position: 0px 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 100% 0px; border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(255, 204, 0); border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; line-height: 28px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.125s ease-in 0s;" target="_blank">latest report</a>, declared COPD, which results from chronic inflammation, to be the fourth leading cause of death in the United States.</p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.632; margin: 12px 0px 24px;">Humans inhale a variety of foreign particles every day and have been since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. The body’s first response is to find a way to expel them. Large particles in airways are typically coughed out. Mucus forms around particles further down the respiratory tract, creating a <a href="https://bronchiectasis.com.au/physiotherapy/principles-of-airway-clearance/airway-clearance-in-the-normal-lung" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(120deg, rgb(255, 204, 0), rgb(255, 204, 0)); background-position: 0px 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 100% 0px; border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(255, 204, 0); border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; line-height: 28px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.125s ease-in 0s;" target="_blank">mucus “elevator”</a> that propels them back up to the upper airway to be expelled. Immune cells surround those that remain to isolate them.</p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.632; margin: 12px 0px 24px;">Over time, those particles could cause irritation that leads to a cascading range of symptoms from inflammation to infection to cancer. Or, they could remain as an inert presence and do nothing.</p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.632; margin: 12px 0px 24px;">The particles identified in the lung study are made of plastics that are known to be toxic to humans and have caused lung irritation, dizziness, headaches, asthma, and cancer, says <a href="https://med.stanford.edu/allergyandasthma/about-us/nadeau.html" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(120deg, rgb(255, 204, 0), rgb(255, 204, 0)); background-position: 0px 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 100% 0px; border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(255, 204, 0); border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; line-height: 28px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.125s ease-in 0s;" target="_blank">Kari Nadeau, a physician and director of allergy and asthma research at Stanford University. </a>She ticked off the symptoms as she went through the list of fibers published in the study.</p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.632; margin: 12px 0px 24px;">“We know this already from other published articles,” she says. “It takes one minute of breathing in polyurethane and you could start wheezing.”</p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.632; margin: 12px 0px 24px;">What scientists don’t know is if the plastic particles in the lung would meet the level and length of exposure to cross the threshold of harm.</p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.632; margin: 12px 0px 24px;">Whether such particles “directly caused asthma for someone’s whole life, that would be hard to prove,” she says. “I am not saying we should be afraid of these things. I am saying we should be cautious. We need to understand these things that are getting into our body and possibly staying there for years.”</p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.632; margin: 12px 0px 24px;"><a href="https://doctors.christianacare.org/provider/Albert+A.+Rizzo/845049" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(120deg, rgb(255, 204, 0), rgb(255, 204, 0)); background-position: 0px 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 100% 0px; border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(255, 204, 0); border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; line-height: 28px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.125s ease-in 0s;" target="_blank">Albert Rizzo</a>, the American Lung Association’s chief medical officer, says the science is too unclear to draw conclusions. “Are the plastics just simply there and inert or are they going to lead to an immune response by the body that will lead to scarring, fibrosis, or cancer? We know these microplastics are all over the place. We don’t know whether the presence in the body leads to a problem. Duration is very important. How long you are exposed matters.”</p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 1.632; margin: 12px 0px 24px;">He says the most relevant analogy may be the decades-long effort to convince the government that smoking causes cancer. “By the time we got enough evidence to lead to policy change, the cat was out of the bag,” he says. “I can see plastics being the same thing. Will we find out in 40 years that microplastics in the lungs led to premature aging of the lung or to emphysema? We don’t know that. In the meantime, can we make plastics safer?”</p></div></section></article></section></div></div></div>bigmuddygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16209291095727799522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784425221248248249.post-47078606829827403792019-01-07T14:04:00.000-08:002019-01-07T14:04:01.962-08:00What’s after banning straws? Going after rising plastic productionpublished by Steven Jone in <a href="https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/423606-whats-after-banning-straws-going-after-rising-plastic-production?fbclid=IwAR2EDqXhlLuGApy5tmYE1Jucd_NIsFTw9rLZz-rLadrmnVA-uD1AfZF-5wo#.XDOQDWvyNGo.facebook">The Hill</a> — 01/03/19<br /><br /><br />Dozens of U.S. cities made 2018 the year of the plastic straw ban. But if we really want to reduce the plastic pollution rapidly amassing in our oceans, 2019 must be the year we challenge the fossil fuel industry’s plan to aggressively expand plastic production.<br /><br />Yes, those straw bans help. Straws contribute to ocean plastic pollution that’s expected to outweigh all the fish in the sea by 2050. Those who pushed the anti-straw #StopSucking campaign — and journalists who gave high-profile coverage to the plastic-pollution crisis — deserve tremendous credit for the quick adoption of plastic straw bans over the past year. Along with earlier plastic-bag bans and restrictions on Styrofoam packaging, these actions can significantly reduce the flow of plastic into our oceans. <br /><br />But it’s not enough. These gains could easily be wiped out by dozens of new plastic-production plants being built along the Gulf Coast and in the Rust Belt. They’re part of the fossil fuel industry’s stated goal of increasing plastic production by 40 percent over the next decade. <br /><br />Even though we’re already dumping about 8 million tons of plastic into our oceans each year — which chokes marine life, absorbs toxins, travels throughout the ocean food web and doesn’t break down for decades — Big Oil wants to make more plastic. These ethane “cracker” plants would use our oversupply of cheap, fracked natural gas to create plastic pellets, the basic building blocks of cheap plastic packaging and products. <br /><br />Most of that plastic will end up in our oceans, landscapes and landfills. Almost 80 percent of the plastic we produce ends up in our landfills and the natural environment, a figure that could rise now that China has stopped accepting our plastic recycling. <br /><br />Yet, ExxonMobil, Shell, Dow, Formosa Plastics and other companies are planning to spend $180 billion on increased plastic production in the coming years. <br /><br />For example, ExxonMobil is now trying to build the world’s largest plastics plant in Texas, in partnership with Saudi Arabia thanks to a deal cut by President Trump, using about $1 billion in subsidies from Texas taxpayers. That means this project is paying a murderous regime and highly profitable oil company to create pollution we’ll all pay for later. <br /><br />Another massive plastic plant is slated for the banks of the Mississippi River, transforming an agricultural and wetland habitat into a dirty petrochemical plant. People nearby in the community of St. James Parish, Louisiana — in a predominantly African American district already known as Cancer Alley because of the toxins spewed by local petrochemical plants — are fighting the plastics plant proposed by the Taiwanese company Formosa Plastics. <br /><br />This is a company that has been heavily fined for spilling plastic pellets into Texas waterways, polluting the air in Louisiana, and a 2004 explosion and fire at its plant in Illinois. The fire killed five workers and forced the evacuation of a nearby town. <br /><br />So even if it doesn’t explode or sicken its impoverished neighbors, even if its industrial runoff doesn’t contaminate the region’s vital seafood industry, even in the best-case scenario where nothing goes terribly wrong, we still end up with a bunch of cheap plastic we don’t want or need. <br /><br />This plastic buildout is being repeated in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Mississippi and the other states now processing applications for plastic plants and the pipelines that feed them with fracked natural gas. Each project spews pollution into our air and water as it produces endless amounts of plastic. <br /><br />Now, 2019 will be a critical year in deciding whether we slow down this plastic-pollution juggernaut or simply let the problem get worse and pass it on to the next generations. As National Geographic put it in a special issue this year, it’s time to choose between “plastic or planet.” Let’s choose the planet. <br /><i><br />Steven T. Jones is a media specialist with the Center for Biological Diversity. Jones was previously editor-in-chief of the San Francisco Bay Guardian. He worked as a journalist for 24 years, including covering coastal and environmental issues for seven different newspapers.</i>bigmuddygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16209291095727799522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784425221248248249.post-52371894065634373822019-01-07T07:48:00.000-08:002019-01-07T07:48:49.923-08:00The war on plastic is heating up<div class="heading col-xs-12" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; float: left; font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; min-height: 1px; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 10px; position: relative; width: 673.328px;">
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<span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><i>published on the <a href="https://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wilderness-resources/stories/war-plastic-bags-plastic-items">Mother Nature Network</a>, January 2, 2019 by Noel Kirkpatrick</i></span></h1>
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Across the globe, we're getting serious about reducing the use of plastic bags, utensils and containers.</h2>
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January 2, 2019, 11:44 a.m.</div>
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<img alt="A woman in Monterey Park, California, carries her groceries in a plastic bag" class="img-responsive pinnable-image" data-pin-description="We're getting serious across the globe about reducing the use of plastic bags, utensils and containers." height="240" src="https://media.mnn.com/assets/images/2018/02/WomanCarryingGroceriesInPlasticBag.jpg.653x0_q80_crop-smart.jpg" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; height: auto; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle;" width="400" /><div class="caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 10px; line-height: 1.4;">
Plastic bags may be convenient for us, but they're not terribly convenient for the environment. (Photo: Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images)</div>
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Plastic bags are just about everywhere, but their days seem to be increasingly numbered.</div>
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As awareness of the dangers of plastic bags continues to rise — from the threat to wildlife to the fact that they aren't biodegradable — more groups are taking actions to limit their presence. </div>
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The media is also taking notice. National Geographic's magazine cover shocked many readers.</div>
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The company also launched a campaign called #PlanetorPlastic to raise awareness of plastic pollution and will stop wrapping its magazines in plastic.</div>
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Of course, the war on plastic bags isn't new by any stretch. In 2002, <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-24090603" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #389bd3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Bangladesh became the first country to ban the use of thin plastic bags</a> after it was discovered that a build up of the bags choked the country's drainage systems during flooding. In the almost 20 years since then, more countries and individual cities have taken action, including taxing the use of the bags or following Bangladesh's lead and outright banning them.</div>
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And the scope of the war is expanding beyond bags. Plastic straws, bottles, utensils and food containers are all fronts in this ongoing battle, as the convenience and low monetary cost of single-use plastic items is outweighed by a desire for a sustainable lifestyle.</div>
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South Korea and Taiwan leading the way in Asia</h2>
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Beginning in 2019, grocery stores and supermarkets in South Korea can no longer provide single-use plastic bags to shopper except to hold "wet" food like fish and meat. Instead, they will be required by law to provide cloth or paper bags that can be either recycled or reused. The penalty for violating this law is a fine up to 3 million won (about $2,700 U.S.).</div>
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The Taiwanese government announced plans to steadily <a href="https://www.hongkongfp.com/2018/02/22/taiwan-ban-single-use-plastic-drinking-straws-plastic-bags-disposable-utensils-entirely-2030/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #389bd3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">phase out the use of plastic straws, bags, utensils, cups and containers by 2030</a>.</div>
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By 2019, fast-food chains will no longer be allowed to supply plastic straws for in-store use, meaning no plastic straws for someone having a meal inside the restaurant. By 2020, free plastic straws will be banned from all eating and drinking establishments. By 2025, the public will have to pay for to-go straws, and by 2030, there'll be a blanket ban on the use of plastic straws entirely.</div>
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Other plastic goods, including plastic bags, utensils and food containers will face a similar phase-out process. If a retail company files invoices for uniforms, which many do, according to the Hong Kong Free Press, then that company will no longer be allowed to offer free versions of those products after 2020. While that might seem like a loophole of sorts — "Our employees will no longer have to buy or wear uniforms we provide so we can continue to offer plastic items." — it's one that will close by 2030 when another blanket ban on those products will be introduced.</div>
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The minister who oversees this program, Lai Ying-ying, emphasized that this is more than just a job for the Taiwanese Environmental Protection Agency; the entire country, he said, needs to rally behind it if it's to be successful. It's a daunting challenge as the Taiwanese EPA estimates that a <a href="https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/taiwan-to-ban-plastic-straws-cups-by-2030-9981998" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #389bd3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">single Taiwanese person uses around an average of 700 plastic bags a year.</a></div>
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Lofty goals in the European Union</h2>
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<a href="https://media.mnn.com/assets/images/2018/02/ManCarriesPlasticBagsInGreekPublicMarket.jpg.838x0_q80.jpg" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #389bd3; text-decoration-line: none;"><img alt="An elderly man holds plastic bags as he walks inside a Greek public market" height="267" src="https://media.mnn.com/assets/images/2018/02/ManCarriesPlasticBagsInGreekPublicMarket.jpg.838x0_q80.jpg" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; height: auto !important; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle;" width="400" /></a><small style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 19px; margin-top: 5px;">A man shops in a Greek public market. The <a href="http://www.ekathimerini.com/224103/article/ekathimerini/news/free-plastic-shopping-bags-banned-from-start-of-new-year" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #389bd3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Greek government banned free plastic bags</a> at the start of 2018. (Photo: Giannis Papanikos/Shutterstock)</small></div>
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The European Union is following a similar path for its 28 member states in an effort to curb the use of plastics that "take five seconds to produce, you use it for five minutes and it takes 500 years to break down again," Frans Timmermans, the first vice president of the European Commission, the body responsible for managing the EU's day-to-operations, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jan/16/eu-declares-war-on-plastic-waste-2030" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #389bd3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">told the Guardian</a> in January 2018.</div>
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Plenty of countries within the EU have their own plans in place to reduce plastic consumption, but the EU aims to have all packaging on the continent be reusable or recyclable by 2030. But first, they have to decide the best course of action to achieve that end.</div>
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The first step is an "impact assessment" to determine the best way to tax the use of single-use plastics. The EU also wants its member states to reduce the use of bags per person from 90 a year to 40 by 2026, to promote easy access to tap water on the streets to reduce the demand for bottled water and to improve states' ability to "monitor and reduce their maritime litter."</div>
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In October 2018, the EU voted overwhelmingly to ban a wide range of single-use plastics in every member state. The <a href="http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20181018IPR16524/plastic-oceans-meps-back-eu-ban-on-throwaway-plastics-by-2021" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #389bd3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">European Parliament voted 571-53</a> to forbid the use of plastics such as plates, cutlery, straws, cotton buds and even "products made of oxo-degradable plastics, such as bags or packaging and fast-food containers made of expanded polystyrene."</div>
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For other disposable items that don't have an alternative replacement, the EU ruled that member states have to reduce consumption by at least 25 percent by 2025. "This includes single-use burger boxes, sandwich boxes or food containers for fruits, vegetables, desserts or ice creams. Member states will draft national plans to encourage the use of products suitable for multiple use, as well as re-using and recycling.</div>
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Other plastic items like beverage bottles will have to be recycled by 90 percent by 2025 as well. Another goal is to reduce cigarette filters that contain plastic by 50 percent by 2025 and 80 percent by 2030. The EU also wants member states to ensure that ghost nets and other fishing gear are recycled by at least 15 percent by 2025.</div>
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All these regulations may seem overly ambitious in such a short time period, but Belgian European Parliament member Frédérique Ries, who is responsible for this bill, is optimistic these goals can be accomplished.</div>
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"We have adopted the most ambitious legislation against single-use plastics. It is up to us now to stay the course in the upcoming negotiations with the Council, due to start as early as November. Today’s vote paves the way to a forthcoming and ambitious directive," wrote Ries. "It is essential in order to protect the marine environment and reduce the costs of environmental damage attributed to plastic pollution in Europe, estimated at 22 billion euros by 2030."</div>
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The United Kingdom, which is still in the process of Brexiting from the EU, likely won't be subject to these regulations. However, as <a href="https://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/responsible-living/blogs/britain-serious-plastic-waste" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #389bd3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">MNN's Matt Hickman reports</a>, there's a sizable effort underway to reduce it use of plastic.</div>
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Other nations following suit</h2>
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In August 2018, New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the country would phase out plastic bags within a year.</div>
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"We’re phasing out single-use plastic bags so we can better look after our environment and safeguard New Zealand’s clean, green reputation," Ardern told <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/10/jacinda-ardern-says-new-zealand-will-ban-plastic-bags" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #389bd3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>. "Every year in New Zealand we use hundreds of millions of single-use plastic bags. A mountain of bags, many of which end up polluting our precious coastal and marine environments and cause serious harm to all kinds of marine life, and all of this when there are viable alternatives for consumers and business."</div>
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Businesses will have six months to stop distributing plastic bags or face fines up to NZ $100,000. Many supermarket chains and major retailers have already committed to stop using plastic bags by the end of the year.</div>
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Ardern said many Kiwis welcome the ban and cited a petition signed by more than 65,000 citizens calling for it. However, the same reaction can't be said for its neighboring country, Australia.</div>
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Most territories and states in Australia have banned single-use, lightweight plastic bags except for New South Wales and Victoria — home to the country's largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne.</div>
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<a href="https://media.mnn.com/assets/images/2018/08/GettyImages-989241226.jpg.838x0_q80.jpg" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #389bd3; text-decoration-line: none;"><img alt="Australia grocery store plastic bag ban" height="266" src="https://media.mnn.com/assets/images/2018/08/GettyImages-989241226.jpg.838x0_q80.jpg" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; height: auto !important; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle;" width="400" /></a><small style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 19px; margin-top: 5px;">A sign, seen in a Coles supermarket, advises its customers of its plastic bag free in Sydney on July 2, 2018. (Photo: PETER PARKS/AFP/Getty Images)</small></div>
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However, there was an uproar after Woolworth's and Coles, two large retail chains, tried to implement a ban on plastic bags. Many customers protested and after just several weeks Coles decided to sell reusable plastic bags for a small fee in lieu of the lightweight bags. "Some customers told us they needed more time to make the transition to re-usable bags," a Coles spokesperson <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/01/australia/australia-plastic-bag-ban-intl/index.html" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #389bd3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">told CNN</a>.</div>
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Local Australian news outlets reported that some customers accused Coles of a marketing ploy by charging for reusable bags. The Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association also <a href="https://au.news.yahoo.com/woolworths-worker-attacked-customers-anger-plastic-bag-ban-055334153.html" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #389bd3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">reported in July</a> that a Woolsworth employee was attacked by a customer who was upset over the ban. The organization surveyed 120 employees and found that 50 reported being harassed by customers.</div>
