Pacific Garbage Dump

[Geoduck]

Anyone have any bright ideas on how to clean up this mess?
How about a fleet of LST's with conveyor belt ramps pulling the junk up the ramp inside the ship to a collection point with a giant trash compactor?
We could probably get a grant to finance this endevour - what do you think?
I wonder how long it would take to clean up a garbage dump the size of Texas?

[LeaseOnLife]

Originally Posted by Geoduck

Anyone have any bright ideas on how to clean up this mess?
How about a fleet of LST's with conveyor belt ramps pulling the junk up the ramp inside the ship to a collection point with a giant trash compactor?
We could probably get a grant to finance this endevour - what do you think?
I wonder how long it would take to clean up a garbage dump the size of Texas?

De-mystifying the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" (NOAA)


Marine Debris Program - Marine Debris Info

Is debris cleanup feasible in the “garbage patches” and other areas of our oceans?

The answer to this is not as simple as you may think. It is certainly not cost-effective to skim the surface of the entire ocean. Even a cleanup focusing on “garbage patches” would be a tremendous challenge. Keep in mind these points:

• Concentration areas move and change throughout the year
• These areas are typically very large (see below)
• The marine debris is not distributed evenly within these areas
• Modes of transport and cleanup will likely require fuel of some sort
• Most of the marine debris found in these areas is small bits of plastic

This all adds up to a bigger challenge than even sifting beach sand to remove bits of marine debris. In some areas where marine debris concentrates, so does marine life (as in the STCZ). This makes simple skimming the debris risky—more harm than good may be caused. Remember that much of our ocean life is in the microscopic size range. For example, straining ocean waters for plastics (e.g., microplastics) would capture the plankton that are the base of the marine food web and responsible for 50% of the photosynthesis on Earth… roughly equivalent to all land plants!

Dirk

[itchybro]

Looks like that "concentration" thing may not be changing as fast.

The tsunami debris field is on the way. Houses etc...

[LeaseOnLife]

I think the picture above was taken shortly after the tsunami.


Japan Tsunami Debris: Information and FAQs


Marine Debris Program - Marine Debris Info

As the tsunami that hit Japan in March 2011 receded from land, it washed much of what was in the inundation zone into the ocean.

Heavier materials sank closer to shore, while buoyant materials went on to make up the debris fields captured by satellite imagery and aerial photos of the waters surrounding Japan.

Debris fields are no longer visible. Winds and ocean currents scattered items in the massive North Pacific Ocean, and scientists predict some of the debris may reach U.S. coasts over the next several years.

NOAA and its federal and non-federal partners are leading efforts to collect data, assess the debris and possible impacts based on sound science, and protect our natural resources and coasts.

[itchybro]

I sure hope so. Hope the fishing boat they sunk wasn't part of some derelict fleet on the way.

[Geoduck]

Noaa says, "not cost effective to clean up garbage patches" "May cause more harm than good"??????
Well, I guess that lets them off the hook!
So, what's the plan? Forget about it?

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by Geoduck

Noaa says, "not cost effective to clean up garbage patches" "May cause more harm than good"??????
Well, I guess that lets them off the hook!
So, what's the plan? Forget about it?

Sure as hell (Murphy's Law) as soon as it would get cleaned up, another catastrophic event will dump a bunch more stuff in the ocean. Then there are the third world countries hauling their stuff off shore to dump.

It's a population/education problem. Everyone needs to learn to manage their own garbage b/c as the world becomes more populated and with plastic the norm now it's only going to get worse unless people take action. The garbage in NYC alone is a $400,000,000 annual problem.

What ever happened to metal, glass and paper containers? All EZ to recycle! And now cars have become mostly plastic.

[LeaseOnLife]

Originally Posted by delmarrey

.... Then there are the third world countries hauling their stuff off shore to dump.

It's a population/education problem. Everyone needs to learn to manage their own garbage b/c as the world becomes more populated and with plastic the norm now it's only going to get worse unless people take action. .....

+1

The Pacific Garbage Patch seems to be small pieces of plastic, hard to catch. Sail further to SE Asia and you find appalling amounts of larger pieces of plastic in the water. Indonesia seems to be the worst.

And anyone drinking water from plastic bottles should re-think. And the whole pop-drink culture is suspect at best...

Water, tea, coffee.... avoid plastic waste.

