According to Dr Chris Wilcox of CSIRO’s Oceans and Atmosphere Flagship, about a quarter of Australia’s circa 14000 tonnes of plastic ends up in the water ways.
How does this even happen? Is that straight from personal littering? Sloppy control at waste processing centres? Industrial scale dumping? A quarter seems a lot.
Dumping rubbish which finds its way through drains and stormwater counts for quite a bit. I don’t know the exact stats; it was mentioned on last year’s War on Waste though.
Yesterday’s edition of the council newsletter said council are considering a ban on plastic straws.
from fishing boats and sea side restaurants…
Maybe he’s just plain wrong.
dv said:
According to Dr Chris Wilcox of CSIRO’s Oceans and Atmosphere Flagship, about a quarter of Australia’s circa 14000 tonnes of plastic ends up in the water ways.How does this even happen? Is that straight from personal littering? Sloppy control at waste processing centres? Industrial scale dumping? A quarter seems a lot.
Either he’s being misquoted – most likely – or there ought to be a position open in CSIRO’s Oceans and Atmosphere Flagship soon. I did once consider a job with them.
Until very recently, at least 90% of the plastic that ended up in our waterways was blown there off council landfill sites.
I know of at least two councils that have since acted to prevent the problem.
dv said:
According to Dr Chris Wilcox of CSIRO’s Oceans and Atmosphere Flagship, about a quarter of Australia’s circa 14000 tonnes of plastic ends up in the water ways.How does this even happen? Is that straight from personal littering? Sloppy control at waste processing centres? Industrial scale dumping? A quarter seems a lot.
From the CSIRO paper about global plastics accumulation (2015). LOL.
“Important disclaimer
CSIRO advises that the information contained in this publication comprises general statements based on scientific research. The reader is advised and needs to be aware that such information may be incomplete or unable to be used in any specific situation. No reliance or actions must therefore be made on that information without seeking prior expert professional, scientific and technical advice. To the extent permitted by law, CSIRO (including its employees and consultants) excludes all liability to any person for any consequences, including but not limited to all losses, damages, costs, expenses and any other compensation, arising directly or indirectly from using this publication (in part or in whole) and any information or material contained in it.”
“Plastics in the ocean come from both land and sea based sources, with approximately 70-80% estimated to come from land. In Australia, there is a national policy to address marine debris. In Australasia there is a calculated 75 g of “mismanaged” plastic waste per person per day.”
“Mismanaged” is not defined in the paper which refers only to Jambeck (2015). I would guess that this is the sum total of nonrecycled plastic, not the plastic that ends up in waterways. If that’s the case then the statement in the OP would actually have been “about a quarter of Australia’s circa 14000 tonnes of plastic isn’t recycled”. Which would mean that 3/4 is recycled, a good result.
Here’s another interesting fact.
The CSIRO paper (2015) includes PNG, New Zealand, and South Pacific Islands in with Australia.
A net result is that the bulk of the plastic in Australian Territorial waters actually comes from Vanuatu, Fiji, Tonga and Samoa ! Java is an even bigger source of oceanic plastic, but most of that flows westward into the Indian Ocean.
A while back I posted a link to a utube a diver made around the breeding grounds around one of the Indonesian islands, you could barely see through the plastic in the water :-(
this one
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-06/diver-films-wave-of-plastic-pollution-off-bali-coast/9508662
I was thinking that for those nations wth the where with it all to do it, there could be calls for an environmental tax on plastic, probably at the nugget scale or whatever it is called. But quickly figured the manufacture is not complicated so can be done anywhere and the tax would get sucked up anyway.
I think instead, like similar environmental projects it might be better to ban completely those elements that make plastic so persistent. And I get there will be difficulties with that as well, but there is no real good reason why a plastic bottle or bottle top, bread closer thingo, etc etc should last 100 or more years.
But as always there has to be an economic imperative, a degradable plastic that companies are proud to flaunt as demonstrating responsibility will be the game changer.
AwesomeO said:
I was thinking that for those nations wth the where with it all to do it, there could be calls for an environmental tax on plastic, probably at the nugget scale or whatever it is called. But quickly figured the manufacture is not complicated so can be done anywhere and the tax would get sucked up anyway.I think instead, like similar environmental projects it might be better to ban completely those elements that make plastic so persistent. And I get there will be difficulties with that as well, but there is no real good reason why a plastic bottle or bottle top, bread closer thingo, etc etc should last 100 or more years.
But as always there has to be an economic imperative, a degradable plastic that companies are proud to flaunt as demonstrating responsibility will be the game changer.
I would think taxing those who use it in their products. Possibly pushing the price up, but it would be an incentive for them to use less or find other products.
I would have thought that Australia would use more than 14,000 tonnes of plastic a year.
I would have thought that it indicated that Australia wasn’t the main source of all the plastic in the oceans, despite the fact that I’ve heard lots of backpackers who hitch rides in trucks etc., say; “The drivers said they loved their country and immediately threw their rubbish out the window. What kind of mentality is that?”
The woollies type plastic bags come in a bunch, they way they are linked makes me think they are made as a bundle. Buggered if I know how that happens, strong , light, yet cheaper than chips, it’s pretty remarkable that they can give them away, (yeah I know, someone pays) . It’s probably a million dollar machine.