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Australia isn't the only the continent to experience various reactions to plastic bags. Africa has its own mix of success.</div>
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African countries have seen mixed success</h2>
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Plenty of African nations have engaged in curbing the use of plastic bags over the years. Some countries, including Gambia, Senegal and Morocco, have banned plastic bags, while others, like Botswana and South Africa, have instituted levies on plastic bags.</div>
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The success of these efforts vary from country to country; in fact, there's a black market for plastic bags in a few of them. The levy on thicker plastic bags in South Africa, for instance, has been a partial failure, <a href="https://econrsa.org/papers/p_papers/pp18.pdf" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #389bd3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">according to a University of Cape Town 2010 study</a> [PDF], due to the levy simply not being high enough, so consumers incorporate the cost into their purchases. Meanwhile, <a href="http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2016/2/25/rwanda-plastic-bag-ban.html" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #389bd3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Rwanda saw an uptick in black market sales and smuggling of plastic bags</a> following a 2008 ban. Police have set up checkpoints at various border crossings to search people for the contraband.</div>
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In perhaps the continent's longest-running plastic bag struggle, <a href="https://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/recycling/blogs/kenya-enacts-worlds-toughest-plastic-bag-ban" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #389bd3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Kenya instituted the world's toughest ban on plastic bags</a> in August 2017, with punishment ranging from steep fines to prison sentences. This represented the country's most severe attempt to ban the use of plastic bags over a 10-year effort. Even this, however, hasn't stopped the production of plastic bags, and <a href="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/business/article/2001263760/plastic-bags-now-being-made-at-night-in-kenya" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #389bd3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">night raids have been considered</a> to disrupt the illegal manufacturing of plastic bags.</div>
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Banning plastics is tricky to navigate in the U.S.</h2>
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<a href="https://media.mnn.com/assets/images/2018/02/PlasticUtensilsInAContainer.jpg.838x0_q80.jpg" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #389bd3; text-decoration-line: none;"><img alt="Plastic utensils in a container" height="231" src="https://media.mnn.com/assets/images/2018/02/PlasticUtensilsInAContainer.jpg.838x0_q80.jpg" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; height: auto !important; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle;" width="400" /></a><small style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 19px; margin-top: 5px;">A few U.S. cities are making efforts to reduce the use of plastic utensils and straws. (Photo: Kent Sievers/Shutterstock)</small></div>
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This might not surprise you, but plastic bag politics in the U.S. are decidedly scattershot. Cities and their respective counties may end up with different policies in place, with cities acting ahead of their counties, which can cause confusion if you need to go shopping in one city on your way home to another city but you don't have any reusable bags with you. While a city may pass an ordinance banning plastic bags, the state could effectively overturn that ruling, which is what happened in Texas.</div>
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The city of Laredo banned plastic bags several years ago, but the Laredo Merchants Association challenged that decision in 2015 saying the state's law, the Texas Solid Waste Disposal Act, protected a business' right to use plastic bags. The city argued that the statute fell under an anti-littering ordinance, and the case was taken up by the Texas Supreme Court this year. The court voted unanimously that the city law was invalid because the state's law usurps the city. The court's ruling could ultimately affect other Texas cities that have also sought to ban plastic bags.</div>
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However other states, like Florida and Arizona, have <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/05/02/saving-america-from-plastic-bags" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #389bd3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">banned the ban of plastic bags</a>, while <a href="http://www.thestate.com/news/politics-government/article198851454.html" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #389bd3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">South Carolina is close to doing the same</a>. While that eliminates confusion for sure, it doesn't actually solve the environmental problem.</div>
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Even when a state ban is in effect, that may not be the end-all, be-all answer. <a href="http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article113898813.html" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #389bd3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">California as a state banned the use of plastic bags</a> in grocery stories, retail stores with a pharmacy, food marts and liquor stores in 2016, but local municipalities that had bans in effect prior to Jan. 1, 2015, have beeen allowed to operate under their laws, essentially superseding the state ban. The differences largely come down to the price for a paper bag, however. (The state ban requires a 10-cent charge for a paper bag.)</div>
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One company is even jumping on the bandwagon. Kroger announced in August 2018 that it would stop using plastic bags by 2025.</div>
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Banning other plastic items, like straws and utensils, is gaining some steam, but only at the local level. For instance, <a href="http://q13fox.com/2018/06/19/seattles-ban-on-plastic-straws-and-utensils-begins-july-1/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #389bd3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Seattle's ban on plastic straws and utensils goes into effect on July 1</a> in all places that serve food and drinks (plastic bags have been banned in the city since 2011). Some establishments around the city cut out straws in September 2017, when the ban was announced, while other venues, like CenturyLink Field, SafeCo Field, made the switch to compostable straws and utensils before the city's ban. Indeed, SafeCo recycles or composts 96 percent of its waste.</div>
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Restaurants in other cities, including San Diego; Huntington Beach, California; Asbury Park, New Jersey; New York City; Miami; Bradenton, Florida, have pledged to either ban straws entirely, or simply not provide them unless a customer asks for them, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/a-campaign-to-eliminate-plastic-straws-is-sucking-in-thousands-of-converts/2017/06/24/d53f70cc-4c5a-11e7-9669-250d0b15f83b_story.html?utm_term=.be237dedb590" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #389bd3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">according to a June 2017 article in the Washington Post</a>.</div>
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As you can see, it's a patchwork approach to a global problem.</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Editor's note: This article has been updated since it was originally published in March 2018.</em></div>
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bigmuddygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16209291095727799522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784425221248248249.post-9697016188007577722018-10-03T13:26:00.000-07:002018-10-03T13:26:08.983-07:00Beer, Drinking Water and Fish: Tiny Plastic is Everywhere<br /><br />Published August 20, 2018 on <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/08/20/636845604/beer-drinking-water-and-fish-tiny-plastic-is-everywhere">NPR's </a><a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/08/20/636845604/beer-drinking-water-and-fish-tiny-plastic-is-everywhere">All Things Considered</a><a href="https://www.twitter.com/christophjoyce">Twitter</a><img height="299" src="https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2018/08/09/micro-plastics-3-46067ed8a6176d049fc040a53163230d1bf4bd88-s800-c85.jpg" width="400" />Chris Joyce/NPR<a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/07/24/627505327/meet-the-woman-who-put-plastic-waste-on-the-map"><img src="https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2018/07/12/img-20180628-wa0001_sq-88fc5b903860eef2e08cbb0f2d31398383e644c7-s300-c85.jpeg" /></a><a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/environment/">ENVIRONMENT</a><br /><a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/07/24/627505327/meet-the-woman-who-put-plastic-waste-on-the-map">We're Drowning In Plastic Trash. Jenna Jambeck Wants To Save Us</a><img height="300" src="https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2018/08/09/micro-plastics-1-3788df03f392dd729423409c777db92a036554cc-s800-c85.jpg" width="400" />Chris Joyce/NPR<a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2018/07/09/626210905/an-indian-state-bans-plastic-bags-straws-and-more-will-it-work"><img src="https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2018/07/05/juhu23-50_sq-09c3c38724aaf07893c797cff35967eede880cc7-s300-c85.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/">GOATS AND SODA</a><br /><a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2018/07/09/626210905/an-indian-state-bans-plastic-bags-straws-and-more-will-it-work">An Indian State Bans Plastic Bags, Straws And More. Will It Work?</a><img height="400" src="https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2018/08/09/micro-plastics-5_custom-cd9fe332a09e15b2d443cc0f99a14af47270266c-s800-c85.jpg" width="400" />Chris Joyce/NPR<a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/06/06/617213676/in-thailand-17-pounds-of-plastic-kills-whale-highlighting-ocean-pollution"><img src="https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2018/06/05/rtx67kwv_sq-0b899dd9de2cc855f4561fd3bc83ec5158ef9e6b-s300-c85.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.npr.org/series/555657011/highlights-from-here-now">HERE & NOW COMPASS</a><br /><a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/06/06/617213676/in-thailand-17-pounds-of-plastic-kills-whale-highlighting-ocean-pollution">In Thailand, 17 Pounds Of Plastic Kills Whale, Highlighting Ocean Pollution</a><img src="https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2018/08/09/micro-plastics-2_custom-f92a79c1858f69808ac5011211bac57d2e5cff3f-s300-c85.jpg" />Enlarge this imageChris Joyce/NPR<br />Plastic also <a href="http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/364/1526">attracts other chemicals</a> in the water that latch onto it, including toxic industrial compounds like polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs. Plastic becomes a chemical Trojan horse.<img src="https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2018/08/09/micro-plastics-4_custom-4945479a8f575ee97e7d8bbf11009d7dadae9a28-s300-c85.jpg" />Enlarge this imageChris Joyce/NPRx<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://www.npr.org/people/2100689/christopher-joyce">CHRISTOPHER JOYCE</a><br /><br /><br /><br />Ecologist Chelsea Rochman (left) and researcher Kennedy Bucci dig through washed-up debris along Lake Ontario. They're looking for small particles of plastic that make their way into oceans, rivers and lakes.<br /><br />Plastic trash is littering the land and fouling rivers and oceans. But what we can see is only a small fraction of what's out there.<br /><br />Since modern plastic was first mass-produced, <a href="https://eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-07/uog-sct071417.php">8 billion tons</a> have been manufactured. And when it's thrown away, it doesn't just disappear. Much of it crumbles into small pieces.<br /><br />Scientists call the tiny pieces "microplastics" and define them as objects smaller than 5 millimeters — about the size of one of the letters on a computer keyboard. Researchers started to pay serious attention to microplastics in the environment about 15 years ago. They're in oceans, rivers and lakes. They're also in soil. Recent <a href="https://www.npr.org/search?query=joyce%20plastic&page=1">research</a> in Germany found that fertilizer made from composted household waste contains microplastics.<br /><br />And, even more concerning, microplastics are in drinking water. <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0194970#sec023">In beer</a>. In sea salt. In <a href="http://www.expeditionmed.eu/fr/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2015/02/Van-Cauwenberghe-2014-microplastics-in-cultured-shellfish1.pdf">fish and shellfish</a>. How microplastics get into animals is something of a mystery, and <a href="https://rochmanlab.com/people/">Chelsea Rochman</a> is trying to solve it.<br /><br />Rochman is an ecologist at the University of Toronto. She studies how plastic works its way into the food chain, from tiny plankton to fish larvae to fish, including fish we eat.<br /><br />She says understanding how plastic gets into fish matters not just to the fish, but to us. "We eat fish that eat plastic," she says. "Are there things that transfer to the tissue? Does the plastic itself transfer to the tissue? Do the chemicals associated with the plastic transfer to the tissue?"<br /><br />Bucci uses a microscope to look at a fathead minnow larva that has ingested plastic particles.<br /><br />Rochman says she has always loved cleaning up. She remembers how, as a 6-year-old, she puzzled her parents by volunteering to clean the house.<br /><br />In high school in Arizona she got even more ambitious. "I used to take my friends into the desert and clean up a mile of trash every Earth Day," she says. "I remember finding weird old dolls and strange old toys that I thought were creepy, but that I would also keep."<br /><br />As a graduate student, she landed a spot on a research vessel to visit the <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/03/22/596142560/the-trash-patch-in-the-pacific-is-many-times-bigger-than-we-thought">infamous floating garbage patch</a> in the Pacific Ocean. She and the other scientists on the trip were supposed to count the plastic as it drifted by.<br /><br />She remembers the moment they sailed into the patch, "Everyone runs up to the bow and says, 'There's trash, there's trash, everyone start counting the trash.' And so we all start counting the trash."<br /><br />But something was wrong. "We're looking and it's, like, basically a soup of confetti, of tiny little plastic bits everywhere," she remembers. "Everyone just stops counting. [They] sat there, their backs up against the wall and said, 'OK, this is a real issue, [and it's] not an island of trash you can pick up."<br /><br />To Rochman, a third thing was also clear: "The tiny stuff, for me as an ecologist, this is really getting into the food chain. You could spend a career studying this stuff."<br /><br />So she did.<br /><br />Microplastics found along Lake Ontario by Rochman's team<br /><br />A world of plastic<br /><br />A typical day for Rochman might start alongside sparkling Lake Ontario, where parks line the shore and joggers and picnickers enjoy the shoreline scenery. The lake, however, hides a mostly invisible menace.<br /><br />To see it, Rochman's student, Kennedy Bucci, brings us to an inlet that's ankle-deep in washed-up debris. An apartment building looms overhead. They squat down, reach into the muck and quickly find what they're looking for. "I'm digging and just finding more and more," Rochman says. "Like whole bottle caps. This is insane."<br /><br />"It's so ingrained in the soil," says Bucci.<br /><br />She comes here regularly to collect plastic for Rochman's research. They work quickly, filling a jar with bits of plastic. Rochman, who's not wearing gloves, inadvertently picks up something she wishes she hadn't. "Oh!" she laughs, flinging it aside. "That's why you've got gloves on," she tells Bucci, and then gets right back to digging.<br /><br />Since she started studying microplastics, Rochman has found them in the outflow from sewage treatment plants. And they've <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/04/06/600174922/another-place-plastics-are-turning-up-organic-fertilizer-from-food-waste">shown up</a> in insects, worms, clams, fish and birds.<br /><br />Rochman's scientific team drops a net into a stream in Toronto to collect tiny floating pieces of plastic.<br /><br />To study how that happens, Bucci makes her own microplastics from the morning's collection. She takes a postage stamp-size piece of black plastic from the jar, and grinds it into particles using a coffee grinder. "So this is the plastic that I feed to the fish," she says.<br /><br />The plastic particles go into beakers of water containing fish larvae from fathead minnows, the test-animals of choice in marine toxicology. Tanks full of them line the walls of the lab.<br /><br />Bucci uses a pipette to draw out a bunch of larvae that have already been exposed to these ground-up plastic particles. The larva's gut is translucent. We can see right into it.<br /><br />"You can see kind of a line of black, weirdly shaped black things," she points out. "Those are the microplastics." The larva has ingested them.<br /><br />Rochman says microplastic particles can sicken or even kill larvae and fish in their experiments.<br /><br />Plastic can also get into fish tissue, particularly plastic fibers from clothing such as fleece. Rochman found fleece fibers in fish from San Francisco Bay. She also looked in fish from Indonesia, a tropical country whose residents are not known for dressing in fleece. She <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/srep14340">found plastic</a> in Indonesian fish guts, but no fibers, suggesting that fish bodies tell a story about what kind of plastic resides in local waters.<br /><br />Rochman took this line of research a step further when she bought a washing machine for her lab and washed fleece clothing. Lots of plastic fibers came out in the filter she added to collect the wastewater. In fact, she has found microplastics floating in the air. "If you put a piece of double-sided sticky tape on a lab bench for an hour, you come back and it's got four plastic fibers on it," she says.<br /><br />Resilient, durable and potentially dangerous<br /><br />Most plastic is inert; it does not readily react chemically with other substances, and that's one reason it has been so successful. Plastic is resilient, durable and doesn't easily degrade. It's a vital part of medical equipment and has revolutionized packaging, especially food storage.<br /><br />But, over time, plastic can break down and shed the chemicals that make it useful, such as <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/biomonitoring/Phthalates_FactSheet.html">phthalates</a> and <a href="https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/sya-bpa/index.cfm">bisphenol A</a>. These substances are common in the environment and their effects on human health are of concern to public health scientists and advocates, but few large-scale, definitive studies have been done. <br /><br />Researcher Kennedy Bucci collects plastics from the shore of Lake Ontario in Toronto.<br /><br />Tracking all those chemicals is researcher Clara Thaysen's job.<br /><br />"Right now we're starting with the common types of plastic, so polyethylene, polypropylene [and] polystyrene," she explains.<br /><br />"But, there's..." she pauses and sighs. "There's tons." Plastic comes in many forms, with a wide variety of chemical additives depending on how the plastic is used. What happens to plastic over decades just hasn't been studied deeply.<br /><br />"This happens all the time," says Thaysen. "We invent something that seems really great and ... we don't think and we become so dependent on it."<br /><br />Rochman notes that this kind of research is relatively new; most of the environmental studies on microplastics have come out within the past 10 years.<br /><br />"The things we don't know," she says, are daunting. "What are all the sources where it's coming from, so that we can think about where to turn it off? And once it gets in the ocean, where does it go? Which is super-important because then we can understand how it impacts wildlife and humans."<br /><br />She says she's ready to spend the restbigmuddygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16209291095727799522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784425221248248249.post-77029823213101304032017-07-21T15:37:00.002-07:002017-07-21T15:37:26.093-07:00There’s literally a ton of plastic garbage for every person on Earth<div class="pb-sig-line hasnt-headshot has-0-headshots hasnt-bio is-not-column" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: FranklinITCProLight, HelveticaNeue, "Helvetica Neue Light", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.1em; padding-bottom: 25px;">
<span class="pb-byline" itemprop="author" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; font-family: FranklinITCProBold, sans-serif; padding-right: 5px;">Published in the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/07/19/theres-literally-a-ton-of-plastic-garbage-for-every-person-in-the-world/?utm_term=.bf6f861446c5">Washington Post</a> By Darryl Fears -</span>July 19, 2017<span class="pb-tool email" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #1955a5; display: inline-block; padding-right: 5px;"><a href="mailto:fearsd@washpost.com?subject=Reader%20feedback%20for%20%27There%E2%80%99s%20literally%20a%20ton%20of%20plastic%20garbage%20for%20every%20person%20on%20Earth%27" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;"><span class="fa fa-envelope" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; font-family: FontAwesome; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1; text-rendering: auto;"></span></a></span><span class="pb-bolt" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="c5fa549e3b" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: inherit;"></a><img class="hi-res-lazy courtesy-of-the-lazy-loader zoom-in" data-hi-res-src="https://img.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://img.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_960w/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2014/07/07/Health-Environment-Science/Images/Ocean_Plastic-0cebc-1668.jpg&w=1484" data-low-res-src="https://img.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://img.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_960w/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2014/07/07/Health-Environment-Science/Images/Ocean_Plastic-0cebc-1668.jpg&w=480" data-raw-src="https://img.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_960w/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2014/07/07/Health-Environment-Science/Images/Ocean_Plastic-0cebc-1668.jpg" height="300" src="https://img.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://img.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_960w/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2014/07/07/Health-Environment-Science/Images/Ocean_Plastic-0cebc-1668.jpg&w=1484" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;" width="400" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span class="pb-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #6e6e6e; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.25em; margin-top: 4px;">Floating debris in Hawaii’s Hanauma Bay in 2008. (NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center via AP)</span></div>
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More than 9 billion tons of plastic has been produced since 1950, and the vast majority of it is still around.</div>
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A new study that tracked the global manufacture and distribution of plastics since they became widespread after World War II found that only 2 billion tons of that plastic is still in use. Seven billion tons is stuck on Earth as garbage in landfills, recycled trash or pollution in the environment, including deep oceans, where it’s been discovered in the mouths of whales and the bellies of dead seabirds that mistook it for food. A small amount is eliminated in incinerators.</div>
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As plastic becomes near-indestructible mountains of garbage on land and swirling vortexes of trash on the high seas, humans keep making more. Half of the plastic that people mostly use once and toss away was created in the past 30 years, the study says.</div>