But I do like my beer, which doesn't come in plastic, yet

Dirk

[delmarrey]

This is a typical sight when I travel through the Philippines. Yet people walk by it every day and do nothing. They are getting better now but mostly in the tourist areas. I've traveled through Asia a lot and some places care and others not. It all comes down to educating the people, which has gotten better with the net now. But texting is the best way to get out info there if one could. Asia has gone crazy with texting.

Garbage Dump Creek at GMA, Cavite - YouTube

[Charlie]

Here is a link to a machine that will convert plastic back to oil. Man Invents Machine To Convert Plastic Into Oil There is a non profit trying to get funded to take the plastic from the Pacific gyre and convert it back into oil. I would think that if you could get solar panels to power the machines and then sell the oil it might break even. Here is a second video Northern California group wants to turn plastic trash into oil, energy | abc7news.com and the clean oceans project Clean up the Pacific Gyre

[Sir Rondo Normal]

Too much of a challenge to clean up? What a cop out. Humans are always going on about how they've put men on the moon, built the biggest this and the longest that. Not to mention that we've nearly emptied the oceans of many species of fish and mammals and they're constantly trying to repopulate whilst we're trying to exterminate them!!!

[Nemo55]

I saw this inventor and his machine a few years ago,,aside from the high cost of a table top model, the machines really do as designed.
Every household should have one IMHO.

Originally Posted by Charlie

Here is a link to a machine that will convert plastic back to oil. Man Invents Machine To Convert Plastic Into Oil There is a non profit trying to get funded to take the plastic from the Pacific gyre and convert it back into oil. I would think that if you could get solar panels to power the machines and then sell the oil it might break even. Here is a second video Northern California group wants to turn plastic trash into oil, energy | abc7news.com and the clean oceans project Clean up the Pacific Gyre

[Blue Stocking]

Take the whaling ships that Sea Shepherd rendered obsolete , connect the tuna fleet's nets together, purse it and let the whale processing ships haul it up.
Japan can then recycle the debris, we lose a huge chunk put of the raw commodity demand, prices will drop---and we can get on with the recovery.
And---oh yeah!!--your boat selling price will rise.

Problem solved.

[denverd0n]

Nobody said that they were just going to forget about it, or that it was too much of a challenge. Just that it is not as easy as it might at first appear.

The issue of all of that plankton that is living within these debris fields is a serious one, and should not be taken too lightly. Do we really want to kill off thousands of tons of plankton in the process of cleaning up the plastic, only to find out later that we have now decimated the oceans population of larger animals that depended on them for food?

Well DUH!!! Obviously not!

So we want to move slowly on this. We want to take whatever time is required to find a real solution, which doesn't end up making things worse in the long run. We want to be sure we know what we are doing, and what the results--ALL of the results--will be before we move ahead.

The very reason that this problem exists is because of the human propensity to just grab at the first and easiest solution that presents itself, without considering what unintended consequences might ensue. We assumed that the oceans were massive enough that we could just dump our garbage out there and it would never bother us again. Well, we were wrong, and it has come back to bite us. We don't want to make the same mistake again by assuming that we can just scoop up the plastic (and whatever else happens to come up with it), without affecting anything else in the process.

That the people looking into this problem are being cautious and taking their time is not a bad thing. In fact, it is a very good thing!

[Blue Stocking]

Originally Posted by denverd0n

Nobody said that they were just going to forget about it, or that it was too much of a challenge. Just that it is not as easy as it might at first appear.

The issue of all of that plankton that is living within these debris fields is a serious one, and should not be taken too lightly. Do we really want to kill off thousands of tons of plankton in the process of cleaning up the plastic, only to find out later that we have now decimated the oceans population of larger animals that depended on them for food?

Well DUH!!! Obviously not!

So we want to move slowly on this. We want to take whatever time is required to find a real solution, which doesn't end up making things worse in the long run. We want to be sure we know what we are doing, and what the results--ALL of the results--will be before we move ahead.

The very reason that this problem exists is because of the human propensity to just grab at the first and easiest solution that presents itself, without considering what unintended consequences might ensue. We assumed that the oceans were massive enough that we could just dump our garbage out there and it would never bother us again. Well, we were wrong, and it has come back to bite us. We don't want to make the same mistake again by assuming that we can just scoop up the plastic (and whatever else happens to come up with it), without affecting anything else in the process.

That the people looking into this problem are being cautious and taking their time is not a bad thing. In fact, it is a very good thing!

Where did this plankton develop before the plastic got there?