Ocean Trash

[Deepwater6]

http://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-41866046/the-giant-mass-of-plastic-waste-taking-over-the-Caribbean

 

Do you think it would be worthwhile or even profitable to set up and outfit fishing trawlers to collect/recycle this stuff? It would require different rigging aside from just a boom and the regular fishing nets they use, but I think it could be achieved. Not while fishing of course, but if the tourism industry starts to get impacted, would it be something the nearby governments would want to explore?

[wiseshopper]

There are so many start-up companies nowadays who make an effort to contribute something positive to the environment. It's such a shame that the brilliant ideas aren't being implemented on a worldwide scale.

I hope everyone realizes how crucial taking care of the ocean is! Trash in the ocean = water rises = flooding.

[BryceMac]

The problem is that those ideas are not developed enough for wide use yet. At least I don't know of any that are.

Edited July 25, 2022 by BryceMac

[MadMax003]

I think we don"t have an opportunity and funds to clear all trash from the ocean... 

[fahrquad]

I have snorkeled all along the Atlantic coast from Wrightsville Beach to Key West, the Gulf from the Florida Panhandle to Louisiana and parts of Texas, several of the islands of the Bahamas, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico.  The vast majority of the trash I have found is plastic.  Although some small amount may come from careless beach-goers or local landfills, it appears that much of it comes from cruise ships.  I am not aware of any authority able to fine a cruise ship in international waters for littering, and it is nearly impossible to prove the point of origin for anything that washes up on a beach.  Short of deploying fleets of skimmer ships to collect the plastic or completely banning plastic on cruise ships, it seems the best option would be to develop biodegradable plastics.

[fahrquad]

When I was a kid glass bottles could be returned for a 5 cent deposit.  My friends and I used to pick them up along the road to redeem for candy, soda, and fireworks.  Since then plastic and aluminum have unfortunately become the non-biodegradable litter of choice.  The anti-littering campaigns of the late 1970's and 1980's helped, but we are still living in a disposable society that has only gotten worse (and substantially more toxic). 

[GAHD]

Big issue with ocean trash is that a lot of the plastics break down to micro sizes from UV and mechanical wave action grinding away at them. Most "nets" won't capture them. in a meaningful way.

[hazelm]

I have snorkeled all along the Atlantic coast from Wrightsville Beach to Key West, the Gulf from the Florida Panhandle to Louisiana and parts of Texas, several of the islands of the Bahamas, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico.  The vast majority of the trash I have found is plastic.  Although some small amount may come from careless beach-goers or local landfills, it appears that much of it comes from cruise ships.  I am not aware of any authority able to fine a cruise ship in international waters for littering, and it is nearly impossible to prove the point of origin for anything that washes up on a beach.  Short of deploying fleets of skimmer ships to collect the plastic or completely banning plastic on cruise ships, it seems the best option would be to develop biodegradable plastics.

It is pretty hard to ask a government to put a stop to what the government itself has done.  After WW II, our government (and others, I'll wager) dumped al kinds of war machines and weapons into the Gulf - and who know where else.  When protests rose, the alibi was that these machines make good hiding places for creatures who live in the ocean.

 

Same with rivers and lakes.  I am sure most of you have seen the suggestion that discarded Christmas trees be tossed into rivers to serve as nesting places.

 

Two sides to every story.  Yes, something needs to be done but the ones doing it only say "let George do it".  Can we win?