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Plastic’s most lucrative market is packaging commonly seen in grocery stores. It could be in front of you right now, in the form of a water bottle, a carryout lunch container, or an iced-coffee or tea cup with its <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/a-campaign-to-eliminate-plastic-straws-is-sucking-in-thousands-of-converts/2017/06/24/d53f70cc-4c5a-11e7-9669-250d0b15f83b_story.html?utm_term=.d06f715fb414" style="border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(213, 213, 213); box-sizing: border-box; color: #1955a5; font-size: inherit; line-height: 1.8em; margin-bottom: 18px; text-decoration-line: none; zoom: 1;">disposable straw</a>.</div>
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Over 9.1 billion tons of plastic have been produced and most of it thrown away</div>
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<span class="wpv-blurb" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline !important;">This animation summarizes the production and fate of all plastics ever made.</span> (Carla Schaffer / AAAS)</div>
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It’s a miracle product that’s also in your office chair, phone and computer keyboard. The pipes that move water in your building are often plastic. You probably touch plastic to switch on the car radio on the foam plastic dashboard. Plastic is pretty much everywhere humans are at any part of the day, anywhere in the world.</div>
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In 1960, plastic accounted for just 1 percent of junk in municipal landfills across the world. As single-package containers led to an explosion in convenience and use, that number grew to 10 percent in 2005. A recent study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences estimated the amount of plastic debris floating in the open ocean at 7,000 to 35,000 tons.</div>
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“If current trends continue, the researchers predict over 13 billion tons of plastic will be discarded in landfills or in the environment by 2050,” the American Association for the Advancement of Science said in a statement announcing the new study’s release Wednesday. It was published in the journal Science Advances.</div>
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“I think for me that’s the single most surprising thing, the implication of the large growth rate,” said Roland Geyer, one of the authors. Another surprise, he said, is how far the United States lags behind China and Europe in recycling plastic material.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="c65ff36c05" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: inherit;"></a><img class="zoom-in hi-res-lazy courtesy-of-the-lazy-loader" data-hi-res-src="https://img.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://img.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_960w/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2016/03/21/Foreign/Images/05223687.jpg&w=1484" data-low-res-src="https://img.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://img.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_960w/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2016/03/21/Foreign/Images/05223687.jpg&w=480" data-raw-src="https://img.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_960w/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2016/03/21/Foreign/Images/05223687.jpg" height="266" src="https://img.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://img.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_960w/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2016/03/21/Foreign/Images/05223687.jpg&w=1484" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;" width="400" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span class="pb-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #6e6e6e; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.25em; margin-top: 4px;">Debris on Kuta beach in Bali, Indonesia. (European Pressphoto Agency)</span></div>
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In the study, Geyer wrote, “On the basis of limited available data, the highest recycling rates in 2014 were in Europe (30 percent) and China (25 percent), whereas in the United States, plastic recycling has remained steady at 9 percent.”</div>
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Recycling only delays plastic’s inevitable trip to a trash bin. Incineration is the only way to assure that plastic is eliminated, and Europe and China by far lead the United States in that category as well, up to 40 percent compared with 16 percent.</div>
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But burning plastic is risky because if the emissions aren’t carefully filtered, harmful chemicals become air pollution. Like other countries, the United States has been slow to enforce regulations on industry emissions.</div>
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China is easily the world’s largest producer of plastics, with Europe and North America also looming large as major players, Geyer said. Other Asian nations round out a long list of manufacturers. But consumers are the polluters, and people on every continent participate, from the Arctic to Africa.</div>
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Plastic’s vampire-like life cycle is nothing new. What’s new with this research is its use of plastic-production data with “product lifetime distributions from eight different industrial sectors” to build a scientific model that showed “how long plastics are in use before they reach the end of their useful lifetimes and are discarded,” the study said.</div>
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Geyer, an associate professor at the University of California at Santa Barbara, wrote the study with two colleagues, Jenna Jambeck, an associate professor at the University of Georgia, and Kara Lavender Law, a researcher at the Sea Education Association in Woods Hole, Mass.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="85bb8651d7" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: inherit;"></a><img class="zoom-in hi-res-lazy courtesy-of-the-lazy-loader" data-hi-res-src="https://img.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://img.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_960w/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2013/02/04/Foreign/Images/517002852.jpg&w=1484" data-low-res-src="https://img.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://img.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_960w/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2013/02/04/Foreign/Images/517002852.jpg&w=480" data-raw-src="https://img.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_960w/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2013/02/04/Foreign/Images/517002852.jpg" height="246" src="https://img.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://img.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_960w/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2013/02/04/Foreign/Images/517002852.jpg&w=1484" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;" width="400" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span class="pb-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #6e6e6e; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.25em; margin-top: 4px;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />An art installation made to create awareness about the harmful effects of plastics at the annual Kala Ghoda Arts Festival in Mumbai in 2013. (Indranil Mukherjee/AFP/Getty Images)</span></div>
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Each of them studied ocean garbage in the past, but Geyer, whose field is industrial ecology, the study of material and energy, suggested the plastics study. “I’m fascinated by materials and the way we use them . . . in particular waste management.”</div>
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The scale of the world’s plastic consumption and waste shocked them. “Even we were kind of surprised at the sheer magnitude of plastics being made and used,” Geyer said. He said he hopes politicians, conservationists and consumers will pay attention to what they found.</div>
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“My hope is readers will get a sense of the sheer magnitude of the tide of plastics and the plastic-waste challenge we’re facing,” he said. “. . . It’s enormous, and it’s accelerating.”</div>
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Unless it’s burned, plastic has nowhere to go but in the ground or the water. “I think most experts agree these polymers . . . are going to be with us for decades if not centuries,” Geyer said.</div>
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“I think the danger is permanent global contamination with plastics,” he said. “It’s just going to be everywhere, in the soil, in the ocean, in the sediment of the ocean floor, and it’s just going to accumulate.”</div>
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<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Read more</strong></div>
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<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/01/20/by-2050-there-will-be-more-plastic-than-fish-in-the-worlds-oceans-study-says/?utm_term=.03b49bd37af2" style="border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(213, 213, 213); box-sizing: border-box; color: #1955a5; font-size: inherit; line-height: 1.8em; margin-bottom: 18px; text-decoration-line: none; zoom: 1;">By 2050, there will be more plastic than fish in the world’s oceans</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/05/16/no-one-lives-on-this-remote-pacific-island-but-its-covered-in-38-million-pieces-of-our-trash/?utm_term=.b498b670ac4d" style="border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(213, 213, 213); box-sizing: border-box; color: #1955a5; font-size: inherit; line-height: 1.8em; margin-bottom: 18px; text-decoration-line: none; zoom: 1;">No one lives on this remote Pacific island, but it’s covered in our trash</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/04/19/humans-have-filled-the-pristine-arctic-ocean-with-300-billion-pieces-of-floating-plastic/?utm_term=.2e458e988211" style="border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(213, 213, 213); box-sizing: border-box; color: #1955a5; font-size: inherit; line-height: 1.8em; margin-bottom: 18px; text-decoration-line: none; zoom: 1;">The pristine Arctic has become a garbage trap for 300 billion pieces of trash</a></div>
</article>bigmuddygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16209291095727799522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784425221248248249.post-59525097928143131552017-05-05T08:28:00.001-07:002017-05-05T08:28:42.384-07:00This is how hundreds of tons of plastic trash end up in Arctic Ocean<i>Published in the <a href="http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-arctic-plastic-pollution-20170502-htmlstory.html">LA Times</a> by Sean Greene Contact Reporter Environmental Science, May 2, 2017</i><br />
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<img alt="Plastic fragments" height="224" src="http://www.trbimg.com/img-58f6572c/turbine/la-sci-sn-arctic-plastic-pollution-20170418-002/900/900x506" width="400" /><br />
A photo collage shows plastic fragments found in the Arctic Ocean. While plastic debris was scarce in most of the Arctic waters, it reached high concentrations in areas of the Greenland and Barents seas. (Andres Cozar)<br />
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Plastic trash is now so ubiquitous that researchers have found hundreds of tons of it floating in the Arctic Ocean.<br />
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It may not sound like much, but it’s a surprising amount given the area’s sparse population. The researchers who measured the plastic debris in the waters near the north pole described it as “widespread and abundant,” according to a <a href="http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/3/4/e1600582">study</a> last month in the journal in Science Advances.<br />
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“We already knew that the marine plastic pollution was high at tropical and temperate latitudes,” said study leader Andrés Cózar, an ecologist at the University of Cadiz in Spain. “Now, we also know that the plastic waste is extending up to the poles.”<br />
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Cózar and his colleagues estimated that 63% of the ice-free Arctic Ocean is “slightly polluted” with various types of plastic debris, including fishing line, microbeads and fragments of plastic products. Of the plastic trash that makes it to the Arctic, 95% of the plastic “dead ends” in either the Greenland Sea or the Barents Sea, north of Scandinavia.<br />
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Although the world’s other ocean “<a href="http://www.latimes.com/science/la-sci-plastisphere-20131228-story.html">garbage patches</a>” are significantly larger than the plastic accumulation in the Arctic, the average concentrations of plastic found there were comparable to those found in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans.<br />
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In a 2014 <a href="http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-ocean-plastic-patch-missing-20140701-story.html">study</a>, Cózar and his team estimated those oceans contain 10,000 to 35,000 tons of plastic pollution, which almost never fully decomposes on its own. Their latest findings suggest 3% of that global total is floating in the Arctic.<br />
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<b>The researchers estimate hundreds of thousands of tiny plastic pieces are floating on the surface of the Arctic Ocean</b><br />
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In 2013, researchers aboard the <a href="http://oceans.taraexpeditions.org/en/m/about-tara/les-expeditions/tara-oceans/">Tara Oceans expedition</a> who were working with Cózar sampled 42 sites of ice-free ocean around the Arctic Circle. Using mesh nets, they skimmed for bits of plastic floating on the surface and for debris suspended in the ocean depths.<br />
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<img alt="Scientists lower nets into the water to collect plankton and microplastics." height="266" src="http://www.trbimg.com/img-58f65725/turbine/la-sci-sn-arctic-plastic-pollution-20170418-006" width="400" /><br />
Scientists lower nets into the water to collect plankton and microplastics. (Anna Deniaud / Tara Expeditions Foundation)<br />
In their analysis, the researchers estimated that between 100 and 1,200 tons of plastic is floating in the Arctic Ocean — a wide range to be sure, but one that could be narrowed with future study.<br />
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The vast majority of the debris was plastic fragments, including buoyant pieces of foam and manufactured items made from polyethylene and polypropylene. (The researchers estimated that 300 billion plastic items would weigh about 400 tons.)<br />
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The researchers also found fishing line and plastic microbeads, tiny granules that are added to toothpastes, facial scrubs and cosmetics. Microbeads are too small for the filters used in wastewater treatment plants, so when they’re washed down the drain they wind up in rivers, lakes and oceans, Cózar said.<br />
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The research team also found very few remains of plastic bags and wrappers. These types of plastic may be quicker to sink because their larger surface areas attract organism growth, which weighs the material down.<br />
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Over time, the sun causes plastic that’s floating on the ocean surface to degrade into tiny pieces called <a href="http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/microplastics.html">microplastics</a>. The debris found in the Arctic was especially small, suggesting it traveled a long way to get there.<br />
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<img alt="The different categories of microplastics found in the Arctic Ocean." height="328" src="http://www.trbimg.com/img-58f6572a/turbine/la-sci-sn-arctic-plastic-pollution-20170418-003" width="400" /><br />
The different categories of microplastics found in the Arctic Ocean. (Andres Cózar)<br />
'Extraordinary levels' of pollution have contaminated even the deepest parts of the Pacific Ocean »<br />
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<b>Currents in the Atlantic act as a ‘conveyor belt’ for floating bits of plastic</b><br />
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Due to the small size of the debris and the region’s low population, the researchers involved in the new study suspected that much of the Arctic’s plastic pollution must be coming from distant sources.<br />
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To test this, they retraced the debris’ possible path to the Arctic using data from 17,000 satellite buoys spread across the world’s oceans. The data revealed that floating plastic gets caught up in the North Atlantic in a stretch of a deep-ocean current called the <a href="http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/tutorial_currents/05conveyor1.html">thermohaline circulation</a>.<br />
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The thermohaline acts as a global <a href="https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov//vis/a000000/a003600/a003658/">conveyor belt</a> powered by the temperature and salinity differences between the warm waters near the equator and the icy Arctic Ocean.<br />
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<img alt="Locations and plastic concentrations of the sites sampled. The white area shows the extension of the polar ice cap in August 2013, and green curves represent the North Atlantic Subtropical Ocean Gyres and the Global Thermohaline Circulation poleward branch." height="400" src="http://www.trbimg.com/img-58f65723/turbine/la-sci-sn-arctic-plastic-pollution-20170418-008" width="400" /><br />
Locations and plastic concentrations of the sites sampled. The white area shows the extension of the polar ice cap in August 2013, and green curves represent the North Atlantic Subtropical Ocean Gyres and the Global Thermohaline Circulation poleward branch. (Andres Cózar)<br />
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Ocean currents carry warm surface water into the Arctic via a “gateway” between Iceland and Scotland. When ice forms in the northern seas, the water that remains becomes saltier. This denser seawater sinks and flows back south, into the ocean basins near the equator.<br />
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As plastic pollution from the East Coast of the United States, northwestern Europe and the United Kingdom converges into a central ocean gyre in the Atlantic, the garbage accumulates on the surface and gets swept up in this slow-moving conveyor belt. It’s also possible, the study authors note, that busy shipping lanes between North America and Europe contribute some amount of plastic debris.<br />
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The floating plastic’s ports of call? The Greenland Sea and Barents Sea, which the authors called “a dead end for this plastic conveyor belt.”<br />
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In these areas, rising temperatures have reduced summer sea ice levels and created a layer of freshwater that seems to stop the advance of the plastic debris. However, it’s possible — depending on the density of the plastic items — that some of the debris could be forced toward the bottom of the ocean, Cózar said.<br />
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Since the “accumulation zones” in the Greenland and Barents seas are fed by drifting debris from lower latitudes, the amount of plastic pollution in the Arctic is likely to keep growing — even if Europe and North America managed to stop depositing trash in the ocean altogether. This will be especially noticeable on the seafloor, which Cózar called “the final destination” of marine plastic.<br />
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<b>What this means for the Arctic</b><br />
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The accumulation of plastic in the ocean — especially in the Arctic — is a worrying sign, Cózar said.<br />
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“The range of marine plastic size is so wide that any organism, from plankton to whales, could ingest plastic debris,” Cózar said.<br />
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Many seabirds, for example, <a href="http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-seabirds-plastic-20161111-story.html">mistake decaying plastic for food</a>. Animals that partake in a plastic-heavy diet could suffocate, or starve to death because they miss out on crucial nutrients.<br />
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<img alt="Plankton and microplastics." height="266" src="http://www.trbimg.com/img-58f65726/turbine/la-sci-sn-arctic-plastic-pollution-20170418-005" width="400" /><br />
Plankton and microplastics. (Anna Deniaud / Tara Expeditions Foundation)<br />
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On Norway’s Svalbard Islands, gull-like birds called <a href="http://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/northern-fulmar">northern fulmars</a> feed by snatching prey from the water’s surface. Most of the fulmars sampled were <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00300-015-1657-4">found</a> to have eaten an average 15 pieces of plastic per animal — a level that far exceeds the ecological goals set for the region.<br />
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In the Pacific Ocean, scientists found <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14627365">evidence</a> of plastic accumulating in Antarctic fur seals that ate contaminated fish.<br />
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As climate change warms the Arctic and melts sea ice into open ocean, the conveyor belt of plastic will likely continue even further north.<br />
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“We have been using plastic for only a few decades, but the problem has reached a global scale in such a limited time frame,” Cózar said. “The production and consumption of plastic will likely continue to rise ... so this will become a global chronic problem without urgent actions to achieve a sustainable use of the plastic materials.”<br />
<img alt="A seal lies on an iceberg in front of the research vessel Tara." height="266" src="http://www.trbimg.com/img-58f6572d/turbine/la-sci-sn-arctic-plastic-pollution-20170418-001" width="400" /><br />
A seal lies on an iceberg in front of the research vessel Tara. (Anna Deniaud / Tara Expeditions Foundation)bigmuddygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16209291095727799522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784425221248248249.post-27436482483265504732017-05-05T08:14:00.000-07:002017-05-05T08:18:21.198-07:00Ocean plastic. Billionaire Kjell Inge Rokke donates high-tech vessel to the scientific communityPublished in <a href="http://www.lifegate.com/people/news/ocean-plastic-rokke-research-vessel">LifeGate</a> 03 MAY 2017 by ANDREA BAROLINI<br />
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The research vessel will be launched in 2020 and will be equipped with state-of-the-art technologies to control ocean plastic pollution. The project is in collaboration with WWF.<br />
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Norwegian billionaire Kjell Inge Rokke announced on 2 May that he will fund the construction of a high-tech research vessel. The ship will be donated to the scientific community with the aim of detecting and monitoring the presence of plastic in oceans.<br />
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“I want to give something back to society”<br />
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Rokke is considered Norway’s second richest man, with 2 billion dollars of assets. “I want to give the lion’s share of what I have earned back to society. This ship is part of that,” he told daily newspaper Aftenposten. This move marks a turning point in his life. Indeed, Rokke made his fortune thanks to the fishing industry and, most of all, hydrocarbons.<br />
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<img alt="nave norvegia plastica" src="http://www.lifegate.com/app/uploads/nave-norvegia-plastica.jpeg" height="240" width="400" /><br />
The vessel that will be donated to the scientific community to control plastic pollution at sea ©Rosellinis four-10/Wwf Norway<br />
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The 181-metre-long vessel will host a crew of 30 people and a 60-strong research team. It will be built in collaboration with WWF and is scheduled to be launched in 2020. Thanks to state-of-the-art technologies aboard, the vessel will make researches on ocean microplastics easier. “This vessel will be able to take marine research to a completely new level. Finding solutions has never been more urgent,” said Nina Jensen, the head of WWF Norway.<br />
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Ocean plastic in the Arctic<br />
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The issue of plastic pollution in oceans, which is increasingly affecting marine life and ecosystems, has got back in the spotlight after the release of a study published in the journal Sciences Advances. The research confirms the presence of plastic debris in the Arctic Ocean and defines the area a dead-end for floating plastic.<br />