The visitors to this lovely village are so careless with their rubbish. I now take a bag with me and pick stuff up. Sometimes it’s just a bit. Sometimes kilos of it. Rope, expanded polystyrene, plastic cups, plastic water bottles, beer cans, used thongs, plastic bags and lots of snack-bar wrappers.
https://www.take3.org/
i’ve given up on being a defeatist.
maybe some students could design some kind of autonomous vehicle to scour the world of plastic litter
You might call it garbage.
I call it a nursery, a vital protected place where baby fish and turtles can grow protected from seabirds and divers.
Before human interference these nurseries were full of rotting vegetation. But because we’ve cleaned up the shoreline, there isn’t nearly as much vegetation falling into the water any more.
The plastic all degrades very rapidly anyway. In five years it’s gone.
A balanced approach is needed.
mollwollfumble said:
You might call it garbage.I call it a nursery, a vital protected place where baby fish and turtles can grow protected from seabirds and divers.
Before human interference these nurseries were full of rotting vegetation. But because we’ve cleaned up the shoreline, there isn’t nearly as much vegetation falling into the water any more.
The plastic all degrades very rapidly anyway. In five years it’s gone.
A balanced approach is needed.
wait, what?
Arts said:
mollwollfumble said:
You might call it garbage.I call it a nursery, a vital protected place where baby fish and turtles can grow protected from seabirds and divers.
Before human interference these nurseries were full of rotting vegetation. But because we’ve cleaned up the shoreline, there isn’t nearly as much vegetation falling into the water any more.
The plastic all degrades very rapidly anyway. In five years it’s gone.
A balanced approach is needed.
wait, what?
mangroves I think.
Arts said:
mollwollfumble said:
You might call it garbage.I call it a nursery, a vital protected place where baby fish and turtles can grow protected from seabirds and divers.
Before human interference these nurseries were full of rotting vegetation. But because we’ve cleaned up the shoreline, there isn’t nearly as much vegetation falling into the water any more.
The plastic all degrades very rapidly anyway. In five years it’s gone.
A balanced approach is needed.
wait, what?
Yeah…..I agree with Arts.
kii said:
Arts said:
mollwollfumble said:
You might call it garbage.I call it a nursery, a vital protected place where baby fish and turtles can grow protected from seabirds and divers.
Before human interference these nurseries were full of rotting vegetation. But because we’ve cleaned up the shoreline, there isn’t nearly as much vegetation falling into the water any more.
The plastic all degrades very rapidly anyway. In five years it’s gone.
A balanced approach is needed.
wait, what?
Yeah…..I agree with Arts.
Yes that and more, but must bite my tongue.
mollwollfumble said:
You might call it garbage.I call it a nursery, a vital protected place where baby fish and turtles can grow protected from seabirds and divers.
Before human interference these nurseries were full of rotting vegetation. But because we’ve cleaned up the shoreline, there isn’t nearly as much vegetation falling into the water any more.
The plastic all degrades very rapidly anyway. In five years it’s gone.
A balanced approach is needed.
Tell me where plastic goes in five years?
JudgeMental said:
i’ve given up on being a defeatist.
Good move.
Defeatism was never going to get you anywhere.
The Rev Dodgson said:
JudgeMental said:
i’ve given up on being a defeatist.
Good move.
Defeatism was never going to get you anywhere.
A lot of people are giving up on optimism too.
Fixing planet plastic: How we’ll really solve our waste problem
From New Scientist.
Intro. only, unless you are a subscriber.
>>According to Dr Chris Wilcox of CSIRO’s Oceans and Atmosphere Flagship, about a quarter of Australia’s circa 14000 tonnes of plastic ends up in the water ways.
It might be that they are comparing what they find in in the waterways, plastic that may have built up over decades with what Australia produces a year.
Sorry, had an emotional meltdown earlier in this thread. That’s my second emotional meltdown on this forum. Stay tuned for more.
As for half life of five years – it breaks down under UV, wave action, etc., as well as leaving the ocean by being deposited on land. Plastic isn’t a hard material like diamond or sand, it doesn’t last forever. Pollutants of all types have a lifespan in the wild. For example, the half life of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is about 20 years.
Yes, the entire world needs to:
We can’t and shouldn’t do anything about:
mollwollfumble said:
As for half life of five years – it breaks down under UV, wave action, etc., as well as leaving the ocean by being deposited on land. Plastic isn’t a hard material like diamond or sand, it doesn’t last forever.
No the particles just get smaller and smaller. You may have to use sophisticated equipment to see it but it is still here. Fills the guts of birds and fish.
Along the way it kills a lot of wildlife.
Peak Warming Man said:
>>According to Dr Chris Wilcox of CSIRO’s Oceans and Atmosphere Flagship, about a quarter of Australia’s circa 14000 tonnes of plastic ends up in the water ways.It might be that they are comparing what they find in in the waterways, plastic that may have built up over decades with what Australia produces a year.
Why not ask them?
mollwollfumble said:
As for half life of five years – it breaks down under UV, wave action, etc., as well as leaving the ocean by being deposited on land. Plastic isn’t a hard material like diamond or sand, it doesn’t last forever.
“It is estimated that a foam plastic cup will take 50 years, a plastic beverage holder will take 400 years, a disposable nappy will take 450 years, and fishing line will take 600 years to degrade.”
WP
roughbarked said:
No the particles just get smaller and smaller.
Nurdles.
I’ve eaten plastic with no ill effects.
Arts said:
Roight……..
Peak Warming Man said:
Arts said:
Roight……..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n67CBkmWFSY