Read the full story at Hakai Magazine.
As the coast erodes, decades-old trash is coming out of the ground.
Category: Garbage
Breakthrough ocean cleanup technology hauls thousands of kilograms of waste from Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Read the full story at Planet Ark.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch — the largest accumulation of ocean plastic on the planet — could soon be cleaned up thanks to a new device capable of collecting thousands of kilos of waste per trip.
Called System 002, and nicknamed ‘Jenny’, the device is the result of years of research by The Ocean Cleanup, a non-profit that develops technologies to tackle ocean pollution. It is essentially a giant barrier that floats on the water’s surface, using currents to capture plastic while allowing marine life to pass below.
A new ‘litter lotto’ helps keep communities clean
Read the full story at Springwise.
A new, free-to-enter monthly prize draw rewards people for binning litter. Using the free LitterLotto app, participants take a photo of every piece of rubbish they pick up and bin. Each photo equates to an entry into the monthly jackpot draw, along with a range of other, smaller prizes. The monthly jackpot in the UK was recently doubled to £10,000 per month.
Report calls for national strategy to reduce US contribution to plastic waste
Read the full story in Recycling Today.
A report released Dec. 1 calls on the U.S. to create a national strategy to reduce the country’s contribution to plastic waste in the ocean by the end of next year. The report, Reckoning with the U.S Role in Global Ocean Plastic Waste, by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NAS), also concludes that plastic waste in the U.S. is ubiquitous and increasing. It recommends that the U.S. establish a nationally coordinated and expanded monitoring system to track plastic pollution to understand its scale and sources, set reduction and management priorities and measure progress in addressing it.
Blown-up satellite pieces circling Earth shown in scientist’s unsettling simulation
Read the full story in Mashable.
The space community is heated, disappointed, and frustrated by the Nov. 15 missile test that transpired some 300 miles above Earth. The explosion of the around 4,850-pound satellite created a cloud of fragments that triggered an emergency response on the relatively nearby International Space Station: Astronauts awoke and hastily prepared to evacuate the threatened space outpost.
A simulation of the orbital debris, created by Hugh Lewis, a professor of astronautics at the University of Southampton who researches space debris, shows the ring of problematic junk orbiting Earth.
Cities are not only tackling Covid, but its pollution, too
Read the full story in the New York Times.
All around the world the remnants of a global pandemic are testing the resolve of governments and private firms to rid the planet of its waste.
25K tons of pandemic-related plastic waste now in the ocean: research
Read the full story at The Hill.
A recent study found that more than 25,000 tons of pandemic-related plastic waste leaked into the ocean while 8 million tons of plastic waste were created globally.
Personal protective equipment like masks and gloves from the COVID-19 pandemic were mismanaged as there was too much waste for countries to properly process the materials, according to a study entitled “Plastic waste release caused by COVID-19 and its fate in the global ocean” published in the online journal PNAS.
From pollution to solution: A global assessment of marine litter and plastic pollution
Plastics are the largest, most harmful and most persistent fraction of marine litter, accounting for at least 85 per cent of total marine waste.
The assessment examines the magnitude and severity of marine litter and plastic pollution and reviews existing solutions and actions. The assessment demonstrates that there is a growing threat from marine litter and plastic pollution in all ecosystems from source to sea. It provides a comprehensive update on current research (and knowledge gaps) with respect to direct impacts on marine life, risks posed to ecosystems and human health, and social and economic costs.
About 26,000 tonnes of plastic Covid waste pollutes world’s oceans – study
Read the full story in The Guardian.
Plastic waste from the Covid-19 pandemic weighing 25,900 tonnes, equivalent to more than 2,000 double decker buses, has leaked into the ocean, research has revealed.
The mismanaged plastic waste, consisting of personal protective equipment such as masks and gloves, vastly exceeded the capability of countries to process it properly, researchers said.
Solid Waste in Wisconsin Landfills
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) recently released its 2020-2021 statewide waste characterization study. The study provides valuable insight into what is going into Wisconsin landfills, and is a powerful planning tool for waste reduction and minimization efforts.
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