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Also, the study highlights how the presence of plastic in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans was previously assessed by detailed researches, but it has been confirmed off Greenland, North Cape and in the Barents Sea only now. In the Arctic there are smaller amounts of plastic debris than, say, in the Mediterranean Sea, but that doesn’t mean are less worrying.<br />
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<img alt="rifiuti plastica mare" src="http://www.lifegate.com/app/uploads/plastica-mare-52466279.jpg" height="243" width="400" /><br />
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Plastic waste on a beach in Prestwick, Scotland © Christopher Furlong/Getty Images<br />
Scientists suggest that the Arctic could be home to up to 1,200 tonnes of plastic debris. They still don’t know the impact plastic has on sea beds as they managed to assess only floating plastic, but they claim many debris have sunken or have been trapped in the ice cap.<br />
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Featured image: Norwagian billionaire Kjell Inge Rokke with Head of WWF Norway Nina Jensen ©Ilja C. Hendel/WWF Norwaybigmuddygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16209291095727799522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784425221248248249.post-60081263014379555282017-05-05T08:06:00.000-07:002017-05-05T08:06:16.651-07:00Paradise Lost: Hawaii Home to One of the World's Dirtiest BeachesPublished in <a href="https://sputniknews.com/asia/201705021053207878-hawaii-kamilo-point-pollution/">Sputnik news</a> February, 5 2017<br />
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The tropical islands of Hawaii are known for its beautiful white beaches and crystal clear blue waters. It's hard to imagine that one of these picturesque far-flung holiday destinations is also considered to have one of the dirtiest beaches in the world.<br />
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Kamilo Point, a beach in the rural Ka'u district of the Big Island of Hawaii, is a wasteland according to experts. Despite its pockets of lava rock and beautiful natural wildlife, the ocean's currents are so powerful that the winds deposit thousands of pounds of man-made trash on the beach every year.<br />
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Kamilo, also known as "plastic beach," has been know to host hair brushes, cigarette lighters, shards of plastic as well as water bottles, all of which wash up on the beach every week.<br />
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Experts claim it's the graveyard for the world's junk and a powerful reminder of what plastic can do, if not recycled or discarded of correctly.<br />
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The <a href="http://www.wildhawaii.org/">Hawaii Wildlife Fund (HWF)</a>, discovered that in one weekend alone in April, over 15,000 pounds worth of trash, nylon nets and fishing line was collected from Kamilo beach.<br />
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So why is there so much trash on Kamilo beach and where is it all coming from?<br />
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Well, it appears the Kamilo is relatively close to the eastern Pacific garbage patch, which is part of the massive convergence of marine litter known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.<br />
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The easternmost concentration of trash is midway between the Californian coast and the eastern shores of Hawaii.<br />
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The trash that ends up on Kamilo beach is a result of oceanic and atmospheric pressures that push the items in the ocean — such as sea life, pollution and tiny pieces of plastic — into one general area.<br />
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According to Carey Morishige, formally of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations' Marine Debris Program, it is like a "soup of pollution," which includes plastic debris, that floats freely on the ocean's surface and then ends up on the beach.<br />
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As the most easterly island, Kamilo Point and the larger Ka'u coast on Hawaii island have always acted as the perfect colander for items drifting across the ocean.<br />
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Megan Lamson, a survey diver for the state's Division of Aquatic Resources, said that the area is prone to the collection of more rubbish due to the powerful currents.<br />
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"Kamilo itself means 'whirling, swirling, twisting currents," Lamson said.<br />
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Lamson also pointed out that Kamilo's pollution problem can only be handled at a global level.<br />
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"The solution is not to encourage more people to come to Kamilo to clean up. The solution will come with [humans] reducing our dependence to plastics, especially single-use items that we can do without."<br />
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And with an estimated 8 million metric tons of discarded plastics turning up in the ocean every year, experts say humans are the only ones who can stop it from pouring into the sea.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KLKNpcXq7RY" width="560"></iframe>bigmuddygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16209291095727799522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784425221248248249.post-75906836822432347802017-04-19T08:41:00.002-07:002017-04-19T08:41:16.495-07:00Cleanup Nets 50 Tons of Ocean Trash Near HawaiiPublished in <span id="goog_806099125"></span><span id="goog_806099126"></span><a href="https://www.courthousenews.com/cleanup-nets-50-tons-ocean-trash-near-hawaii/">Courthouse News</a>, April 17, 2017 by Nicholas Fillmore<br />
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<img src="https://i2.wp.com/www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Hawaii-Ocean-Trash.jpg?resize=300%2C200" /><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Open Sans", serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: center;">Marine debris being loaded into cargo containers at Midway Atoll. (Holly Richards/USFWS)</span><br />
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HONOLULU (CN) – Federal agencies and the state of Hawaii removed 50 tons of garbage from the newly expanded Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument this month during an annual multi-agency cleanup.<br />
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Twelve shipping containers holding an estimated 100,000 pounds of derelict fishing gear, bottles, lighters and plastics were loaded onto the charter vessel Kahana and shipped to Honolulu. The garbage will be cut up and incinerated for electricity at the Covanta Honolulu/H-POWER plant.<br />
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The annual cleanup of the Northwest Hawaiian Islands is headed by the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration’s Pacific Island Marine Debris <a href="https://marinedebris.noaa.gov/pacific-islands">Program</a> in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Hawaii’s Division of Land and Natural Resources-Forestry and Wildlife division, and the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument.<br />
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Since the program began in 1996, some 985 tons of debris have been removed from the monument. At Midway and Kure atolls, plastic debris is found in albatross nests along the beach and often consumed by the chicks. Endangered green sea turtles also mistake plastic for their main food source, jellyfish. And marine mammals die after becoming entangled in discarded fishing gear.<br />
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According to regional coordinator Mark Manuel, removal efforts are accomplished “with two hands and lots of backs.” Barges carrying heavy machinery cannot be brought in because their drafts are too deep in the shallows, so 17-19 foot inflatables are used and abandoned fishing nets – often twined around coral heads – are hauled up by hand.<br />
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Purse-seine nets found in Papahanaumokuakea do not appear to be local, Manuel said, nor does much of the trash cleared. Weather events associated with El Nino tend to push the North Pacific gyre – an area formed by four prevailing ocean currents in which garbage from across the Pacific collects – south. The gyre then deposits debris along the 1,500-mile Northwest Hawaiian Island chain which, virtually pristine otherwise, acts to comb detritus out of the ocean.<br />
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Researcher Capt. Charles Moore first discovered the so-called “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” in 1999, when he sailed his catamaran through the rarely traveled gyre.<br />
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“As I gazed from the deck at the surface of what ought to have been a pristine ocean, I was confronted, as far as the eye could see, with the sight of plastic,” Moore wrote in an essay for Natural History. “It seemed unbelievable, but I never found a clear spot.”<br />
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Plastic takes centuries to biodegrade, breaking down into smaller pieces along the way. These fragments easily find their way into the food chain, Moore said, “adding to the increasing amount of synthetic chemicals unknown before 1950 that we now carry in our bodies.”<br />
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Research also implicates plastic in mammalian endocrine disruption. The resulting “feminization” of animal species threatens population collapse.<br />
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Complicating the picture, according to Moore – whose <a href="http://www.algalita.org/">Algalita Organization</a> is a pioneer in the study of ocean plastic – is the discovery of pre-manufacture microscopic plastic beads called “nurdles” in the water, suggesting that the problem is not just a post-consumption phenomenon.<br />
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The <a href="https://marinedebris.noaa.gov/">NOAA Marine Debris Program</a> has led efforts to research, prevent and reduce the impacts of marine debris. Authorized by Congress through the Marine Debris Act in 2006, its staff supports projects “in partnership with state and local agencies, tribes, non-governmental organizations, academia, and industry. The program also spearheads national research efforts and works to change behavior in the public through outreach and education initiatives.”<br />
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The Hawaii Nets to Energy Program is one example of that partnership.bigmuddygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16209291095727799522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784425221248248249.post-89654659921151788972017-04-14T13:51:00.000-07:002017-04-19T08:47:54.364-07:00Will Consumers Pay More for Recycled Ocean Plastic?<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #3a3a3a; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Published in <a href="https://www.environmentalleader.com/2017/03/will-consumers-pay-recycled-ocean-plastic/">the Environmental Leader</a> - March 23, 2017 by Jessica Lyons Hardcastle </span><br />
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<span style="color: #3a3a3a; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">In a move that could increase consumer awareness about marine plastic pollution — and thus, consumer willingness to pay more for products made from recycled marine plastic — recycling company TerraCycle plans to expand its beach cleanup programs to collect up to 1,000 tons of plastic waste globally.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #3a3a3a; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Earlier this year TerraCycle, in partnership with Procter & Gamble and Suez, developed the <a href="https://www.environmentalleader.com/2017/01/pg-circular-economy-partnership-creates-worlds-first-recyclable-shampoo-bottle-made-with-beach-plastic/?amp=1">world’s first recyclable shampoo bottle</a> made from up to 25 percent recycled beach plastic. The Head & Shoulders shampoo bottle will debut in France this summer.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #3a3a3a; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">TerraCycle told Plastics News that the partners have major expansion plans.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #3a3a3a; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The initial beach cleanups collected 15 tons of material in Europe; Brett Stevens, vice president of material sales and procurement at the recycling company, told the publication that the company plans to expand collection efforts to North America and Asia.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #3a3a3a; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">“The collection goals we’ve set forth in total approach I would say probably 500 to 1,000 tons coming off beaches over the next 12 months,” Stevens said. “It is very much not a fad. I think that we’re investing the staff and resources and building our programs with our partners, making this a long-lasting impact.”</span><br />
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<span style="color: #3a3a3a; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">TerraCycle’s statements come as other leading companies are turning their attention to plastic waste ending up in oceans and other waterways.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #3a3a3a; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Last month <a href="https://www.environmentalleader.com/2017/02/dell-packaging-made-recycled-ocean-plastics-industry-first/">Dell said it has developed the technology industry’s first packaging trays</a> made with 25 percent recycled ocean plastic content. In January, <a href="https://www.environmentalleader.com/2017/01/how-unilever-patagonia-dsm-niaga-are-driving-the-circular-economy/">Unilever CEO Paul Polman called on the consumer goods industry</a> to address ocean plastic waste and employ <a href="https://www.environmentalleader.com/tag/circular-economy/">circular economy</a> models to increase plastic recycling rates. <a href="https://www.environmentalleader.com/2015/12/adidas-shoe-uses-recycled-ocean-plastic-3d-printing/">Adidas is also working to solve the problem</a> of plastic pollution in oceans by turning this waste stream into new material for its shoes.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #3a3a3a; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">But as environmental groups like <a href="https://www.environmentalleader.com/2017/03/beverage-giants-enough-reduce-plastic-waste/">Greenpeace</a> and circular economy advocates like the <a href="https://www.environmentalleader.com/2017/01/how-unilever-patagonia-dsm-niaga-are-driving-the-circular-economy/">Ellen MacArthur Foundation</a> have shown in recent reports, more needs to be done. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, one-third of the plastic packaging used globally ends up in oceans and other fragile ecosystems. <a href="https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/publications/the-new-plastics-economy-rethinking-the-future-of-plastics">An earlier study by the foundation</a> found there could be more plastics than fish in the ocean by 2050.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #3a3a3a; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">However, as <a href="https://www.wastedive.com/news/terracycle-details-plans-for-worldwide-marine-plastic-collection/438781/">Waste Dive reports</a>, the cost associated with collecting and cleaning marine plastic for reuse in products and packaging means virgin material is cheaper. “A coordinated global campaign that can demonstrate the path from cleaning beaches to putting new products on store shelves might help drive consumer interest in paying a little more for packaging made from this content.”</span></div>
bigmuddygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16209291095727799522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784425221248248249.post-36488859437220289302017-03-21T10:30:00.002-07:002017-03-21T10:30:38.081-07:00Film Looks at Plastics in the OceansPublished in <a href="http://www.voanews.com/a/3773296.html">VOA Science and Health</a> on March 20, 2017<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="363" scrolling="no" src="//www.voanews.com/embed/player/0/3773296.html?type=video" width="640"></iframe> LOS ANGELES —<br />
Plastic sludge and garbage, a blight on the world’s oceans.<br />
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Eight million metric tons of plastic wind up each year in the oceans, harming marine life and entering the food chain.<br />
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A film crew traveled the globe to document the rubbish, producing a new documentary film called A Plastic Ocean that looks at the problem, and its solutions.<br />
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Julie Andersen of the Plastic Oceans Foundation said what is seen is just the tip of the problem.<br />
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“Half of the waste actually sinks to the bottom, some plastic sinks to the bottom, and what remains on the surface actually breaks down," Andersen said.<br />
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The filmmakers found trash in ocean gyres, the circulating currents that trap large concentrations of pollution in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans, home of what some have called a plastic island.<br />
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“What we found in the center of the Pacific was not a floating island of plastic. What we found was a plastic smog that permeated all the water," Andersen said.<br />
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The debris infects the food chain, sometimes visibly, and more so at the microscopic level, where the plastic particles interact with other pollutants.<br />
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Adam Leipzig, producer of A Plastic Ocean, said, “Heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, industrial runoff. It acts like magnets. These toxins hitchhike on the plastic, and when seafood ingests the plastics, those toxins offload into the fatty tissues.”<br />
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Those fish are then consumed by other sea life and by people.<br />
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China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam are the worst plastic polluters. The United States, although a leader in recycling, is in the top 20, since it produces and consumes so much plastic.<br />
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There are efforts around the world to address the problem, including at this newly opened recycling center in Lebanon.<br />
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But Andersen said there is more people can do.<br />
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“Cut back on single-use plastics, straws, plastic cups, plastic water bottles, plastic bags and find alternatives like reusable materials," she said.<br />
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She said healthy oceans are essential to our survival.bigmuddygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16209291095727799522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784425221248248249.post-34526550251236014602016-09-30T12:58:00.000-07:002016-09-30T12:58:05.784-07:00Award-nominated film finds its facts from Brunel<div class="article__featureImage clearfix" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #5c5c5c; font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
published Sept. 29 by <a href="http://www.brunel.ac.uk/research/news-and-events/news/Award-nominated-film-finds-its-facts-from-Brunel#">Brunel University in London </a></div>
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<img alt="Marine litter" class="articleimg" src="https://www.brunel.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/images/Marine-litter.jpg" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: auto; margin-bottom: 2.8125rem; max-width: 100%; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: middle;" /></div>
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An eye-popping film about plastic pollution featuring environmental science pioneered at Brunel is up for a leading industry award.</div>
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<a href="http://www.plasticoceans.org/film/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: #de1c8f; cursor: pointer; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease;">A Plastic Ocean</a> is up for best documentary at this week’s Raindance Film Festival. It tells the insidious tale of the millions of tonnes of plastic litter turning the world’s seas into a toxic plastic soup.</div>
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In it, Ecotoxicology Professor Susan Jobling, explains the hormone-disrupting effects of chemicals linked to plastic pollution. Professor Jobling, Director of Brunel’s Institute of Environment, Health and Societies appears alongside other leading scientists and Sir David Attenborough.</div>
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“It is quite powerful. Shocking even in places,” said researcher Dr Christopher Green, one of the Brunel team of scientific advisors.</div>
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A Plastic Ocean is produced by BBC Blue Planet producer, Jo Ruxton and told though the eyes of journalist Craig Leeson and free diver, Tanya Streeter. It shows how plastic marine litter harms wildlife, the environment, and potentially human health. A South Pacific islander tells how the pools she swam and fished as a child are contaminated by plastic waste, saying it has ‘destroyed our paradise’.</div>
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Brunel got on board as scientific advisors when the team asked Professor Jobling to talk about endocrine disruption and how chemicals associated with plastic can affect the hormone system. In the early 90s, Professor Jobling was one of the first researchers to show chemicals in plastics can mimic the female sex hormones, oestrogens. In the film, she explains how these chemicals can interfere with reproduction and development and their links to hormone related diseases. “Endocrine disruption in aquatic wildlife was pioneered here at Brunel,” Dr Green explained.</div>
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<img alt="Dead seabirds Image Plastic Oceans Foundation" height="900" src="https://www.brunel.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/images/Dead-seabirds-Image-Plastic-Oceans-Foundation.jpg" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: middle;" width="1200" /></div>
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An alarming statistic is that 90 per cent of seabirds are likely to have swallowed plastic. Without intervention, by 2050, 99% of sea bird species will have consumed plastic.</div>
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"I hope it will make people really think about how they use plastics and make them wonder for example if they really need a plastic drinking straw or a single use plastic bottle. I hope it starts to resonate with manufacturers, with industry and government and drives a wave of change towards a more sustainable future. Whatever happens, Brunel will be part of that change, through our innovative multi-disciplinary research."</div>
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Professor Jobling, who is researching public attitudes and understanding of plastic pollution with Brunel media sociologist, Lesley Henderson is calling for research into recycling and re-use of plastics. “Only 14% of plastic packaging is collected for recycling,” she said. “We need a new future for plastic."</div>
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• The Raindance Film Festival winners will be announced on September 30. Find out about Brunel’s Institute of Environment, Health and Societies <a href="http://www.brunel.ac.uk/research/Institutes/Institute-of-Environment-Health-and-Societies" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: #de1c8f; cursor: pointer; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease;">here.</a> Learn more from <a href="http://www.plasticoceans.org/who-we-are/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: #de1c8f; cursor: pointer; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease;">Plastic Oceans Foundation.</a> Images courtesy of Plastic Oceans Foundation.</div>
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bigmuddygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16209291095727799522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784425221248248249.post-68885640864302418332016-08-01T15:49:00.000-07:002016-08-01T15:49:31.056-07:00Florida brewery creates edible six-pack rings to protect marine wildlife<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: marcellus_scregular, serif; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Published in <a href="http://growlermag.com/mill-florida-brewery-creates-edible-six-pack-rings-to-protect-marine-wildlife/">The Growler</a> on May 16, 2016</div>
