{"id":40077219,"date":"2021-05-10T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-09T18:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/china-dialogue-ocean-staging.darkbluehq.com\/uncategorized\/17153-twenty-plastic-busting-inventions-to-clean-our-rivers-and-seas\/"},"modified":"2022-02-10T23:02:17","modified_gmt":"2022-02-10T17:32:17","slug":"17153-twenty-plastic-busting-inventions-to-clean-our-rivers-and-seas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/ocean\/17153-twenty-plastic-busting-inventions-to-clean-our-rivers-and-seas\/","title":{"rendered":"Twenty plastic-busting inventions to clean our rivers and seas"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s an incomprehensible amount of plastic in the ocean<\/a> \u2013 estimates put the known total at 5 trillion individual pieces, or around 150 million tonnes<\/a>. An additional 8 million tonnes finds its way into the ocean every year. That\u2019s only increased thanks to Covid-19 and the resulting surge in single-use items like masks and gloves.<\/p>\n

Most plastic enters the ocean via rivers, which carry vast amounts of waste from inland sources. Once in the ocean, plastic is broken down<\/a> by the sun\u2019s rays and by wind and waves, eventually transforming into smaller fragments called microplastics. But the hardy nature of the material means that this process can take hundreds of years. In the meantime, plastic \u2013 both macro and micro \u2013 wreaks havoc on marine life. It brings the risk of entanglement, and starvation (as species mistake plastics for food). As it enters the food chain, it also potentially leaches toxins into animals\u2019 bodies<\/a> \u2013 with as-yet largely unknown effects on these creatures, and the humans who consume them.<\/p>\n

Around the world, inventors, scientists and entrepreneurs are trying to innovate us out of this predicament. With everything from plastic-munching machines, to watchful drones and microplastic-dissolving technologies, they\u2019re finding clever ways to remove plastics from the ocean \u2013 or to stop it reaching there in the first place. The majority of these inventions target pollution in rivers, down which most waste travels before reaching the seas. Some, however, venture much further out to tackle the gargantuan task of scooping plastic directly out of the open ocean.
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The Interceptor barge is one innovation helping to clear rivers of plastic waste before it enters the sea (Image: The Ocean Cleanup<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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But can technology really solve the plastics crisis? Arguably, the only real solution is to stop making so much plastic available to infiltrate the environment in the first place. That not only means reusing and recycling more, but also drastically reducing the production of single-use plastics, which are used for a day but can persist in the environment for centuries. And, ultimately, it means closing the tap on all non-essential production of this material. Combined action from governments, companies and consumers is the only way to move the dial on this ultimate goal.<\/p>\n

Even if we do all of this, however, these changes will be gradual \u2013 taking years, if not decades, to unfold. And in the interim, tonnes of plastic will continue entering rivers and flowing into the seas. So while we figure out how to break up with plastic, the 20 inventions below can play a role in reducing its impact, and perhaps unpicking some of the damage that\u2019s already been done.<\/p>\n

Rehabilitating rivers<\/h2>\n