{"id":1964,"date":"2022-02-09T11:57:41","date_gmt":"2022-02-09T11:57:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/horizon.peachpuff-wolverine-566518.hostingersite.com\/?p=1964"},"modified":"2022-02-09T11:57:41","modified_gmt":"2022-02-09T11:57:41","slug":"beach-bots-sea-raptors-and-marine-toolsets-mobilised-to-get-rid-of-marine-litter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1964\/beach-bots-sea-raptors-and-marine-toolsets-mobilised-to-get-rid-of-marine-litter\/","title":{"rendered":"Beach bots, sea \u2018raptors\u2019 and marine toolsets mobilised to get rid of marine litter"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Often quickly disposed of but lasting in the environment for tens to hundreds of years, plastic litter pollutes our seas worldwide, creating a serious threat to wildlife and contributing to climate change as they break down.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u2018It\u2019s the scale of it \u2013 it\u2019s a global problem. You can guarantee that any beach you walk on, you\u2019ll find pieces of plastic,\u2019 said James Comerford, a senior researcher in materials and nanotechnology at SINTEF, an independent research organisation in Oslo, Norway.<\/p>\n

Plastics are estimated to comprise\u00a085% of marine litter<\/a>, with\u00a011 million metric tonnes<\/a>\u00a0entering the oceans annually and the volume potentially tripling by 2040. Some have predicted that, by weight, there will be\u00a0more plastics than fish in the seas by 2050<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In light of the alarming outlook, innovative approaches are required to tackle the problem. This is exactly what the EU Mission \u201cRestore our Ocean and Waters by 2030<\/a>\u201d is targeting, with the ambition of reducing plastic litter at sea by at least 50%, cutting microplastics released into the environment by 30%, and halving agricultural nutrient losses as well as the use of chemical pesticides.<\/p>\n

To reduce pollution, the Mission is launching a ‘lighthouse’ in the Mediterranean Sea that will act as a hub to develop, demonstrate and deploy solutions far and wide across the world by getting all the relevant players on board. Its role is to connect and structure activities, disseminate and upscale solutions and mobilise relevant actors.<\/p>\n

Its initial focus is on plastic pollution. Projects such as\u00a0In-No-Plastic<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0AQUA-LIT<\/a>\u00a0are exploring ways to reduce the contribution of people and sea-based industries to plastic pollution, while the\u00a0Maelstrom\u00a0<\/a>project looks at where marine debris is distributed and how best to remove it from the seabed and water. It is also exploring economically viable ways to recover and recycle marine plastic debris, such as circular product design for fishing gear.<\/p>\n

The wide-reaching In-No-Plastic project, led by Comerford as the project coordinator, is developing a\u00a0range of technologies<\/a>\u00a0that deal not only with easily visible, large pieces of plastics \u2013 or macroplastics \u2013 but also the insidious threat of tiny microplastics measuring less than 5 millimetres, and even smaller nanoplastics.<\/p>\n

\u2018Macroplastics are going to need different cleaning technologies to microplastics, so we\u2019re looking at the whole spectrum,\u2019 said Comerford.<\/p>\n

Several separate technologies that are currently under development can be deployed in tandem to clean up the water. A couple of them help to deal with microplastics by clumping them into more manageable sizes, one using biodegradable chemical substances called flocculants that cause particles to coagulate, and the other \u2013 known as SepaRaptor \u2013 using ultrasonic waves that push the particles into clusters.<\/p>\n

These can be combined with another technology that uses a screen to sift out plastic debris.<\/p>\n

On the macroplastics side of things is SEEker, a four-wheeled plastic-waste-collection robot being trained using artificial intelligence to identify and pick up litter from beaches and put it in a bin carried on its back. The robot will also have a loading station near the beach, where it can dispose of waste and recharge.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019ll be entirely autonomous,\u2019 said Comerford. \u2018Because there\u2019s so much litter and because it\u2019s everywhere, you need something focusing on it all the time. To have solely a human influence is really time-consuming.\u2019<\/p>\n