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font-size: 12.4px; font-weight: bold; height: auto; line-height: 15.19px; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;" width="1280" /><br /><div class="wp-caption-text" style="border: 0px; font-size: 12.4px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 1.625rem; margin-top: 0.75rem; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<img alt="Screen Shot from Saltwater Brewerys Youtube video" height="221" src="http://growlermag.com/wp-content/uploads/Screen-Shot-2016-05-16-at-3.41.37-PM-e1463431393439.png" style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.225;" width="400" /></div>
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Screenshot from Saltwater Brewery’s Youtube video</div>
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; line-height: 1.225; margin-bottom: 1.625rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Florida has a special connection to the ocean.</div>
<div style="border: 0px; line-height: 1.225; margin-bottom: 1.625rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
The state is home to the Florida Reef, the third largest living coral reef in the world and the only one found in the continental United States. Many of its professional sports teams are aquatic themed (Miami Marlins, Tampa Bay Rays, Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, for example).</div>
<div style="border: 0px; line-height: 1.225; margin-bottom: 1.625rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
So it’s no wonder that a Florida craft brewery in Delray Beach was the one to come up with an edible six-pack ring to help save marine life from being entangled or ingesting in plastic debris.</div>
<div style="border: 0px; line-height: 1.225; margin-bottom: 1.625rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Saltwater Brewery and We Believers—an advertising agency in New York—developed the durable packaging solution for six-packs from spent grain from the brewing process. The resulting product is claimed to be not only biodegradable, but also edible for fish and other sea life.</div>
<div style="border: 0px; line-height: 1.225; margin-bottom: 1.625rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/165947724" style="border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="640"></iframe></div>
<div style="border: 0px; line-height: 1.225; margin-bottom: 1.625rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<a href="https://vimeo.com/165947724" style="border: 0px; color: #764824; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out; vertical-align: baseline;">Saltwater Brewery “Edible Six Pack Rings”</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/user31557120" style="border: 0px; color: #764824; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out; vertical-align: baseline;">We Believers</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #764824; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out; vertical-align: baseline;">Vimeo</a>.</div>
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bigmuddygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16209291095727799522noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784425221248248249.post-13202412282201198582016-07-29T11:01:00.002-07:002016-07-29T11:05:16.238-07:00 Ocean Clean up deploys first prototype aimed at clearing Great Pacific Garbage Patch in 2020Published in <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-06/ocean-cleanup-technology-aims-to-tackle-pacific-garbage-patch/7573326">ABC.net</a> on July 5, 2016 by Pacific Beat<br />
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<a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-24/the-location-of-the-great-pacific-garbage-patch/7573340" style="color: #310099; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;"><img alt="A map showing the location of the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch"" height="266" src="http://www.abc.net.au/news/image/6720974-3x2-700x467.jpg" style="border: none; display: block; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;" title="The location of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch" width="400" /></a><a class="inline-caption" href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-24/the-location-of-the-great-pacific-garbage-patch/7573340" style="color: #310099; display: block; margin: 5px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;"><strong style="color: black; font-size: 0.9167em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-transform: uppercase; word-wrap: break-word;">PHOTO:</strong> The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is located between Hawaii and the coast of Los Angeles in the US (R).<span class="source" style="color: #666666; font-size: 0.9167em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: nowrap; word-wrap: break-word;">(Supplied: The Ocean Cleanup)</span></a></div>
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<div class="inline-content story left" style="background: transparent; border-top-color: rgb(224, 224, 224); border-top-style: dotted; border-top-width: 1px; clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px !important; margin-right: 0px !important; margin-top: 0px !important; outline: none 0px; padding: 0.5em 0px; width: 340px; word-wrap: break-word; zoom: 1;">
<a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-07-31/an-pacific-garbage-patch-getting-worse2c-says-researchers/5639052" style="color: #310099; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;"><strong style="color: black; font-size: 0.9167em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-transform: uppercase; word-wrap: break-word;">RELATED STORY:</strong> Pacific garbage patch getting worse, say researchers</a></div>
<div class="inline-content story left" style="background: transparent; border-top-color: rgb(224, 224, 224); border-top-style: dotted; border-top-width: 1px; clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px !important; margin-right: 0px !important; margin-top: 0px !important; outline: none 0px; padding: 0.5em 0px; width: 340px; word-wrap: break-word; zoom: 1;">
<a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-06-16/pacific-garbage-patch/5525658" style="color: #310099; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;"><strong style="color: black; font-size: 0.9167em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-transform: uppercase; word-wrap: break-word;">RELATED STORY:</strong> Great Pacific Garbage Patch puts fish on 'plastic diet'</a></div>
<div class="inline-content map left contracted" style="background: transparent; border-top-color: rgb(224, 224, 224); border-top-style: dotted; border-top-width: 1px; clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px !important; margin-right: 0px !important; margin-top: 0px !important; outline: none 0px; padding: 0.5em 0px; position: relative; width: 340px; word-wrap: break-word; zoom: 1;">
<a class="inline-caption" href="http://www.google.com/maps/place/Netherlands/@52.5,5.75,5z" style="color: #310099; display: block; margin: 0px 25px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;"><strong style="color: black; font-size: 0.9167em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-transform: uppercase; word-wrap: break-word;">MAP: </strong>Netherlands</a><a class="toggle" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="bottom: 5px; cursor: pointer; display: inline-block; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span class="abc-icon abc-icon-chevron-circle-down" style="display: inline-block; height: 16px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; width: 16px; word-wrap: break-word;" title="Expand"><svg><use xlink:href="#sheet-default-icon-chevron-circle-down" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"></use></svg></span></a></div>
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<div class="first" style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.25em; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.3334; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">
As scientists look to find a way to rid the infamous <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-07-31/an-pacific-garbage-patch-getting-worse2c-says-researchers/5639052" style="color: #310099; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_self" title="">Great Pacific Garbage Patch of thousands of tonnes of waste plastic</a>, a prototype ocean cleaning system has been deployed in the North Sea off the coast of the Netherlands.</div>
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<h2 style="font-family: ProximaNova, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.6667em; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1; margin: 0px 0px 0.625em; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-wrap: break-word;">
Key points:</h2>
<ul style="font-size: 1.25em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 0.833em 20px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">
<li style="background: none; line-height: 1.1667; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px; word-wrap: break-word;">The Ocean Cleanup system collects plastic by acting as an "artificial coastline"</li>
<li style="background: none; line-height: 1.1667; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px; word-wrap: break-word;">A full scale deployment is expected in the Pacific in 2020</li>
<li style="background: none; line-height: 1.1667; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px; word-wrap: break-word;">The Dutch government co-funded the $2.2-million prototype</li>
<li style="background: none; line-height: 1.1667; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px; word-wrap: break-word;">Private companies are expressing interest to buy the collected plastic</li>
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Developed by the Dutch foundation, the 100-metre-long barrier prototype — known as the Ocean Cleanup system — is powered by the ocean's currents and acts as an artificial coastline that can catch and concentrate debris in water.</div>
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The team behind Ocean Cleanup aims to achieve "the largest clean-up in history" when the nearly 100-kilometre full system is deployed in the Pacific in 2020.</div>
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</div>
<div class="jwdisplay" id="jwplayer-audio-0_display" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); background-color: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; cursor: pointer; direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 30px; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: absolute; transition: opacity 0.25s, color 0.25s; vertical-align: baseline; width: 340px; word-wrap: break-word;">
<div class="jwpreview jwuniform" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: black; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: center center; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: contain !important; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 30px; margin: 0px; opacity: 0; outline: none 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; pointer-events: all; position: absolute; transition: opacity 0.25s, color 0.25s; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: hidden; width: 340px; word-wrap: break-word;">
</div>
<div class="jwdisplayIcon" id="jwplayer-audio-0_display_button" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); background-color: transparent; background-image: url("data:image/png; background-position: left center, center center, right center; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 18px 100%, 36px 100%, 18px 100%; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; data: image/png; data: image/png; direction: ltr; display: table; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 52px; margin: -26px auto 0px; opacity: 0; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 18px; pointer-events: all; position: relative; top: 15px; transition: opacity 0.25s, color 0.25s; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<div class="jwicon" id="jwplayer-audio-0_display_button_play" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); background-color: transparent; background-image: url("data:image/png; background-position: center center; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 36px 24px; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; direction: ltr; display: table-cell; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; transition: opacity 0.25s, color 0.25s; vertical-align: middle !important; width: 36px; word-wrap: break-word;">
</div>
</div>
</div>
<span class="jwcontrolbar" id="jwplayer-audio-0_controlbar" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); background-color: transparent; border: 0px; bottom: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; direction: ltr; display: inline-block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 30px; left: 0px; margin: auto; opacity: 1; padding: 0px; pointer-events: all; position: absolute; right: 0px; transition: opacity 0.25s, background 0.25s, visibility 0.25s; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;"><span class="jwbackground" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: none; background: url("data:image/png; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; direction: ltr; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 30px; left: 5px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: 5px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;"> </span><span class="jwcapLeft" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: none; background: url("data:image/png; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; direction: ltr; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; width: 5px; word-wrap: break-word;"> </span><span class="jwgroup jwleft" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: none; background-color: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;"><span class="jwplay" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: none; background-color: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; direction: ltr; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: none; background-color: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; direction: ltr; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;"><button style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: url("data:image/png; background-origin: initial; background-position: center center; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 24px 30px; border: none; cursor: pointer; float: left; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1em; height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-top: 2px; position: relative; transition: opacity 0.25s, background 0.25s, visibility 0.25s; width: 24px; word-wrap: break-word;" tabindex="-1" type="button"> </button></span><span class="jwblankDivider" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: none; background-color: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; direction: ltr; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;"></span></span><span class="jwtext jwelapsed jwhidden" id="jwplayer-audio-0_controlbar_elapsed" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: none; background: url("data:image/png; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: white; direction: ltr; float: left; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; height: 30px; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 5px; position: relative; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">00:00</span></span><span class="jwgroup jwcenter" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: none; background-color: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 30px; left: 66px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: 128px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;"><span class="jwslider jwtime" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: none; background-color: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; direction: ltr; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 30px; left: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; vertical-align: baseline; width: 146px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span class="jwtimeSliderCapLeft" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: none; background: url("data:image/png; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; direction: ltr; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; width: 3px; word-wrap: break-word;"> </span><span class="jwrail" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: none; background-color: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; cursor: pointer; direction: ltr; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 30px; left: 3px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: 3px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;"><span class="jwrailgroup Rail" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: none; background-color: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; direction: ltr; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 30px; margin: 0px; min-width: 14px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; vertical-align: baseline; width: 140px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span class="jwtimeSliderRailCapLeft" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: none; background: url("data:image/png; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; direction: ltr; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; vertical-align: baseline; width: 2px; word-wrap: break-word;"> </span><span class="jwtimeSliderRail" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: none; background: url("data:image/png; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; direction: ltr; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 30px; left: 2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: 2px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;"> </span><span class="jwtimeSliderRailCapRight jwcapRight" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: none; background: url("data:image/png; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; direction: ltr; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 2px; word-wrap: break-word;"> </span></span><span class="jwrailgroup Buffer" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: none; background-color: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; direction: ltr; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 30px; margin: 0px; min-width: 4px; opacity: 0; padding: 0px; position: absolute; vertical-align: baseline; width: 4px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span class="jwtimeSliderBufferCapLeft" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: none; background: url("data:image/png; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; direction: ltr; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; vertical-align: baseline; width: 2px; word-wrap: break-word;"> </span><span class="jwtimeSliderBuffer" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: none; background: url("data:image/png; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; direction: ltr; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 30px; left: 2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: 2px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;"> </span><span class="jwtimeSliderBufferCapRight jwcapRight" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: none; background: url("data:image/png; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; direction: ltr; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 2px; word-wrap: break-word;"> </span></span><span class="jwprogressOverflow" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: none; background-color: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; direction: ltr; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 30px; margin: 0px; opacity: 0; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: absolute; vertical-align: baseline; width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span class="jwrailgroup Progress" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: none; background-color: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; direction: ltr; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 30px; margin: 0px; min-width: 14px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; vertical-align: baseline; width: 14px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span class="jwtimeSliderProgressCapLeft" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: none; background: url("data:image/png; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; direction: ltr; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; vertical-align: baseline; width: 4px; word-wrap: break-word;"> </span><span class="jwtimeSliderProgress" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: none; background: url("data:image/png; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; direction: ltr; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 30px; left: 4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: 2px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;"> </span><span class="jwtimeSliderProgressCapRight jwcapRight" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: none; background: url("data:image/png; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; direction: ltr; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 2px; word-wrap: break-word;"> </span></span></span><span class="jwtimeSliderThumb jwthumb" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: none; background: url("data:image/png; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; cursor: pointer; direction: ltr; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 30px; left: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px -7px; opacity: 0; padding: 0px; position: absolute; vertical-align: baseline; width: 14px; word-wrap: break-word;"> </span><div class="jwoverlay" id="jwplayer-audio-0_controlbar_timetooltip" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); background-color: transparent; border: 0px; bottom: 30px; box-sizing: content-box; direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; opacity: 0; outline: none 0px; padding: 5px 8px 7px; position: absolute; transition: opacity 0.25s, visibility 0.25s; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: hidden; word-wrap: break-word;">
<div class="jwarrow" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); background: url("data:image/png; border: 0px; bottom: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 2px; left: 16.5px; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; vertical-align: baseline; width: 12px; word-wrap: break-word;">
</div>
<div class="jwborder jwtopleft" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); background: url("data:image/png; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 4px; left: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute !important; top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 8px; word-wrap: break-word;">
</div>
<div class="jwborder jwbottomleft" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); background: url("data:image/png; border: 0px; bottom: 2px; box-sizing: content-box; direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 4px; left: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute !important; vertical-align: baseline; width: 8px; word-wrap: break-word;">
</div>
<div class="jwborder jwtopright" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); background: url("data:image/png; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 4px; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute !important; right: 0px; top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 8px; word-wrap: break-word;">
</div>
<div class="jwborder jwbottomright" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); background: url("data:image/png; border: 0px; bottom: 2px; box-sizing: content-box; direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 4px; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute !important; right: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 8px; word-wrap: break-word;">
</div>
<div class="jwborder jwleft" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); background: url("data:image/png; border: 0px; bottom: 6px; box-sizing: content-box; direction: ltr; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; left: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: 4px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 8px; word-wrap: break-word;">
</div>
<div class="jwborder jwright" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); background: url("data:image/png; border: 0px; bottom: 6px; box-sizing: content-box; direction: ltr; float: right; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; right: 0px; top: 4px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 8px; word-wrap: break-word;">
</div>
<div class="jwborder jwtop" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); background: url("data:image/png; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 4px; left: 8px; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute !important; right: 8px; top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
</div>
<div class="jwborder jwbottom" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); background: url("data:image/png; border: 0px; bottom: 2px; box-sizing: content-box; direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 4px; left: 8px; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute !important; right: 8px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
</div>
