Nets, Nylons & Nurdles

Nets, Nylons and Nurdles
Flotsam & Jetsam in the Oceans
Lecture by David J. Drewry

⁃ Charles Moore Natural History 2003 found plastics in ocean
⁃ Flotsam- debris floating in sea
⁃ Jetsam- garbage thrown deliberately into sea
⁃ Lagan-debris sitting on sea bed
⁃ 60-80% is plastic
⁃ 100,000 marine mammals die each year from ingesting plastic
⁃ Causes blockage. And starvation
⁃ Whale dead with 90 lb plastic in its guts
⁃ Tangling in fishing lines
⁃ Poisoning by sunlight degraded plastic
⁃ Chemicals interfere with reproductive system
⁃ Microscopic plastic fibers from washed clothing
⁃ Destroys coral formation
⁃ Why plastics?
⁃ Buoyant, durable, transparent, common
⁃ One million plastic bottles made each Minute
⁃ The miracle material of the twentieth century, we have become thoughtlessly addicted to using plastics for everything
⁃ Estimated decomposition rates
⁃ Plastic cups 50 yr
⁃ Beverage holders 400 years
⁃ Different types of plastics have different rates of decomposition. Some types of plastics are easy to recycle/degrade, others are difficult. Plastic cups are especially difficult and long-lasting.
⁃ Where does plastic come from
⁃ 80% comes from land
⁃ Pictures of waterways completely covered by plastic
⁃ Leading mismanagement of plastic is China followed by Indonesia, Philippines Bangladesh
⁃ Largest concentration of plastic comes from Asia and Indonesia
⁃ Where does the plastic go?
⁃ Land. It is swept into the ocean from coastal tides.
⁃ Collects in gyres
⁃ 300 tons per day on India coast
⁃ 20 T yr in Hawaii
⁃ Roatan Island seas covered by plastic
⁃ Midway Island-Albatross nests here. Eat plastics one-third of chicks die
⁃ Great Nike Drift. 6k containers/yr fall off ships
⁃ Movie: Robert Redford All is Lost
⁃ May 1990 Hansa carrier lost containers that broke open full of Nike products. Washed up on coast from Oregon to Alaska
⁃ Curious case of rubber ducks. Evergreen Laurel 1992. Storm. Lost containers of 29,000 rubber duck & toys. Curtis Ebbesmeyer, oceanographer said we could use rubber ducks to track ocean currents. Found 2 yr later in Alaska. By 2000 some were in Bering Sea. Hung in Beaufort gyre in Arctic. Went into Atlantic. Got into Gulf Stream in Cornwall.
⁃ What do we do?
⁃ Laws are in place. Increased manufacturer liability.
⁃ International ocean cleanup
⁃ Boyan Slat-
⁃ Float barriers, and let the current being the debris. We scoop it up and carry it away. Scaled up in Pacific.
⁃ Interceptors in rivers that feed into rivers.
⁃ Change manufacturing materials to biogradables.
⁃ Reduce our plastic consumption
⁃ Recycle
⁃ International legal measures
⁃ Education

Nurdles are pieces of plastic that get finally worn down into little pellets.Read more