Plastic pollution is an emerging global crisis that requires swift action to mitigate. Reusable shopping bags, water bottles and coffee cups may offer solutions – but we must go further than this to address it effectively.
The Ocean Clean Up Project seeks to reduce plastic waste in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch through passive drifting arrays that collect plastic debris and bring it back for recycling on land.
Bioplastic
Plastic has become a mainstay in modern life, from food packaging and drink bottles to medical applications. Their lightweight durability makes them suitable for numerous uses while their mouldability allows for creative customization of shapes. Unfortunately, however, plastic waste production since 1950 has reached over 9 billion tons; unfortunately only 9 percent is recycled and the remainder ends up either in landfills or the ocean – bioplastics offer one possible way of mitigating plastic pollution.
Bioplastics offer an environmentally-friendly alternative to regular plastics made of fossil fuels; bioplastics are made from plant-based materials, making them more eco-friendly than regular plastics which produce carbon emissions during production and can take hundreds of years for degrading. Although bioplastics do produce carbon emissions during their manufacturing processes, they produce significantly fewer than traditional plastics due to lower production carbon emissions during their lifespans and quicker decomposition rates than regular plastics do.
Researchers are exploring various approaches to producing biodegradable plastics. Columbia University students, for instance, have devised an ingenious system of producing bioplastics using a mixed microbe community that feeds on volatile fatty acids from wastewater and solid waste and converts them into building blocks of plastic for bacteria to use to create plastic caps or shampoo bottles that will eventually biodegrade back into methane, digested by marine microorganisms in the ocean.
Michigan State University scientists are developing another approach to creating bioplastics using blue-green algae called cyanobacteria. This provides another effective means of producing sugars necessary for bioplastic production compared to using sugarcane or corn as source materials, both of which require large tracts of land that compete with food production as well as create environmental issues.
Bioplastics offer more than carbon emission reduction – they also address other problems caused by plastics. Bioplastics are strong and versatile enough to be made into various products including electronics such as keyboards, earphones, cell phones, laptops and loudspeakers; plus local producers often offer them cheaper than their synthetic equivalents.
Ocean Clean-up
Plastic pollution is one of the greatest environmental concerns we face today. Each year, millions of tons of trash enters our oceans – that’s equivalent to adding one full dumpster every minute!
At last, this problem is receiving its due diligence: teenagers, philanthropists, corporations and governments are working tirelessly to find solutions. Teenagers, philanthropists, corporations and governments all taking up the challenge of cleaning up ocean plastics vary significantly, from Korean programs paying fishermen to remove trash at sea to solar-powered wheels like Baltimore Harbor’s Mr. Trash Wheel that skim up up 17 tonnes of waste daily.
The Ocean Cleanup, founded by 18-year-old Boyan Slat in 2013, is perhaps the best-known effort to tackle marine debris pollution. Slat quit aerospace engineering school and dedicated himself full-time to ridding our oceans of litter; his first target being France-sized Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
The Interceptor, a barge-like device developed by Dutch non-profit The Ocean Cleanup and currently being tested in rivers worldwide. Designed to capture plastic floating in river currents for recycling at nearby processing plants.
Though these solutions are vitally important, they only represent part of a comprehensive solution to reduce ocean plastic pollution. The best way to do this would be through eliminating their production in the first place – this may require changes in our consumption habits but is achievable nonetheless.
Bonnie Monteleone, Executive Director of Ocean Legacy Foundation and Chief Scientist at 5 Gyres believes we must focus on limiting plastic production and improving global waste management. Beach cleanups may provide some relief but she warns they may take attention away from reducing plastics’ production and consumption.
Biocellection
The oceans are home to an alarming amount of plastic pollution, endangering marine life while often entangling birds and whales and leading to serious injury and even death. Compounding this problem further is that only 9% of plastics are recycled – the remaining 91% goes straight into landfill, incineration or the environment. Two young entrepreneurs, Miranda Wang and Jeanny Yao have set out on an initiative called BioCellection which uses advanced technology to transform plastic waste into virgin-quality chemicals with sustainable supply chains in mind.
This process transforms polyethylene plastic, the most prevalent variety, into an adaptable new substance suitable for various applications. Furthermore, they aim to recycle other types of plastic such as nylon and polyurethane; creating stronger materials than those currently produced using fuel-intensive processes.
Wang and her team are currently working with partners to develop a pilot program. It will involve GreenWaste Recycling of San Jose to collect plastics through its curbside collection system for 12 weeks of testing, providing a diverse set of plastic types as the pilot sample set.
BioCellection’s process relies on chemical reactions that break down long-chain polymers into short-chain chemical compounds that can then be purified and used to produce products such as nylon fabrics, solvents and paints – and could eventually replace products that currently utilize petroleum derivatives.
BioCellection offers an innovative technology for recycling an assortment of materials, such as food packaging, plastic bags and disposable straws and utensils, into something new that can be used in insulation production or other products – proving useful to large manufacturers looking to reduce their environmental footprints. This process produces an active compound which can also be used in insulation production; plus it creates an adhesive substance used in making insulation products such as cellulose insulation. Specifically targeted towards large enterprises looking to lower environmental impacts this technology should prove especially helpful.
While it is tempting to focus on cleaning up ocean plastics, prevention efforts must also take place in order to stop plastic from ever reaching our oceans in the first place. A great way of doing this is following the Waste Hierarchy guidelines: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. By adhering to these rules we can prevent much plastic from reaching marine ecosystems and endangering marine life.
Evoware
Scientists and engineers have come up with an innovative solution to clean plastic from the ocean using passive technology known as Ocean Clean-up. This system consists of floating structures that move with ocean currents to collect plastic waste from its surface and target microplastics which pose particular threats to marine life when eaten by them. The technology uses buoyancy, tethers, and drift anchors to trap plastic debris before transporting it back to collection points where it will then be sorted and recycled accordingly.
Biodegradable packaging offers another innovative solution to combating plastic pollution. Indonesian company Evoware, for instance, makes biodegradable straws out of seaweed as well as biodegradable food containers, bags, sachets and wrappings from this material.
Borne out of David Christian’s 2016 co-founding, this company is headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia and offers products to combat Indonesia’s widespread plastic pollution which contributes to global marine degradation and ecosystem collapse. As an effective and cost-efficient recycling alternative for businesses, they provide businesses with an alternative to traditional plastics which often present difficulty and expense when trying to recycle.
Evoware products are both biodegradable and reusable, helping reduce plastic pollution. Their sustainable packaging made from natural ingredients free from chemicals is also environmentally-friendly; furthermore, Evoware Halal-certified products make these items suitable for Muslim consumers.
One of the key aspects of combatting ocean plastic pollution lies in shifting people’s habits, so some companies are developing innovative approaches to educate customers about plastic pollution’s dangers. One such initiative is Earth Champions program, designed to promote sustainability and raise awareness among school children about its effects and motivate them to take action against environmental pollutants.
Circular Design Challenge, organized by Ellen MacArthur Foundation and open to entries worldwide, sought to encourage innovation in plastic pollution reduction through competitions like this one. Winners were determined based on designs’ potential to reduce single-use plastic use.
