Unconventional Science: Cleaning Up Plastic With Artificial Coastlines

Unconventional Science: Cleaning Up Plastic With Artificial Coastlines — page 5
HISTORY IN PLASTIC The Great Pacific Garbage Patch contains approximately 87,000 short tons 79,000 metric tons of plastic This material comes from all over the world A 2018 study found some of it has been there for decades Items found had 12 different countries of origin Nearly half of the material is abandoned equipment from commercial fishing boats Some came from Japan in the wake of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami without even knowing it is there Much of the plastic consists of small particles suspended just below the surface Nowhere is the plastic nearly dense enough to stand on And it cannot be seen from space THE OCEAN CLEANUP Nearly 9 million tons of plastic ends up in Earth’s oceans each year The Ocean Cleanup aims to help reverse the damage A series of booms each 0 6 miles 1 km long floats with the ocean current Booms are long floating barriers These booms act as an artificial coastline The Ocean Cleanup’s system may be part of the solution for a cleaner ocean