From Rivers to Oceans: The Battle Against Plastic Pollution
Guest post by Rae Meyers
The Challenge
Every year, we produce 350 million tonnes of plastic waste globally, the byproduct of our increasing dependency on plastic. Recent research shows that 1.7 million tonnes of this waste ends up in the ocean. The World Economic Forum forecasts that plastic production will double in the next 20 years, which is likely to significantly increase the amount of plastic waste that makes its way to the ocean.
Some of the plastic that ends up in the ocean floats on the surface and is transported by currents, ending up accumulating in huge vortexes, or gyres, in the middle of the ocean. One such gyre is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, located midway between Hawaii and California, that spans an estimated area three times the size of France. But how does this plastic waste get into the ocean in the first place?
The answer is rivers. Rivers are the primary source of ocean plastic pollution, transporting plastic waste from the land to the sea. The Ocean Cleanup, an organisation dedicated to developing technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic, has found that just 1,000 of the hundreds of thousands of the world’s rivers contribute to 80% of plastic pollution into the ocean.
The Good News
It is beginning to be understood that the best way to reduce plastic pollution in the ocean and prevent the creation of even more plastic gyres like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, is to stop the flow of waste from rivers into the ocean.
Some organisations are now moving their attention from removing plastic waste from the ocean to preventing it from entering in the first place. The Ocean Cleanup, for example, has developed a device aptly named the Interceptor. These are solar-powered vessels that sit within polluted rivers, collecting rubbish to be transported to waste management facilities. There are various different Interceptor models and technologies, but all successfully prevent significant amounts of waste from flowing to the ocean. As of 2024, Interceptors can be found in rivers in Guatemala, Indonesia, Jamaica, Malaysia, USA, the Dominican Republic, Vietnam, and Thailand.
In Amsterdam lies the Bubble Barrier, the first technology of its kind to use a bubble curtain to catch riverine plastic pollution. Through the bubble curtain, plastic is directed to a waste management collection system and then removed for processing.
In Baltimore, Mr. Trash Wheel and his friends Professor Trash Wheel, Captain Trash Wheel and Gwynnda the Good Wheel of the West have become online sensations with over 100,000 followers on social media. These devices consist of a large wheel with googly eyes, powered by hydro and solar energy. Each device collects and prevents 500 tonnes of marine debris from entering beautiful Chesapeake Bay each year.
mrtrashwheel/Instagram
What Can I Do?
Despite the success of these innovative approaches to reducing the amount of plastic in the ocean, the real answer to the problem of plastic pollution is to reduce the amount of plastic waste we produce, which means reducing our reliance on plastic.
At Take 3 for the Sea, we encourage everyone to unleash the power of 3:
- Take 3 pieces of rubbish with you when you leave the beach, waterway or anywhere
- Take 3 actions to reduce your single-use plastic
- Take 3 people on the journey with you
It’s easy to reduce the amount of single-use plastic we use. Take a keep cup to the coffee shop, carry a reusable water bottle, use a mesh bag when you buy fruit and veg at the supermarket instead of a plastic bag. Tell your family and friends what you’re doing and why, and encourage them to do the same. Before you know it, you and your friends will be producing less plastic waste and doing your bit to keep our oceans clean and healthy.