Mobile application<\/strong><\/p>\n

Another technology, which includes features that could be key to tackling the issue of plastic pollution in the long-term future, is an application for smartphones. This encourages volunteers to gather litter and record data on their activities, using \u201csocial rewards\u201d sourced via the local economy \u2013 for example, discounts on pizzas or at the gym.<\/p>\n

However, the app will also eventually help to track the amount of plastic waste collected, recycled and used in products, allowing us to get more of a handle on how effectively the circular economy is working.<\/p>\n

Although that function is currently under development, Comerford explained that it will be supported using photos and GPS data on collected litter, as well as blockchain technology \u2013 which can enable better tracing of the contents of goods by storing data on the movement of materials through a supply chain.<\/p>\n

\u2018So many people say they include recycled material in products,\u2019 said Comerford. \u2018If we\u2019re really to make a difference and turn this whole thing round, that\u2019s got to be countable.\u2019<\/p>\n

But apart from the pure tech side, public buy-in for solutions to the plastic problem is crucial. Partners in In-No-Plastic, such as non-profit organisation Venice Lagoon Plastic Free (VLPF), are also conducting clean-up initiatives supported by the mobile application and gauging the attitudes of the public on plastic pollution.<\/p>\n

Davide Poletto, an executive director at the organisation, says Venice is an ideal place to run plastic pollution initiatives, as a location with an enclosed area of water, and intense marine traffic, aquaculture, fishery activity and tourism. \u2018The lagoon of Venice is the largest wetland in the Mediterranean basin and a World Heritage Site of UNESCO, and this is an extraordinary laboratory to work in because you have a lot of different problems,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

He also points out that the pandemic has provided a \u2018unique opportunity\u2019 to analyse just how much overtourism contributes to pollution, including that caused by plastics, and the capacity of the local ecosystem to recover. Poletto cites a study showing that\u00a017 of 40 chemical contaminants previously found in the Venice lagoon were undetectable<\/a>\u00a0after early-2020 lockdowns, while the presence of many others was significantly lower.<\/p>\n

Boosting awareness<\/strong><\/p>\n

Recent In-No-Plastic events appear to have shown promise for growing public awareness and interest in getting involved. In one clean-up event organised in Venice in 2021,\u00a0130 people collected three tonnes of waste<\/a>, including more than 1,500 kilograms of plastics.<\/p>\n

Poletto also cites figures from an ongoing awareness study carried out by his team on more than 1,500 people in Italy, the UK and Croatia, the vast majority from outside related work sectors. Over 85% of respondents per country said joining clean-up events had helped them better understand the seriousness of marine plastic pollution, while almost 95% identified microplastics as a bigger issue than macroplastics \u2013 suggesting understanding is now widespread on the perils of invisible fragments.<\/p>\n

Poletto pointed to growing coverage in the news and social media, as well as first-hand experience. \u2018It\u2019s interesting to see how people are realising all those things,\u2019 he said. \u2018And it\u2019s not that they are specialists.\u2019<\/p>\n

But apart from stimulating public interest, he said more knowledge is needed on sources of plastic pollution to better advise decision-makers on how to deal with it. Using another app that aids with beach litter identification as part of the Maelstrom project, VLPF found that on some beaches, up to 40% of plastics on nearby islands such as Pellestrina came from fishing gear \u2013 mostly mussel nets.<\/p>\n

This is important to show, for instance, that a big proportion of plastics in these areas goes straight into the sea rather than originating in rivers, said Poletto. \u2018Then there\u2019s evidence brought to the public administration that we should do more in certain locations.\u2019<\/p>\n

Aquaculture challenge<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gear is a big issue in the aquaculture industry too, where there is also an urgent need to tackle plastic pollution given that it is the world\u2019s fastest-growing food sector. Aquaculture is estimated to account for\u00a0more than half of global fish consumption<\/a>, and could reach over 60% in the next decade.<\/p>\n

But Mariana Mata Lara, project manager at environmental technology organisation Geonardo, says that much more knowledge is needed on how to tackle plastic pollution from the sector, caused by items including cages, ropes, nets and buoys.<\/p>\n

She also said we need to separate data on pollution caused by aquaculture, or farming of aquatic produce, from that caused by traditional fisheries that catch wild fish. \u2018In reality, we don\u2019t know exactly the amount of plastics that comes from this sector,\u2019 added Lara.<\/p>\n