<div class="jwback" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); background: url("data:image/png; border: 0px; bottom: 6px; box-sizing: content-box; direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; left: 8px; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: 8px; top: 4px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
</div>
<div class="jwcontents" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); background-color: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word; z-index: 1;">
<div style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); background-color: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #b2c5cf; direction: ltr; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<div class="jwoverlaytext" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); background-color: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; direction: ltr; font-stretch: normal; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</span><span class="jwtimeSliderCapRight" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: none; background: url("data:image/png; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; direction: ltr; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 3px; word-wrap: break-word;"> </span></span></span><span class="jwgroup jwright" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: none; background-color: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: right; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; right: 5px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;"><span class="jwtext jwduration jwhidden" id="jwplayer-audio-0_controlbar_duration" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: none; background: url("data:image/png; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: white; direction: ltr; float: left; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; height: 30px; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 5px; position: relative; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">00:00</span><span class="jwmute" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: none; background-color: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; direction: ltr; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; 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<a class="inline-caption" href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-06/prototype-system-under-test-in-europe-could-be-the/7572452" style="color: #310099; display: block; margin: 5px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;"><strong style="color: black; font-size: 0.9167em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-transform: uppercase; word-wrap: break-word;">AUDIO:</strong> Listen to the interview with founder Boyan Slat.<span class="source" style="color: #666666; font-size: 0.9167em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: nowrap; word-wrap: break-word;">(Pacific Beat)</span></a></div>
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But compared to previous efforts and technologies aimed at cleaning up the Pacific patch, Ocean Cleanup founder Boyan Slat said the new system differed in that it allowed "the natural ocean currents to do the hard work".</div>
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"Instead of going after the plastic, we propose to deploy a very long array of long floating barriers, which are attached to the sea bed, and will allow the natural ocean currents to do the hard work for us," Mr Slat <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-06/prototype-system-under-test-in-europe-could-be-the/7572452" style="color: #310099; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_self" title="">told the ABC's Pacific Beat program</a>.</div>
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The Ocean Cleanup system collects plastic by allowing the ocean's currents to move through it, rather than deploying vessels to scour the oceans.</div>
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"Basically it acts as an artificial coastline where there is no coastline," Mr Slat said.</div>
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<a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-06/ocean-cleanup-prototype/7573720" style="color: #310099; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;"><img alt="A prototype of the Ocean Cleanup system deployed in the North Sea." height="266" src="http://www.abc.net.au/news/image/7573714-3x2-700x467.jpg" style="border: none; display: block; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;" title="Ocean Cleanup prototype" width="400" /></a><a class="inline-caption" href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-06/ocean-cleanup-prototype/7573720" style="color: #310099; display: block; margin: 5px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;"><strong style="color: black; font-size: 0.9167em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-transform: uppercase; word-wrap: break-word;">PHOTO:</strong> A 100-metre prototype of the Ocean Cleanup system deployed in the North Sea. <span class="source" style="color: #666666; font-size: 0.9167em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: nowrap; word-wrap: break-word;">(Supplied: The Ocean Cleanup)</span></a></div>
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But for now, the purpose of the prototype is not to clean plastic from the ocean, but to use the North Sea's rough currents to ensure the system can survive for years out in the Pacific.</div>
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"The objective of this test is to see whether we can build something which is able to survive at sea for years," Mr Slat said.</div>
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"Right now what we see from the data is that it's still there, in one piece, and we've actually had some rough seas, so it's promising.</div>
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"But the whole reason to test is not to prove ourselves right but to look for the things that don't work."</div>
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Private companies interested to buy plastic</h2>
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To date the project had mostly been financed through crowdfunding and donations, but for the 1.5-million-euro ($2.23-million) prototype, the Dutch Government came on board to co-fund the project.</div>
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Mr Slat said there had been increasing demand from private companies to buy the collected plastic.</div>
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"Part of our resources are currently dedicated to researching the recycling possibilities of the material we would retrieve from the ocean," Mr Slat said.</div>
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"And what we see is that the quality of the plastic is really high … and there are also a lot of companies now showing interest in buying up that plastic once we've taken it out of the ocean.</div>
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<a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-06/artists-impression-of-ocean-cleanup/7573710" style="color: #310099; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;"><img alt="An artist's impression of the final Ocean Cleanup system." height="227" src="http://www.abc.net.au/news/image/7573702-3x2-340x227.jpg" style="border: none; display: block; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;" title="Artists impression of Ocean Cleanup" width="340" /></a><a class="inline-caption" href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-06/artists-impression-of-ocean-cleanup/7573710" style="color: #310099; display: block; margin: 5px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;"><strong style="color: black; font-size: 0.9167em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-transform: uppercase; word-wrap: break-word;">PHOTO:</strong> An artist's impression of the final Ocean Cleanup system. <span class="source" style="color: #666666; font-size: 0.9167em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: nowrap; word-wrap: break-word;">(Supplied: The Ocean Cleanup)</span></a></div>
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"Our hope is that once the technology is proven, we should be able to cut the clean-up costs, at least by using the revenue generated by selling this ocean plastic to make it into new products."</div>
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Mr Slat said the offers from companies to buy up the collected plastic demonstrated just how much plastic was believed to be out there.</div>
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"I think about a year ago some people told us there were 100,000 tonnes of plastic out there, while others have said 100 million tonnes out there, so it's quite a lot, but the uncertainty is even bigger," Mr Slat said.</div>
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"So what we then did in August last year, is cross the garbage patch with 30 boats at the same time to really take more measurements, and what we found is that there is actually a lot more plastic than people thought was out there."</div>
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Mr Slat said that was because his team did not only measure the extremely dangerous micro-plastics, as is often done, but the larger pieces as well.</div>
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"What we found is that most of the mass is in those big objects, which is obviously very relevant, because all those big pieces will crumble down into those dangerous micro-plastic over the next few decades if we don't do anything about it," he said.</div>
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"So if we don't clean it up, micro-plastics could potentially increase to up to almost 50-fold."</div>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">ABC/wires</strong></div>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">Topics:</strong> <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/topic/environment" style="color: #117700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; word-wrap: break-word;">environment</a>, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/topic/science-and-technology" style="color: #117700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; word-wrap: break-word;">science-and-technology</a>, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/topic/water-pollution" style="color: #117700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; word-wrap: break-word;">water-pollution</a>, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/topic/netherlands" style="color: #117700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; word-wrap: break-word;">netherlands</a>, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/topic/pacific" style="color: #117700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; word-wrap: break-word;">pacific</a></div>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><br /></strong>
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">Here's another great post from Tech Insider about the Ocean Cleanup prototype: http://www.techinsider.io/ocean-cleanup-floating-garbage-collector-2016-7</strong></div>
bigmuddygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16209291095727799522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784425221248248249.post-89380528815212639692016-07-29T09:01:00.004-07:002016-07-29T09:02:05.133-07:00RIO OLYMPICS 2016: Aquatic Athletes advised to keep their mouths shut as they will ‘Literally be swimming in human crap’Published in the <a href="http://www.inquisitr.com/3357296/rio-olympics-2016-aquatic-athletes-advised-to-keep-their-mouths-shut-as-they-will-literally-be-swimming-in-human-crap/">Inquisitr</a> July 28, 2016 by Tim Butters<br />
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Aquatic athletes competing in the forthcoming Rio Olympics have been advised to keep their mouths shut while competing because they will “literally be swimming in human crap” and could pick up heavy duty illnesses from the contaminated water.<br />
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Swimming and sailing in toxic filth is a far cry from the Olympic ideal but according to health experts, the raw sewage, household debris, and even the occasional bloated corpse which can be found infecting the waters of Rio’s Guanabara Bay and Copacabana Beach, will all combine to create a potentially deadly brew for the hearty Olympic athletes who are chasing greatness and aiming for glory at the 2016 Summer Games.<br />
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The Sydney Morning Herald reports that marathon swimmers, sailors, and windsurfers who will be participating in events held at Guanabara Bay, where a bloated corpse was found floating recently, should take extra care because the polluted water is apparently a lot more contaminated than previously thought.<br />
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Ahead of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, the Brazilian government promised to eradicate over 80 percent of the pollution and waste from the bay. They have now admitted their clean-up goals won’t be met in time for the Games, and competitors will just have to do their best among the flotsam, jetsam, and pure unadulterated filth.<br />
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<img alt="Rio Olympics " src="http://cdn.inquisitr.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Dead-Fish-In-Guanabara-Bay-670x388.jpg" height="230" width="400" /><br />
Rio Olympics<br />
Something smells rather fishy about the Rio Olympics! (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)<br />
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In an age when desperate whales choking on plastic bags are approaching random deep sea fisherman for help, the state of the world’s oceans has never been more dire.<br />
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A recent report by the Inquisitr claims our world is drowning in plastic, and our oceans are toxic.<br />
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Charles J. Moore, a U.S. merchant marine captain and founder of the Algalita Marine Research Institute in Long Beach, California, said he’s utterly shocked at the huge increase in plastic litter found floating on the ocean’s surface in the past five years.<br />
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“Plastic is choking our future in ways that most of us are barely aware.”<br />
In just three days, Captain Moore and his team estimated that the urban hubs of Southern California were responsible for polluting the sea with 2.3 billion pieces of plastic.<br />
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Garbage patches of floating plastic comprised of everything from shampoo bottles and toothbrushes to cigarette lighters and tires lie accusing and apathetic in the remote Pacific.<br />
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Passing seabirds often mistake these brightly colored objects for squid or fish. Weighed down with plastic fragments, the birds then return to their nests and unwittingly feed the plastic to their young.<br />
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Their stomachs are bursting with the toxic material, and they are unable to ingest any real food.<br />
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Skeletal remains of dead chicks lie scattered on remote islands, and where their stomachs should be lies nothing but a tangled mass of plastic. The extent of the plastic pollution cannot be over-estimated.<br />
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Science writer Gaia Vince has estimated that every square kilometer of the world’s oceans now contains an average of 18,500 pieces of plastic, and that’s before you add all the other putrid filth and raw sewage into the equation that awaits Olympic hopefuls at Rio.<br />
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Rio’s Copacabana Beach at the mouth of Guanabara Bay, which will host many swimming events, is thought to be a particularly polluted place, and the bay is actually more contaminated than environmentalists and scientists previously thought.<br />
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One Brazilian doctor named Daniel Becker has refused to pull any punches and warned Olympic marathon swimmers to take a deep breath because they will “literally be swimming in human crap.”<br />
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“Foreign athletes will literally be swimming in human crap, and they risk getting sick from all those microorganisms.”<br />
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Dutch sailing team member Afrodite took a pragmatic approach to the grim warnings and said, “We just have to keep our mouths closed when the water sprays up.”<br />
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The coach of the Spanish woman’s sailing team, Nigel Cochrane, said he was very concerned about warnings of “super bacteria” in the waters of Rio, and he has called the state of affairs “disgusting.”<br />
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Australian gold medalist sailors Mat Belcher and Will Ryan have had plenty of experience of Guanabara Bay, and none of it’s been too pleasant.<br />
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“There’s all sorts of rubbish – dead animals, furniture, plastic bags, a lot of coke cans. It’s not ideal.”<br />
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<img alt="Pollution " src="http://cdn.inquisitr.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Rio-Olympics-1-670x388.jpg" height="231" width="400" /><br />
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Pollution<br />
Come on in! The water is lovely. (Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images)<br />
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Read more at http://www.inquisitr.com/3357296/rio-olympics-2016-aquatic-athletes-advised-to-keep-their-mouths-shut-as-they-will-literally-be-swimming-in-human-crap/#1OX3Daf8548v9H4b.99bigmuddygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16209291095727799522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784425221248248249.post-130209840585168292016-07-04T13:27:00.002-07:002016-07-04T13:27:18.712-07:005 Frequently Asked Questions about Plastic Pollution<br />
<b><i>FAQs from Recent 5 Gyres Webinar<br /> June 15, 2016 -for better reading quality, go directly to the <a href="http://www.5gyres.org/blog/posts/2016/6/15/faqs-from-recent-5-gyres-webinar">5 Gyres blog</a>.</i></b><br /><br /><div>
On June 2nd 5 Gyres held our most recent Webinar. Founders Anna Cummins and Marcus Eriksen spoke about plastic pollution in our oceans and focused on the latest research and policy on the issue, the importance of having a circular economy, and how community is essential to this problem as they have the power to demand change. The Webinar ended with a 15-minute Q/A session where audience members asked some very thoughtful questions and received passionate and insightful answers.<br /> <br /> Unfortunately, we weren’t able to address all of the questions, so Marcus has answered a few below that seem to be popular questions that we hope will clarify some doubts you might have.<br /> <br /><b> WHY IS PLASTIC SO CHEAP? IS IT BECAUSE OIL COMPANIES ARE SUBSIDIZED?</b></div>
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<b><br /></b> Plastic is coupled with the price of oil, so it fluctuates equally. Right now, recycled plastic is too expensive, so virgin plastic is what's dominating the market. So, as suggested, subsidizing oil doesn't help recycling efforts.<br /> <br /><b> CALIFORNIA WAS THE FIRST STATE TO PASS A LAW THAT BANS SINGLE-USE PLASTIC BAGS…BUT THE PLASTICS INDUSTRY AND BAG MANUFACTURERS HAVE COLLECTED ENOUGH SIGNATURES TO PUT THE BAN TO A REFERENDUM IN NOVEMBER 2016. HOW CAN WE EFFECTIVELY FIGHT THIS? </b></div>
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<b><br /></b> Good question. It takes constant pressure over time, and alignment of organizations toward a common goal. That's how we won on microbeads. The bag ban took 10 years to win, and industry hired outside signature gatherers to make it a referendum. You can join Californians Against Waste, Surfrider Foundation, and other NGO's to fight the referendum in CA and get the word out.<br /> <br /><b> HOW MANY TIMES CAN PLASTICS BE RECYCLED AS A TECHNICAL INGREDIENT IN THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY? IS IT POSSIBLE FOR IT TO BE CONTINUALLY RECYCLED?</b></div>
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<b><br /></b> From what I know, the polymer gets continually degraded over time, so you don't typically see products with 100% PRC (Post-consumer recycled content). So, technically you can't reused the same plastic material perpetually, as you can with Aluminum, which is a single element (Al). Plastic is made of 100 or 1000's of molecular bonds, and they don't last forever.<br /> <br /><b> WHAT IS THE ORGANIZATION'S POSITION IS ON BIOPLASTICS, ESPECIALLY WHEN CONSIDERING THEIR LIFECYCLE IMPACTS? IS THERE SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT OR CERTIFY THEM AS "MARINE DEGRADABLE?"</b></div>
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<b><br /></b> It depends on the polymer. Here's something I wrote recently on bioplastic: <br /> <br /> Bioplastic has been around a while. Henry Ford produced the first soybean car in the 1930s, with bioplastic fenders and door panels made from soy-based phenolic resin. He demonstrated its resilience by bashing it with a sledgehammer without a dent. Petroleum plastics were cheaper and better performing and eventually edged bioplastic out. <br /> <br /> But today, with the inconsistency of the fossil fuel market, companies like Proctor & Gamble, CocaCola and PepsiCo have explored plant-based plastics as a means to create a more reliable and consistently valued resource. In September 2015 the Brazilian company Braskem began production of polyethylene, the exact same chemical structure as polyethylene made from fossil fuels, but derived entirely from sugar cane fiber, called ‘bagasse’..</div>
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<br /> Poly-lactic Acid (PLA) is another common plant-based polymer, the one you see advertised as ‘corn cups’ or utensils called ‘spud ware’. Or Poly-hydroxy-alkanoate (PHA), made from the off-gassing of bacteria. Soy, bagasse, PLA or PHA, are all very different and create confusion, sometimes intentionally, over their actual biodegradability. PLA needs a large industrial composting facility that’s hot, wet, and full of compost-eating microbes. If you put a bunch of paper plates, napkins and PLA utensils in your backyard compost for a year, you’ll end up with rich soil and a bunch of forks and knives. On the JUNKraft we filled a nylon mesh laundry bag with 20 different PLA products. The result after the voyage was a laundry bag filled with unscathed products. PHA is the only marine degradable bioplastic, with ASTM standards that describe a 30% loss of material in the ocean in 6 months, but only in warm tropic waters, not higher latitudes or deeper waters.<br /> <br /> There’s plenty of confusion and green-washing in advertising the value of bioplastic. While the label “biodegradable” has a relatively strict definition called ASTM standards, and strict guidelines for usage in advertising, the terms bioplastic, plant-based, bio-based do not. Bioplastic is the loosely-defined catch-all phrase that describes plastic from recent biological materials, which includes true biodegradable materials and non-biodegradable polymers that are plant-based. These definitions leave a lot of room for advertisers to manipulate public perception.<br /> <br /> When CocaCola unveiled the PET PlantBottle a week before the 2009 Sustainability Summit in Copenhagen (COP15), with green leaves and circular arrows on labels, many NGOs and government agencies, like the Danish Consumer Ombudsman, took CocaCola to court for greenwashing, resulting in label modifications. Despite all of the leafy greenery, it’s the same PET bottle you’ll find floating across the ocean, despite being “plant-based”. The saving grace is the withdrawal from fossil fuels, but otherwise the same bottle.<br /> <br /><b> WHAT DO YOU DO WITH PEOPLE FROM YOUR OWN SOCIAL CIRCLE WHO ARE DEEPLY INGRAINED INTO THE DISPOSABLE CULTURE, BUT ARE UNINTERESTED OR UNWILLING TO CHANGE THEIR BEHAVIOR?</b></div>
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Keep pushing. Continuous pressure over time. We love the people in our social circle, so we keep sharing our values. I have family that still haven't kicked the plastic habit. I just keep pushing without compromising my values. <br /> <br /> BUT, if they are jerks about it and want to criticize your choices, then you have to decide for yourself if you're compatible. It's like any other relationship, i suppose. Breaking up is hard to do. <br /> <br /> WE HOPE THESE RESPONSES WERE HELPFUL. IF YOU HAVE ANY MORE QUESTIONS, FEEL FREE TO CONTACT US AT INFO@5GYRES.ORG. IF YOU WANT TO JOIN OUR NEXT WEBINAR, PLEASE SIGN FOR OUR UPDATES ON OUR WEBSITE. <br />
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bigmuddygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16209291095727799522noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784425221248248249.post-71961345666453653762016-07-04T13:25:00.000-07:002016-07-04T13:25:01.729-07:00Dutch inventor harnessing waves to clean up the seas<br /><b><i>Published in <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/dutch-inventor-aims-harness-waves-clean-seas-135436485.html">Yahoo News</a> by Sophie Mignon - June 22, 2016</i></b><br /><br /><div class="canvas-body C(#26282a) Wow(bw) Cl(start) Mb(20px) Fz(15px) Lh(1.6) Ff($ff-secondary)" data-reactid=".19qurqn3nl6.$tgtm-Col1-0-ContentCanvas.0.4" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 20px; word-wrap: break-word;">
