Plastic Soup Foundation
  • The issue
      • Plastic Soup
      • What is plastic?
      • Plastic in the environment
      • Harm to animals
      • Health effects
      • Regulations
      • Bogus solutions
      • Responsibilities
      • Sustainable development
      • Facts & Figures
  • What we do
      • Health
      • Microplastics
      • Education
      • Plastic Waste
      • Other Projects
  • What you can do
      • As a consumer
      • As an organization
      • As a school
  • Solutions
  • News
  • Donate
  • NL
  • EN
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
You are here: News “Clearing up microplastics near the coasts is much more effective”

“Clearing up microplastics near the coasts is much more effective”

British scientists of Imperial College have answered the question whether it is better to clear up microplastics in the middle of the ocean or along the coastlines. For their research, they used a model which maps currents via buoys which communicate with satellites. This model also predicts where plastics float to. The researchers use two principles. Where can the largest quantity of floating microplastics be captured and where can the capture of microplastics cause the least amount of environmental damage? They came to the conclusion that it does not make sense to clear up plastic in the middle of the ocean, as proposed by The Ocean Cleanup.

The researchers believe ‘plastic collectors’ like the ones developed by The Ocean Cleanup are suitable to capture microplastics. Such collectors, which use floating booms, could be placed along the Chinese and Indonesian coastlines in particular. Here 31% of the microplastics could be cleared up, compared to 17% in the gyres in the middle of the oceans. Apparently it is key to look at the movement of microplastics via currents rather than the amount of microplastics. The stronger the currents, the higher the quantity of microplastics which can be caught.

The Guardian quotes one of the researchers: “It makes sense to remove plastics where they first enter the ocean around dense coastal economic and population centres where there is a lot of marine life” (…) “It also means you can remove the plastics before they have had a chance to do any harm. Plastics in the [great Pacific garbage] patch have travelled a long way and have potentially already done a lot of harm”.

The Plastic Soup Foundation agrees with these conclusions; clearing up plastics close to the source is much more effective than doing so in the middle of the ocean, as concentrations are higher and a lot of potential damaged is avoided. It is even more effective to prevent plastic from entering water in the first place. This can be done by making plastics valuable and investing in schemes which prevent plastics from leaking out of the system. Good examples include ending the distribution of free plastic bags, removing microbeads from cosmetics and finding solutions for synthetic fibres which are released when washing clothes, for example through initiatives like the Mermaids Ocean Clean Wash project.

Search

Categories

  • News (499)
  • Health Files (38)
  • Plastic soupermarket (2)
  • What is plastic soup? (12)
  • Types of plastic (3)
  • Beat the microbead (16)
  • Don't use balloons (3)
  • Animal cruelty (13)
  • Microbeads (26)
  • Ocean Clean Wash (12)
  • Plastic Urban Mining (4)
  • My little plastic footprint (4)
  • Synthetic fibers (19)
  • actions frontpage (1)
  • Pressreleases (2)
  • Junior (1)
  • What can you do? (13)
  • Clean rivers (24)
  • Trash hunters (48)
  • What to do with plastic waste? (11)
  • Press releases (16)
  • Solutions (10)
  • Gezondheidseffecten (56)
  • Job openings (1)
  • sponsoring campaign (1)
  • Sponsor actions (3)
  • About us (1)
  • Blogs (16)
  • Plastic Soup Awards (3)
  • Political plume (3)
  • nurdles (5)
  • Microplastics in cosmetics (1)
  • No category (1)

Subscribe to our newsletter

and stay informed about our activities!
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Donate now and contribute

I'll donate € 5I'll donate € 10I'll donate € 15Other amount

More news

The Sustainable Development Goals seem to be out of reach because of the continued use of fossil fuels.

The world has lulled itself to sleep in terms of the SDGs framework. The well-known Sustainable Development Goals seem unattainable. This is primarily because ‘fossil’ has been given free rein.

Read more

EXPERTS APPLAUD EU FOR UPCOMING LEGISLATION, BUT INSIST ALL MICROPLASTICS SHOULD BE INCLUDED

Experts have come together from across Europe to explore how the EU can ensure upcoming microplastics restriction can protect both the environment and humans.

Read more

ING major financier of new plastic production in Belgium

ING Bank claims that it is concerned about the problem of the plastic soup, yet it is putting hundreds of millions into new plastic production in Antwerp. It is stepping all over its own sustainability policy.

Read more

PUR: an invisible and hazardous litter

Pieces of PUR – insulation foam – in the environment remains a hidden and little known form of hazardous litter

Read more

About us

  • Frontrunners
  • Mission & Vision
  • Our People
  • Working with Us
  • Annual Reports
  • Inquiries Press
  • Newsletter

Our approach

  • Plastic Soup Angels
  • Funds & Partners
  • Ambassadors
  • Plastic Soup Awards
  • Plastic Soup Atlas
  • Facts & Figures
DONATE
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • LinkedIn

  • YouTube

  • Contact

 
© Copyright - Plastic Soup Foundation
  • Contact
  • Privacy policy
  • GDPR Consent Settings
Ban on free plastic bags in the NetherlandsOyster health threatened by microplastics
Scroll to top

GDPR settings

This website uses some cookies which are placed on your device. Your web browser stores these cookies when you visit our Website: www.plasticsoupfoundation.org. These cookies will be retrieved when you visit or use our Website again. This allows us to recognise you as a previous visitor/user.

Privacy policy
Close

Your privacy and this website...

This website uses some cookies which are placed on your device. Your web browser stores these cookies when you visit our Website: www.plasticsoupfoundation.org. These cookies will be retrieved when you visit or use our Website again. This allows us to recognise you as a previous visitor/user.

Functional technology enables a website to remember information that changes the way the website behaves or looks, like your preferred language or the region that you are in. No personalised information is collected.

See details

This consent is used to track visitors across websites. The intention is to display ads that are relevant and engaging for the individual user and thereby more valuable for publishers and third party advertisers.

See details

This consent helps website owners to understand how visitors interact with websites by collecting and reporting.

See details
Forget my settings Settings have been forgotten