Plastic waste, one of the key talking points in the modern world. With over 220 million tonnes of plastic created each year, it shouldn’t come as any surprise that organisations are now looking for ways to minimise their impact on the natural world.
Clean up operations, changes in legislation, they’re all being created to help cut the amount of waste in our oceans, protect the wildlife and the world for generations to come. But what part does technology play in this global clean up?
This month we wanted to explore some of the ways that technology is being used to help cut waste and save our oceans.
The Ocean Cleanup
You might have seen this in the news, but if you haven’t then let us introduce The Ocean Cleanup. The ultimate goal is to remove and prevent plastic pollution that’s floating around in our oceans.
It’s a fairly simple project, but the results could be amazing. A series of floating barriers are attached to the seabed in a V-shape, with a non-permeable screen catching waste whilst sea life and water flows naturally underneath.
The current design means that plastic waste is collected across millions of miles. The project was founded in 2013, and it’s predicted that it will be fully deployed by 2020.
Smart fishing nets
For years, marine life has been caught up in fishing net, with many fishes and marine animals dying during the process. Now, Precision Seafood Harvesting incorporates technology into their fishing nets to help reduce the life cost of fishing.
The high-tech trawl nets identity and catch specific species of fish, which helps to keep more fish alive and improve the sustainability of the fishing industry.
Safety Net Technology has created another trawling net that incorporates escape rings, so that fish that have been caught inadvertently can escape.
The SeaBin
Developed by a group of surfers, this fairly simplistic piece of technology is still in the prototype stage, but it’s expected to be released for sale soon.
Essentially, the SeaBin is a bucket and a pump and water filtration system, and it’s been designed to remove the plastic waste and debris from the waters of marinas or docks.
To ensure that chemicals don’t make their way back into the oceans, they’ve even developed an optional oil-water separator that pulls water from the ocean, splits it from the oil and spits the cleaner water out the other side.
The SeaVax robotic ship
Whereas the SeaBin is fairly simple in its design, the SeaVax is extremely complex. Powered by a combination of solar power and integrated wind turbines, the SeaVax has been developed to help vacuum plastic particles from the ocean.
It’s still in the development stages, this piece of technology is an exciting prospect, especially since the way it powers itself doesn’t rely on traditional fossil fuels.
Recycling Technologies
The technology we’ve had in the past decades has had limited capabilities, which has led to much of our recycled waste ending up in skips and landfills.
However, a British company, Recycling Technologies, has developed a piece of technology that turns every single type of plastic product into virgin plastic, wax and oils, which has been called Plaxx.
In April 2018, Recycling Technologies raised over £3.7 million from a crowdfunding campaign. They aim to use these funds to bring over 10 million tonnes of plastic recycling capabilities to the entire world by 2027. It’s a long way away, but companies such as this really are helping shape the future of our world.
So there we have it, some of the ways that technology is being used to save our oceans. We know that it’s going to be a long journey, but if everyone can take a stand and think about the way that they deal with their rubbish, then we can make a difference.
Remember, if your organisation wants to reassess the way that you deal with your waste technology or simply want to source equipment from sustainable places, and then we’re here to help. Get in touch with a member of our team to see how we could help your business grow.