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Scheveningen (Netherlands) (AFP) - The Dutch inventor behind a ground-breaking project to remove millions of tonnes of plastics floating in vast ocean "garbage patches" unveiled Wednesday the first prototype of his ambitious sea-cleaning device.<br /><br />Boyan Slat's innovative idea -- first drawn on a paper napkin when he was still in high school -- seeks to use ocean currents to gather up the masses of bottles, plastic bags, flip-flops and other detritus that sully the planet's waters, eliminating the need for an army of boats to haul them in.<br /><br />According to the Ocean Cleanup project, eight million tonnes of plastics enter the oceans every year, much of which has accumulated in five giant garbage patches, with the largest in the Pacific between California and Hawaii.<br /><br />The plastic soup is created when the rubbish gets caught up in five main "gyres" -- or rotating oceanic currents.<br /><br />But 21-year-old Slat believes he can harness the power of the currents to help the great cleanup.<br /><br />"Why move through the ocean if the ocean can move through you?" Slat asked at a press conference in the harbour in the port of Scheveningen, on the outskirts of The Hague.<br /><br />Slat's idea is to use a 100-kilometre (60-mile) long V-shaped barrier made up of large, rubber pillow-shaped buoys which float on the ocean surface, trailing a three-metre (nine-foot) long curtain from its arms into the water.<br /><br />A smaller 100-metre (feet) prototype unveiled Wednesday will now be taken onto the North Sea Thursday for a year-long series of tests some 23 kilometres (12 nautical miles) off the Dutch coast.<br /><br />The aim is to stop the plastic as it bobs along, gathering it into one place so it can be gathered up into a container and taken for recycling.<br /><br />"All those plastic objects, big things like bottles, crates... will be cut down to micro pieces over the next few decades if we don’t do anything about it," he told reporters as he explained his project, The Ocean Cleanup.<br /><br />"The question is: is this a future we accept will happen or do you want to create a future where the oceans become clean again?"<br /><br />- 'Crucial to prevent permanent damage' -<br /><br />The micro pieces released as the plastics break down are dispersed through the seas, entering the food chain with harmful effects for all marine life. Turtles, fish, dolphins and others can also become entangled in the rubbish, or swallow pieces believing it is food which they then cannot digest.<br /><br />The prototype has been built at a cost of 1.5 million euros ($1.69 million), financed through crowd-funding as well as donations, including from the Dutch government.<br /><br />Slat hopes is to fully roll out the system in 2020 once the tests have been evaluated and necessary modifications made.<br /><br />He says his system could capture up to 3,000 cubic metres in its arms -- enough to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool.<br /><br />"With a single one of those systems deployed for 10 years, we should be able to clean up about half the Great Pacific Garbage Patch or more if we would deploy more systems," he told reporters.<br /><br />Dutch Environment Minister Sharon Dijksma said it was "an inspiring example of how we can tackle the growing problem of ocean pollution".<br /><br />The project was "crucial to prevent permanent damage to the environment and marine life," she added.<br /><br />The project's most conservative estimate says that in the first 10 years, 70 million kilos (154 million pounds) of plastic would be removed.<br /><br />The youngest ever winner of the Champion of the Earth award -- the UN's highest environmental honour -- Slat gave up his studies in aeronautical engineering to pursue his project.<br /><br />Now the Ocean Cleanup has more than 40 staff backed by dozens of volunteers.</div>
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bigmuddygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16209291095727799522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784425221248248249.post-2538078521128214942016-07-04T13:14:00.000-07:002016-07-04T13:28:50.377-07:00Miami-Dade County joins list of South Florida communities enacting eco-friendly Styrofoam ban<b><i>Published July 1, 2016 by Kevin Byrne on <a href="http://www.accuweather.com/en/features/trend/south_florida_communities_enact_styrofoam_bans_to_reduce_pollution_plastic_in_waterways/58442633">AccuWeather.com</a></i></b><br /><br />The Miami-Dade County Commissioners recently passed an <a href="http://www.miamidade.gov/govaction/legistarfiles/Matters/Y2016/160840.pdf">ordinance</a> that would ban disposable Styrofoam products from county parks and beaches, joining a host of other South Florida communities striving to reduce one of the most common and harmful forms of litter.<br /><br />Styrofoam, also known as polystyrene, can have numerous health and environmental impacts. The problems occur when Styrofoam, which is non-biodegradable, breaks into smaller pieces and gets scattered throughout public spaces and neighboring bodies of water.<br /><br />The petroleum-based plastic is made up of a harmful monomer called styrene, which is used extensively in the manufacture of plastics, rubber and resins, according to the <a href="http://www.earthresource.org/campaigns/capp/capp-styrofoam.html">Earth Resource Foundation</a>. Styrene has also been classified as a possible human carcinogen by the Environmental Protection Agency and the International Agency for Research on Cancer.<br /><br /><img height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEjkaFsYQxQUueZ4aBZpBa5xvG7gCuW0qqURH67abwAzouLHmbWQA3MM6FS5BqiEBJ6VibRNUii2AXHTXaEy1x4nThTrcDIFchn9Tw67YVsnRte575D-M5mrMCaKnz7Of-s7e0zY-tjHoJ4g8PQL6IOWyZhIn7lBxrhvLiE6IARz3OA7v1K9v2lm45it48HXurWwyc9nl0u_9Dt3LMRdIAPTcYH-KVmLacjRgATvNZj-6RvapPXJbAomAw" width="400" /><br /><br />Lakeside litter (Photo/DWalker44/iStock/Thinkstock)Pieces of broken up Styrofoam debris litters the ground along Biscayne Bay. (Photo/Dave Doebler)<br /><br />More than 20 environmental groups wrote a joint letter to the county commissioners outlining the necessities for the ban, which include the potential for more street flooding, the cost of removing the debris and wildlife fatalities.<br /><br />"Most marine-based foam debris comes from land-based litter that degraded into small pieces, traveled down the storm drain, and ended up in the ocean," the letter reads. "Storm drains clogged by debris also contribute to flooding and can cause infrastructure damage that require costly maintenance and repairs."<br /><br />Sea birds, fish and sea turtles can often mistake the floating white particles as food. Sea birds have been found dying of starvation with plastic particles in their stomachs.<br /><br />Additionally, the ordinance cites Miami-Dade County's tourism-dependent economy and how the pollution can create an "unsightly nuisance."<br /><br />"[Styrofoam] is a huge problem," said Dave Doebler, founder of <a href="http://www.volunteercleanup.org/">Volunteercleanup.org</a>, one of the organizations to sign the letter. "In fact, every cleanup we do, we find a tremendous amount of Styrofoam. It's one of the top items that we find floating in the bay, trapped in the mangroves and along the shoreline."<br /><br />Doebler said his website has coordinated about 400 cleanups in the last year, amounting to over 27,000 volunteer hours and 50 tons of plastic trash debris removed from the South Florida shorelines.<br /><br />"Styrofoam is absolutely littered everywhere," Doebler said, adding that it's incredibly difficult to clean up.<br /><br />There are roughly 10 variations of Styrofoam bans in South Florida, with Miami-Dade County's being the most recent, according to Doebler. The most stringent belongs to the city of Miami Beach, which is in the middle of enforcing a city wide ban scheduled to be fully implemented in September.<br /><br /><img height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEguCfQstITrixp9cE2n1IQoZgBcsW2Lj30jZjlmaAThE9FvGoCJ0yWLVU9G53IfKH9tdIhdBifJtuyuGULjpCqCB47oCgFMyQTd6UVBXRzOB2TnsL3pZi8NSOaBbmpJ7z-exzbjOjFWa20ZorxK7hJRhJ5WxZudeX-VNDWS-3oQwADJ9jP64VLe2yo8bVcFFDgl3rIiij9AcTUWCE9qRa35L-LMX8H1iNg" width="400" /><br /><br />The ban in Miami-Dade County will go into effect by July 2017. After that, any first-time offender who violates the ordinance will have to pay a $50 fine. Over the next year, officials plan to educate the public through public service announcements, social media and other public media.<br /><br />As part of outreach efforts, the City of Miami has hosted cooler swaps where, rather than hand out violations, the city offers beachgoers a reusable cooler in exchange for a Styrofoam one.<br /><br />While Doebler said it's a little early to say if existing restrictions have produced positive results, one of the benefits has been increased awareness throughout the public that plastic marine debris is a significant problem in South Florida.<br /><br />There have already been some instances where coffee shops and restaurants have switched from Styrofoam to paper cups and are exploring biodegradable and compostable solutions for other materials, according to Doebler.<br /><br />Styrofoam bans have been steadily increasing across the county and are already in effect in Minneapolis, Seattle, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco. The New York Supreme Court<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/23/nyregion/judge-strikes-down-new-york-citys-ban-on-foam-food-containers.html">overturned</a> New York City's ban in September 2015.<br /><br />For those interested in volunteering to help fight ocean pollution, Doebler recommended taking part in <a href="http://www.oceanconservancy.org/our-work/international-coastal-cleanup/?referrer=https://www.google.com/">International Coastal Cleanup</a> day, scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 17.<br /><br />More than 18 million pounds of trash were collected with the help of nearly 800,000 volunteers during the 2015 event.<br /><br /><i> Have questions, comments, or a story to share? Email Kevin Byrne atKevin.Byrne@accuweather.com, follow him on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/Accu_Kevin">@Accu_Kevin</a>. Follow us<a href="https://twitter.com/breakingweather">@breakingweather</a>, or on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AccuWeather?ref=br_tf">Facebook</a></i>
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Published June 30th, 2016 By CB Condez in <a href="http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/24549/20160630/san-francisco-polystyrene-styrofoam.htm">Nature World News</a><img alt="Plastic Ocean" src="http://images.natureworldnews.com/data/thumbs/full/27893/600/0/0/0/plastic-ocean.jpg" style="border: medium none; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; text-align: center;" title="Plastic Ocean" /></div>
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See how many pieces of plastic you can find in this small sample of stuff that washed ashore after a storm. This is all over Ocean Beach in San Francisco. For more on plastic in the ocean and what it does to our food chain (and ultimately us humans), just Google or Bing "plastic ocean" or "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" or "North Pacific Gyre" (Photo : Flickr/Kevin Krejci)</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The city of San Francisco in California will no longer allow food packaging and other products made of polystyrene starting next year. The news came after the SF Board of Supervisors unanimously voted on Tuesday, June 28, to restrict its use in the city. </span></div>
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According to <a href="http://time.com/4388034/san-francisco-polystyrene-ban-foam/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #c98c35; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Time</a>, the ban, which will become effective starting Jan. 1, 2017, includes foam items like coffee cups, coolers, packaging for food, disposable dishware, toys for swimming, and other foam items. Trays used for meat and fish will have an additional six months to be phased out, until July 1, 2017. </div>
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This new ordinance, <a href="http://http//www.motherjones.com/environment/2016/06/san-francisco-ban-styrofoam-polystyrene" rel="nofollow" style="color: #c98c35; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Mother Jones</a> reports, is part of San Francisco's "zero waste" goal by the year 2020. The city already forbade to-go food containers made of polystyrene in 2007. And while other cities in the United States also have similar regulations, San Francisco's latest ordinance is considered as the toughest ban on foam products thus far. </div>
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Polystyrene foam, a synthetic aromatic polymer, is non-biodegradable and is deemed as a pollutant. The sponsors of the new bill reportedly reasoned that foam pollutes waterways and are harmful to animals. </div>
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Environmentalists have been trying to make such a point for a long time. The ocean is accumulating plastic debris, which fish, birds, and other marine animals end up eating. </div>
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"Plastics biodegrade exceptionally slowly, breaking into tiny fragments in a centuries-long process," reads the post by non-profit organization <a href="http://http//www.algalita.org/about-algalita/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #c98c35; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Algalita</a>, which focuses on plastic pollution. "It entangles and slowly kills millions of sea creatures; that hundreds of species mistake plastics for their natural food, ingesting toxicants that cause liver and stomach abnormalities in fish and birds, often choking them to death." </div>
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Polystyrene is commonly called <a href="http://building.dow.com/ap/en/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #c98c35; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Styrofoam</a>, although the latter is a trademarked brand for a material produced by the Dow Chemical Company. According to Time, Styrofoam products like those used in construction and insulation are not included in the outlawed items. </div>
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bigmuddygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16209291095727799522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784425221248248249.post-63928657908683395092016-02-23T13:26:00.000-08:002016-07-04T13:30:16.570-07:00More Plastic Than Fish in the Ocean by 2050Published by Cole Mellino, January 20, 2016 in <a href="http://ecowatch.com/2016/01/20/more-plastic-than-fish-in-ocean/?utm_source=EcoWatch+List&utm_campaign=06d5dbb542-Top_News_1_20_2016&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_49c7d43dc9-06d5dbb542-85353849">EcoWatch.com</a><br /><br />There will be more <a href="http://ecowatch.com/?s=plastic">plastic</a> than fish in the ocean by 2050, warned the <a href="http://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/">Ellen MacArthur Foundation</a> in a <a href="http://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/publications/the-new-plastics-economy-rethinking-the-future-of-plastics">report</a> published Tuesday. The report, The New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the Future of Plastics, was produced by the foundation and the <a href="http://www.weforum.org/events/world-economic-forum-annual-meeting-2016">World Economic Forum</a> with analytical support from McKinsey & Company.<br /><br /><a href="http://ecowatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/plasticocean.jpg"><img height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEh8aDGm2EwxeMaqcAZgmjDp2tlmbZjV7QhBJgufD6tcjEvUL9f5PkutU-n3GRZOeJ4OyjnGseYzqKFONv1aDr1duH1o5_fxB8CBQTliLgA8wQ7tSX2_1LUwnVqquk2zX7Qx_UmsylFm6g2eZp-aUnINSxLhffpa7YsQDTLpE4Vk" width="640" /></a>There will be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050, according to a new report from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Photo credit: Plastic Pollution<br /><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3784425221248248249"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3784425221248248249"></a>Every year “at least <a href="http://ecowatch.com/2015/02/16/8-million-tons-plastic-dumped-into-oceans/">8 million tons of plastics</a> leak into the ocean—which is equivalent to dumping the contents of one garbage truck into the ocean every minute,” the report finds. “If no action is taken, this is expected to increase to two per minute by 2030 and four per minute by 2050.<br /><br />“In a business-as-usual scenario, the ocean is expected to contain one ton of plastic for every three tons of fish by 2025, and by 2050, more plastics than fish (by weight).”<br /><br />Plastic production has increased 20-fold since 1964, reaching 311 million tons in 2014, the report says. It is expected to double again in the next 20 years and almost quadruple by 2050. New plastics will consume 20 percent of all oil production within 35 years, up from an estimated 5 percent today.<br /><br /><a href="http://ecowatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/plasticproduction.jpg"><img height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEj7XS7Q5U23mW2EuzXyFFen4MhCwovZGbuGT_gAvzY5eY6JfyEP2tk1jhzrvgS5W09CwiKDBEFgQAXL2_GoWNdSvuHSGqnWMLIldZMpnEWDYSvDYmK-6iJ6_odLz_qPLZSq2CP5mba4_bZ1Xp1d9jyOlenoNz7274T9eRFxPjrYsP7-Mb0" width="640" /></a>Plastic production has increased dramatically in the last 50 years. Photo credit: Ellen MacArthur Foundation<br /><br />The vast majority of plastics is not effectively recycled, either, according to the report. Only 5 percent is properly recycled, while 40 percent is sent to a landfill and a third ends up in the environment, including in the world’s oceans. Much of the rest is burned, which generates energy, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jan/19/more-plastic-than-fish-in-the-sea-by-2050-warns-ellen-macarthur">The Guardian</a> noted, but also causes “more fossil fuels to be consumed in order to make new plastic bags, cups, tubs and consumer devices demanded by the economy.”<br /><br />The report provides a first-ever “vision of a global economy in which plastics never become waste, and outlines concrete steps towards achieving the systemic shift needed,” the <a href="http://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/">Ellen MacArthur Foundation</a> said.<br /><br /><a href="http://ecowatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/plasticocean1.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEh90oJusjn5wry6lT_T7igenesNKt1kEOErhU8lwd9872Jg39YzP-X5tXC10QyioCRiLdfv0osNsllkapsebc3NhOPuHClk54KrHqsjBcVEKVorM7QOLQtLv9oQBDPNVc_N_f2sJizsi1ICd8yTGhLwYewvV_1pFrao2ciSg3ZSHQ" /></a>Our current economic model is largely linear. Photo credit: Ellen MacArthur Foundation<br /><br />This vision is built on applying “<a href="http://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/circular-economy/overview/principles">circular economy principles</a>” to global plastic packaging flows, which could “transform the plastics economy and drastically reduce negative externalities such as leakage into oceans,” the foundation explained. The report calls for a transition away from “today’s linear ‘take, make, dispose’ economic model” and towards an economy that is “restorative and regenerative by design” and which altogether eliminates the concept of waste (just as there is no concept of waste in natural systems).<br /><br />The report concludes that the plastics industry is not doing nearly enough to address <a href="http://ecowatch.com/?s=plastic+pollution">plastic pollution</a>.<br /><br />“Plastics are the workhorse material of the modern economy, with unbeaten properties,” Dr. Martin Stuchtey of the McKinsey Center for Business and Environment, who helped produce the report, said. “However they are also the ultimate single-use material. Growing volumes of end-of-use plastics are generating costs and destroying value to the industry. After-use plastics could, with circular economy thinking, be turned into valuable feedstock.”<br /><br /><a href="http://ecowatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/plasticocean3.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEi2VzR_-T_8T-TpBgTknGBOA9UWUWQhp9ighZPtQisT1Z1pNZEj-L5O40krg7Qierrb5L1jN12Bnw66IpQBCjnbeuheyplGVIGrEh2SW_oS_Hl58Nv8a2FDXn7aVoSSafvFwRUHdyg2dzkPFaFAiL25LKQp5jpAHMh85FL4KxiHyg" /></a>The report calls for a transition to a circular economy. Photo credit: Ellen MacArthur Foundation<br /><br />The report calls for smarter packaging, such as phasing out hard-to-recycle plastics like polyvinyl chloride and expandable polystyrene, redesigning plastic items so they can be reused better, rethinking their production methods to make recycling easier and developing compostable packing on a larger scale.
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<abbr class="published" title="2016-02-23T11:25:44+00:00">published on <a href="http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2016/02/23/more-plastic-fewer-oysters/">NationalGeographic.com</a> </abbr>, Co-authored by Erica Cirino<br />
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2016 started off with a dire prediction for the world’s oceans: By 2050, the seas will contain <a href="http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_The_New_Plastics_Economy.pdf" target="_blank">more plastic</a>—by
weight—than fish. There’s an estimated 8 -12 million metric tons of
plastic making its way into the oceans each year. And as the plastic
mess in the oceans grows, so do concerns over the health of the marine
creatures living in it.<br />
<br />
While it’s known that plastic bags and bottles pose a risk to sea
creatures, a lesser-known threat is now coming to light, one that’s
created when ocean waves and wind pulverize the plastic bags, bottles
and other trash that ends up in the seas: “<a href="http://marinedebris.noaa.gov/what-are-microplastics" target="_blank">microplastics</a>.”<br />
<br />
These tiny plastic pieces are about the same size and shape as the
algae eaten by some marine animals. How microplastics affect marine
animals is not well understood.<br />
<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_174218"><a href="http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/files/2016/02/21282786668_2ce70ca17c_k.jpg"><img alt="microplastic" class="size-full wp-image-174218" height="262" src="http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/files/2016/02/21282786668_2ce70ca17c_k.jpg" width="400" /></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" id="figcaption_attachment_174218">Microplastic
poses a growing concern in oceans and other aquatic habitats. (Image by
5Gyres, courtesy of Oregon State University)</figcaption></figure>
But in recent years scientists have found that crustaceans that
consume microplastics have a hard time reproducing. Going off a hunch
that microplastics may affect the fertility of other filter feeders,
researchers at the <a href="http://wwz.ifremer.fr/institut_eng" target="_blank">French Institute for the Exploitation of the Sea</a> started <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2016/01/25/1519019113" target="_blank">feeding oysters microplastics</a>.<br />
<br />
The researchers observed two groups of oysters: one fed a normal diet
of algae and another fed a mix of algae and microplastics. The oysters
fed the mixed diet swiftly sucked up the microplastics as easily as they
did algae. After two months the researchers have found microplastics
take a toll on both oyster digestion and reproduction.<br />
<br />
Oysters that consume microplastics eat more algae and absorb it more efficiently, says <a href="http://annuaire.ifremer.fr/cv/16160/" target="_blank">Arnaud Huvet</a>,
marine physiologist at the French research center and lead author of
the study. This is because oysters expend extra energy to pass plastic
through their digestive systems, increasing the rate at which they
digest algae.<br />
<br />
While the digestion of microplastics diverts some energy away from
reproduction, oysters’ ability to reproduce is almost halved: Female
oysters produce fewer and smaller eggs while male oysters produce
slower-swimming sperm. Offspring produce more slowly. The cause? Blame
the chemicals that make up microplastics.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3784425221248248249" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3784425221248248249" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>During digestion microplastics appear to leach hormone-disrupting
chemicals into oysters’ bodies, says Huvet. These chemicals, also called
“<a href="http://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/endocrine/" target="_blank">endocrine disruptors</a>,”
are known to lead to diminished fertility and an increased cancer rate
in laboratory animals, wildlife and humans. They’re found in all kinds
of everyday products, including cosmetics, pesticides and plastics.<br />
<br />
Can the microplastics accumulating in oysters’ bodies harm the
animals or humans that eat them? Right now, Huvet says, that’s unclear.
