The uncontrolled use made by the human being of the plastic is leaving a catastrophic footprint in the oceans around the world. This material that we use so much in our day to day does not always end recycled, but it often reaches the river routes and the oceans by drainage of water in urban areas. Inevitably, this contaminant product floods seas and oceans and endangers the lives of marine animals and even ours.
Fortunately, different purposes are being carried out at present to clean the oceans of the plastic that humans produce, such as the The Ocean Cleanup Projectwhose technology is based on extracting plastic waste and avoiding new pollution. From Ecology Verde we want to explain in detail What is The Ocean Cleanup, how it works and why it is so important.
The big problem of pollution in the oceans and seas
A huge part of the garbage that occurs worldwide ends in the seas and oceans of the entire planet, such as straws, bags, containers, networks, bottles, etc. These waste is distributed by ocean currents and accumulate forming 5 patches or islets of garbage and plastics in the oceansthe largest located between Hawaii and California, called the Great Pacific Garbage Stain. In this other article you can learn more about what the plastic islands are and how they form.
This oceanic pollution caused by plastic damages the quality of the waters and endangers the life of aquatic animalswho often feed on these waste confusing them with their usual foods or are hooked on “plastic traps.” Many sea turtles confuse plastic bags with jellyfish and, by ingesting them, these cause serious health problems and even death. Other animals are hooked in plastic waste that causes serious injuries and prevent them from moving, feeding or performing any other vital activity, growing up -informs and dying after a while.
In addition, this problem not only affects marine animals, but indirectly has also become a first -order problem in the life of human beings. When feeding on sea products, we are introducing that pollution in our organisms, harm our own health for the pollution that we have caused. Likewise, the contamination of marine ecosystems alters the balance of the entire planet, so, if the plastic continues to circulate through the oceanic currents and increasing the size of the plastic islets, all the ecosystems of the planet will be affected.
Given this global environmental problem, measures are necessary that take care and protect the seas and oceans. For example, many initiatives promote cleaning on the coasts to avoid the entry of plastics into the oceans, but, although these activities are beneficial and help Clean marine ecosystemsThey are not enough to stop this huge problem effectively and quickly. A new project is required that combines cleaning what is already accumulated in the oceans with prevention to prevent new waste from entering. However, such a project using conventional methods such as boats and networks would cost billions of dollars and thousands of years to be implemented. What could then be the solution?
We tell you more about the causes and consequences of the contamination of seas and oceans in this other ecology article.
What is The Ocean Cleanup and how it works to clean the ocean
The Ocean Cleanup It is a project born from the hand of the Dutch student of aeronautical engineering Boyan Slatwho with only 17 years proposed an effective plan for significantly clean plastic oceans and founded the organization in 2013. Although the plan is still in its beginnings and its viability is being determined, the project aims plastic concentration and collection.
In this way, Boyan Slat proposes the placement of a floating barriers system Strategically located in the North Pacific to collect the garbage attracted by sea currents and wind. The 600 -meter long float will provide buoyancy and will consist of two arms attached to submerged barriers 3 meters deep that will prevent waste from escaping below.
Floating arms will be placed in the form of V with the intention of concentrating solid waste in the center, where a cylindrical platform will act as a container. Then, with the help of ships, these waste will be removed every 45 days and will be returned to the mainland, where they can be recycled and sold for reuse, getting the cleaning of the plastics to be self -sustainable.
The Ocean Cleanup project aims to settle on the five garbage islets which correspond to the oceanic circular currents in the North and South Pacific Ocean, in the Indian Oceans and also to the North and South Atlantic Ocean. There, the system will capture plastics of great diversity of sizes, from small pieces of millimeters of size to large debris such as massive fishing nets (ghost networks).
More useful information about The Ocean Cleanup system
As nothing is ever perfect, there is also a limitation in this project, and it will not capture the plastic particles smaller than 0.01 mm, that is, some of the microplastic harmful ones that are distributed greatly by the marine depths even reaching the Arctic.
However, for the most bulky plastics that hinder the process, the project has thought about installing a conveyor belt that leads these large waste to a crusher. This is helpful to prevent the decomposition of these huge plastics that are normally the causes of microscopic plastic particles. Large pieces of plastic become small waste particles when decomposing, so the collection of these large waste will gradually reduce the entry of Microplastics in marine ecosystems.
The main objective of the project is based on safeguard the environment And marine life, so the cleaning of plastic pollution is carried out with respectful technology that ensures the well -being of marine ecosystems and organisms that inhabit there. The barriers of The Ocean Cleanup System Wave driven will be moved, which will allow marine organisms not to be pushed into the processing platform, but be able to move away.
As Novelty of Prevention and Care of Oceans And the organisms that live there, the project, instead of using networks that can cause the death of thousands of marine animals by incidental capture, commitment to the use of solid floating screens They prevent animals from being hooked. Being impenetrable screens, the current will flow below them, guiding marine organisms and catching only floating plastic. In addition, the system will always be supervised by workers who verify the well -being of marine life.
When The Ocean Cleanup begins to work to clean the oceans
The machine was already deployed on September 8, 2018 in California, on the coast of San Francisco (USA). It is expected to collect approximately 3,000 cubic meters of plastic garbage by collection every 45 days, or what is the same, as an Olympic pool. Following this line, it is estimated that The Ocean Cleanup will be able to clean 50% of the waste of the garbage island Del Pacífico in 5 years, after its total implementation in 2020, and up to 90% of the ocean plastic for 2040.
This method aims to be a very effective weapon in cleaning and prevention of marine garbage to propose a massive and economical system that takes advantage of the direction of sea currents to get rid of plastic waste. However, although the system can boast of being an effectively economic innovation, the budget to develop the project is estimated at 2 million dollars. Therefore, so much Boyan Slat As the team that collaborates with it has opened a website detailed how the project will be carried out and how interested people can collaborate economically to make this possible purpose.
If you want to read more articles similar to The Ocean Cleanup: How it workswe recommend that you enter our pollution category.