With this in mind, a project she led called AQUA-LIT sought to create a knowledge base on both plastics and other marine waste before the problem gets too big as the sector surges. \u2018In many things in life, we come up with solutions once the problem exists. The idea with AQUA-LIT was to go in parallel and start solving this as it grows, so we don\u2019t later have to come up with solutions to cover what we did in the past,\u2019 said Lara.<\/p>\n

AQUA-LIT did this by developing a toolbox of measures to monitor and prevent marine littering in the sector, as well as to remove and recycle waste.<\/p>\n

The team gathered the information by working with research institutes, organisations and people involved in aquaculture in the Mediterranean, North Sea and Baltic Sea. Activities included interactive \u2018Learning Lab\u2019 workshops to discuss marine litter issues, exchange knowledge and brainstorm ideas.<\/p>\n

More than 400 ideas and solutions<\/strong><\/p>\n

The resulting\u00a0toolbox\u00a0<\/a>contains a variety of measures, arranged by topics including different sea basins, aquaculture types, and stage of removal and recycling, as well as\u00a0policy recommendations<\/a>. \u2018In the toolbox, we have provided more than 400 ideas and solutions,\u2019 said Lara.<\/p>\n

As part of its work, AQUA-LIT has created an inventory detailing 65 sources of waste generated by aquaculture, a database on how European ports deal with litter and regional maps on percentages of aquaculture-related litter across its focus sea basins.<\/p>\n

Lara added that many of these ideas can be applied or expanded on elsewhere. \u2018We wanted this information to be useful not only for these three sea basins we worked in, so we created action plans to transfer the knowledge to other regions,\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n

As an example, Lara described how the resources had been used by the Global Ghost Gear Initiative, an alliance involving the fishing industry, private sector, corporates, NGOs, academia and governments that focuses on solving the problem of lost and abandoned fishing gear.<\/p>\n

\u2018The Global Ghost Gear Initiative developed a\u00a0best-practice framework<\/a>\u00a0for the management of aquaculture gear, and they used four of our reports, our marine inventory and our toolbox to help build it,\u2019 said Lara.<\/p>\n

With a section in the toolbox for people to contribute ideas, she hopes it will grow further and that the knowledge base will ultimately lead to more practical solutions. \u2018The idea is that it\u2019s for everyone and fed by everyone,\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n

Lara said that promise was shown by AQUA-LIT being invited to present at events in locations such as the Black Sea, and for a Latin American audience, reflecting the significant need for this type of information and its importance as a widespread issue. \u2018I think the value of AQUA-LIT is having done that first step,\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n

With In-No-Plastic likewise hoping to provide foundations to drive forward solutions to marine waste, the problem of plastics and other litter is set to be tackled from multiple angles.<\/p>\n

That will also require wide societal strategies to deal with waste, said Comerford. \u2018It\u2019s a holistic approach we need,\u2019 he said. \u2018You need to look at everything in the environment currently, but also we can be a bit cleverer about our products in terms of sustainability and end-of-life options.\u2019<\/p>\n

The research in this article was funded by the EU. If you liked this article, please consider sharing it on social media.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Often quickly disposed of but lasting in the environment for tens to hundreds of years, plastic litter pollutes our seas worldwide, creating a serious threat to wildlife and contributing to climate change as they break down.   \u2018It\u2019s the scale of it \u2013 it\u2019s a global problem. You can guarantee that any beach you walk … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":298,"featured_media":1965,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-earth-energy-environment"],"yoast_head":"\nBeach bots, sea \u2018raptors\u2019 and marine toolsets mobilised to get rid of marine litter - Horizon Magazine Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1964\/beach-bots-sea-raptors-and-marine-toolsets-mobilised-to-get-rid-of-marine-litter\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Beach bots, sea \u2018raptors\u2019 and marine toolsets mobilised to get rid of marine litter\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Often quickly disposed of but lasting in the environment for tens to hundreds of years, plastic litter pollutes our seas worldwide, creating a serious threat to wildlife and contributing to climate change as they break down.   \u2018It\u2019s the scale of it \u2013 it\u2019s a global problem. 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