But he points out his study adds to a slowly growing body of evidence
highlighting the health impacts of plastic pollution in the oceans.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://safinacenter.org/programs/sustainable-seafood-program/" target="_blank">Safina Center Sustainable Seafood Program</a> Director <a href="http://safinacenter.org/people/elizabeth-brown/" target="_blank">Elizabeth Brown-Hornstein</a>
agrees: “This study provides further evidence that plastic litter has
far-reaching effects on the oceans and that there is an urgent need to
take meaningful action to tackle this issue.”<br />
<br />
Learn more about plastic and other marine pollution, and what you can do to help, <a href="http://safinacenter.org/issues/changing-ocean/marine-debris/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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bigmuddygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16209291095727799522noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784425221248248249.post-34586503207489341412016-02-23T13:14:00.000-08:002016-02-23T13:14:22.943-08:00To rethink the future of plastics, start with packaging<div class="author">
<time>Published February 23, 2016 in <a href="https://www.greenbiz.com/article/rethink-future-plastics-start-packaging">Greenbiz</a> by </time>Conrad MacKerron</div>
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<span>More
plastic than fish in the ocean (by weight) by 2050. 95 percent of
plastic packaging’s potential value lost after its first use. Only 14
percent of plastic packaging collected for recycling. Global waste
disposal systems so challenged that nearly a third of plastic waste
doesn’t even make it to the landfill, and instead is littered on land or
swept into the ocean.</span><br />
<span> </span><span> </span><br />
<span>These are some sobering findings of <a href="http://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/news/new-plastics-economy-report-offers-blueprint-to-design-a-circular-future-for-plastics">"The New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the Future of Plastics,"</a> a </span><span>report</span><span>
released last month by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in partnership
with the World Economic Forum intended to move the circular economy a
step closer from theory to practice.</span><br />
<span>The enormous
waste of embedded value in plastic packaging has been going on for
generations with scant attention often paid as landfills overflowed with
discarded single use bottles, bags, plates and wrappers. </span><br />
<br />
<span>The emerging
awareness of the scope of ocean plastic debris and the potential for
plastics to concentrate and transfer toxic chemicals into the marine
food web and human diets finally may provoke enough concern from
companies and policy makers to make ubiquitous plastic packaging a pilot
program for the circular economy where it never becomes waste, but
serves as nutrients for new products.</span><br />
<span></span><br />
<aside class="pquote">
<blockquote>
Brands need to step up and pay their fair share to cover the added costs of processing their materials.
</blockquote>
</aside><span>The report charts a path for transition to a
circular path by first focusing on fostering a robust after-use economy
through improving the economics and yield of recycling, reuse and
composting. Reducing the dumping of waste onto land and oceans and
decoupling plastics from fossil fuels are also important factors, but
the report emphasizes that drastically improving the quality and
economics of recycling, reuse and composting, is the cornerstone and
first priority for a new plastics economy.</span><br />
<br />
<span>A
five-point plan is proposed: engaging value chain players; forming a
global plastics protocol to agree on design guidelines for optimal
material use and processing systems; focusing technological innovation
on projects with the most potential to improve materials sorting and
processing at scale; promoting stronger secondary markets for collected
materials; and exploring "the enabling role of policy" such as material,
landfill or incineration bans and producer responsibility laws.</span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3784425221248248249" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3784425221248248249" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span>This
effort by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and its allies has a number of
encouraging elements going for it, but the path is also fraught with
challenges. Much of this has been proposed before in various forms. </span><br />
<br />
<span>On the hopeful side, Europe seems primed to move. In December, the European Commission approved a circular economy </span><a href="http://ec.europa.eu/environment/circular-economy/index_en.htm"><span>package</span></a><span> including $6.08 billion for improved waste management.</span><br />
<br />
<span>Greenhouse
gas emissions by the plastics sector are expected to grow to 15 percent
of the global annual carbon budget by 2050 so recycling can play a key
role helping governments and global brands with GHG reduction. Increased
recycling can reduce GHG emissions. Incineration and energy recovery,
often promoted as alternatives to recycling, release the carbon embedded
in plastics. </span><br />
<br />
<span>The new data showing far more plastic
waste is eluding collection and being swept into oceans than previously
believed is elevating public concern about it from nuisance to potential
global threat. About 8 million metric tons of plastic are estimated end
up in the ocean each year, much of it packaging. Without significant
intervention, that will result in a ton of plastic for every three tons
of fish by 2025, and more plastic than fish by weight by 2050. </span><br />
<br />
<span>A
few big consumer brands and value chain players are beginning to show
interest. Ikea, Kimberly Clark, Marks & Spencer and Unilever were
involved in the New Plastic Economy report, as were other critical parts
of the packaging life cycle, such as Dow and Dupont, who make polymer
packaging resins; packaging producer Amcor; and Suez and Veolia, which
provide waste collection and recycling services.</span><br />
<br />
<span>It’s
an appealing vision of potential new business opportunities for
companies that could unlock job growth through advanced repair and
manufacturing, and enhanced waste management and secondary materials
production.</span><br />
<br />
<span>However, there are just as many
challenges. The apparent energy seems centered mostly around European
governments and retailers so far. In the U.S. there’s no evidence of
strong promotion of a circular agenda by the EPA or federal policy
makers equivalent to the EU’s action. U.S. retailers outside of the
beverage sector remain largely </span><a href="http://www.asyousow.org/ays_report/waste-and-opportunity-2015/"><span>silent</span></a><span> on responsibility for the ocean debris mess, packaging waste and low recycling rates. </span><br />
<br />
<span>The
report’s proposed answer is ambitious — a global plastics protocol,
where business and governments align around the best materials and
practices. But is it realistic? It’s hard enough to get cities in the
same county to collect and process the same materials, let along most
countries. </span><br />
<span>But beneath polite phrases such as
"alignment" lie hard choices such as banning certain plastic materials,
which the plastics industry has opposed. </span><br />
<br />
<span>While some municipalities and
nations have banned various plastics, reaching global agreement on
preferred materials is likely too much to expect. Many developing
nations are preoccupied with providing basics such as food and shelter
and lack post-consumer collection and recycling systems, or the
resources to carry out existing laws.</span><br />
<span></span><br />
<aside class="pquote">
<blockquote>
Beneath polite phrases such as 'alignment' lie hard choices such as
banning certain plastic materials, which the plastics industry has
opposed. <br />
</blockquote>
</aside><span>A better approach might be one track for
developed nations willing to move now and finance workable regional
circular economy models; and a separate urgent effort aimed at using
multilateral aid and producer fees to help developing nations build
basic waste collection systems to stem the ocean plastics tide. </span><br />
<br />
<span>This
is where the big global brands need to step up on both accounts.
Unilever, Procter & Gamble and others are using increasing amounts
of non-recyclable plastic packaging in developing markets, much of which
ends up in waterways. They need to acknowledge the impacts of their
products as negative environmental externalities and factor those costs
into future operations. Then need to start paying fees or providing
significant aid, likely billions of dollars, aid to help developing
countries where they sell products build recycling and waste collection
systems.</span><br />
<br />
<span>Even developed nations are struggling with
the economics of packaging recycling. These recommendations come at an
especially challenging time for the U.S. recycling industry, where
plummeting commodity prices for packaging materials such as plastic,
glass and metals have </span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/13/business/energy-environment/skid-in-oil-prices-pulls-the-recycling-industry-down-with-it.html"><span>slashed</span></a><span> and often erased recyclers’ profits.</span><br />
<br />
<span>Yet
there’s a silver lining — this crisis could force a much needed reality
check for brands that commodity prices will continue to be volatile and
that recyclers cannot build a business model based primarily on the
value of recovered materials. Brands need to step up and pay their fair
share to cover the added costs of processing their materials.</span><br />
<br />
<span>U.S. citizens historically have sent a strong message that recycling is a social good they want pursued and </span><span>they</span><span> are paying the cost for recycling not covered by commodities, </span><span>not</span><span>
the big producer brands. In recent years, big U.S. consumer brands have
avoided acknowledging responsibility, or taken only baby steps. The <a href="https://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2014/09/03/which-way-recycling-walmarts-closed-loop-fund-vs-epr">Closed Loop Fund </a>makes
more capital available for fixing infrastructure and market
development, but avoids the key question of what ongoing financial
commitment brands should be responsible for to relieve the costs of
recycling and landfilling for taxpayers who have shouldered it for
generations. </span><br />
<br />
<span>There is room for optimism that the
prospect of wise conservation of resources, job growth and reduction of
GHG emissions afforded by the new plastics economy vision will attract a
critical mass of global brands to support efforts to optimize the value
of the materials they place on the market. This effort is badly needed
to develop 21</span><span>st-</span><span>century caliber systems that
will move plastic packaging from a one-way trip to the landfill to many
useful round-trips protecting consumer goods.</span></div>
</div>
</div>
bigmuddygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16209291095727799522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784425221248248249.post-60796262384713118222016-01-08T14:46:00.000-08:002016-01-08T14:46:38.414-08:00Solar-Powered Water Wheel Removes 350 Tons of Trash From Baltimore Harbor<div class="gform_footer top_label" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; margin: 0em 0px 0px; padding: 0em 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Published in <a href="http://ecowatch.com/2015/12/17/solar-powered-water-wheel/?utm">EcoWatch</a> by Lorrain Chow - Dec. 17, 2015 </span></div>
<br />
<div class="post-content" itemprop="text" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125em; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.4em; margin: 0px; orphans: auto; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">
They say you can’t reinvent the wheel, but in May 2014, the Waterfront Partnership did just that. The Baltimore nonprofit<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://baltimorewaterfront.com/donate-now-to-help-us-build-a-second-water-wheel-in-canton/" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #439241; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear;" target="_blank">installed</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>“the world’s first permanent water wheel trash interceptor” to clean up the city’s polluted Inner Harbor.<br />
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;">
<a href="http://ecowatch.com/2014/06/25/solar-water-wheel-trashbaltimore-inner-harbor/" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #439241; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear;">The wheel</a>, which is powered by<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://ecowatch.com/?s=solar" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #439241; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear;">solar</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>panels and water currents, has pulled a whole lot of trash from the harbor in less than two years. As recently reported by<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.wastedive.com/news/mr-trash-wheel-using-natural-forces-to-clean-baltimores-waters/410880/" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #439241; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear;" target="_blank">Waste Dive</a>, the $750,000 floating trash guzzler has removed more than 350 tons of litter from Baltimore’s landmark and tourist attraction to date.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;">
This includes 80,000 plastic bottles, more than 90,000 foam containers, 36,000 plastic shopping bags, 66,000 snack bags and 4 million cigarette butts.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;">
Affectionately known as<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/MrTrashWheel" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #439241; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear;" target="_blank">Mr. Trash Wheel</a>, the floating contraption has the capability to collect 50,000 pounds of trash per day.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;">
As EcoWatch<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://ecowatch.com/2014/06/25/solar-water-wheel-trashbaltimore-inner-harbor/" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #439241; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear;">reported</a>, the wheel receives power from Jones Falls River’s current near the harbor, which turns the wheel and lifts trash from the water into a dumpster barge. An array of 30 solar panels keeps the wheel turning when the water current isn’t enough.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;">
This video from NBC News explains how the water wheel works and how the it could be the solution for cleaning trash pollution in waterways around the world:</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;">
Officials from Singapore, Rio and nearly 30 U.S. cities, including Philadelphia and Honolulu, have called Baltimore to learn about the wheel, Waste Dive reported.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;">
“Our primary goal was to keep trash out of the Harbor and Chesapeake Bay and ultimately support an initiative to make the Harbor swimmable and fishable by 2020,” Adam Lindquist, director of the Waterfront Partnership-launched Healthy Harbor Initiative, told Waste Dive.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;">
Still, it will take great strides to make the harbor actually swimmable and fishable in less than five years. In June, the Waterfront Partnership and Blue Water Baltimore graded the harbor an overall “F” in their<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.bluewaterbaltimore.org/wp-content/uploads/HealthyHarbor_2014ReportCard_P3.pdf" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #439241; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear;" target="_blank">2014 Healthy Harbor Report Card</a>.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;">
According to the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/news/2015/06/04/baltimore-harbor-water-is-still-disgusting.html" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #439241; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear;" target="_blank">Baltimore Biz Journal</a>, the high level of fecal bacteria pollution, which comes from sewer overflows and poor stormwater infrastructure, makes the harbor “hundreds of times higher than what is considered safe for human contact.”</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;">
The Report Card did however acknowledge projects that have improved water quality, with the water wheel being one of them.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;">
“A number of projects are going on in Baltimore City and County that should result in better water quality scores,” according to a <a href="http://www.bluewaterbaltimore.org/blog/report-card/" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #439241; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear;" target="_blank">press release</a>. “Four of these projects, that are detailed in the report card, include the Blue Alleys project, the Water Wheel, expanded street sweeping and stream restoration.”<br />
<br /></div>
</div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RkQbcrzyAeE" width="560"></iframe>bigmuddygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16209291095727799522noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784425221248248249.post-3569413575407452462015-12-29T15:03:00.000-08:002015-12-29T15:03:04.716-08:00The Seabin Project - Ocean Cleanup Technology<i>Published in <a href="http://www.techmalak.com/this-ocean-cleanup-technology-is-a-simple-solution/#.VoMNBVIYHYR">techmalak</a> by Matthew Barnes / Dec. 29. 2015</i><br />
<br />
The Seabin Project is designed to make ocean cleanup a simple
automated project that cleans our harbors, water ways, ports and yacht
clubs of the garbage we humans discard into the water without much
thought.<br />
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Founders of the <a href="http://www.seabinproject.com/" target="_blank">Seabin project </a>Andrew Turton and Pete Ceglinski, have put together what they call is the “Seabin”.<br />
<br />
Its process is very simple as it sits in the waters and gathers any
trash that floats into the bin aided by natural wind currents.<br />
<br />
Water passes through a a catch bag which is made of natural
materials, and the flows from the bottom of the bin up through a tube
into a water pump that sits on a floating dock above.<br />
<br />
This water pump can <a href="http://www.techmalak.com/bill-gates-tricks-jimmy-fallon-drink-clean-doo-doo-water/">separate water</a> and oil particles, returning the filtered water back into the ocean further benefiting marine life by cleaning the water.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://techmalak.techmalak.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/x5ijc0szqlhfynj95ls3.jpg"><img alt="Seabin Project Ocean Cleanup" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-6475" src="http://techmalak.techmalak.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/x5ijc0szqlhfynj95ls3.jpg" height="469" width="620" /></a><br />
All of this operates on a 24/7 365 days a year cycle. All a worker
needs to do, is to collect the insert within the bin and properly
dispose of the waste.<br />
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And according to the project creators, even when the Seabin is full,
it still works by pulling garbage and keeping it against the sides of
the bin.<br />
<br />
With these Seabins in every port, we could do much in the way of moving towards cleaner waters for generations to come.<br />
<br />
This ocean cleanup project is starting in and around marines and
yacht clubs where lots of garbage can be collected. But it can be used
anywhere in large bodies of waters.<br />
Since the Seabin is easy to use and environmentally friendly, it aids
in a broader effort to help cleanup our oceans and waterways.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://techmalak.techmalak.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/pete-ceglinski-andrew-turton-ocean-cleanup-project.jpg"><img alt="Pete Ceglinski Andrew Turton Ocean Cleanup Project" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-6476" src="http://techmalak.techmalak.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/pete-ceglinski-andrew-turton-ocean-cleanup-project.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a><br />
As stated on the company’s website, the goal of this clean up project is:<br />
<ul>
<li>To help rid the oceans of plastics and pollution.</li>
<li>To have a Seabin production in place by mid to end of 2016 and start shipping.</li>
<li>To create Seabins from the most sustainable materials and processes available.</li>
<li>To have the lowest carbon footprint possible in the production of
the Seabins by means of alternative materials and processes. Also by
reducing shipping and having the Seabins manufactured in the countries
of installation.</li>
<li>To create and support local economies with the production, maintenance and installation of the Seabins world wide.</li>
<li>To have future models of Seabins for specific locations.</li>
<li>To educate people and cultures about being more responsible with the use and disposal of plastics.</li>
<li>To setup educational programs for students in schools.</li>
<li>To convert our captured plastics into energy.</li>
<li>To reuse or recycle our Seabins for other uses and or applications.</li>
<li>To have pollution free oceans with no need for the Seabins.</li>
</ul>
We can all agree that the <a href="http://www.techmalak.com/why-we-need-to-take-care-of-the-ocean/">worlds oceans</a> have taken tremendous amounts of abuse since the industrial age.<br />
<br />
Toxic chemical spills that have leaked out into our waters do nothing
but harm the ecosystem which in the long run has an effect on us.<br />
<br />
Many people don’t give a second thought to dashing pieces of rubbish
into the middle of the ocean somewhere not realizing the harmful effects
it has on the wildlife.<br />
<br />
We see birds and fishes get caught and sometimes die in plastic meshes left because of carelessness.<br />
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The mission of Seabin Pty Ltd, is simple. Improving one of the Earth’s most precious resources which:<br />
<ul>
<li>Covers 71% of our planet</li>
<li>Provides the majority of the worlds protein for human consumption in fish</li>
<li>Houses roughly 90% of life on Earth</li>
<li>Is no more than 10% explored</li>
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Anyone interested in supporting the project can do so through the Seabin INDIEGOGO <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/cleaning-the-oceans-one-marina-at-a-time#/" target="_blank">crowdfunding campaign</a>.<br />
<br />
Currently as of this writing with well over five thousand backers,
Seabin has reached 86% of its $230,000 goal to which the want to start
shipments in the middle part of 2016.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tiy7WQYQyhY" width="560"></iframe>bigmuddygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16209291095727799522noreply@blogger.com1