CLEANING UP MARINE LITTER

 

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OCEAN CONDITIONER - The Cleaner Ocean Foundation are attempting to develop this plastic collecting vessel on a not for profit basis. They admit that they may have to change tack, where funding for social projects like this is near impossible to come by.

 

If governments agreed to pay for an ocean cleaning service, as they pay to collect household waste with dustcarts, then we might be able to raise funds via venture capitalists. But so far governments have not indicated a willingness to pay for the mess they helped to create.

 

At the moment they agree that they have about as much chance of getting the G20 to agree to pay for ocean cleaning as flying SeaVax to the moon. Fortunately, there are other projects such as beach cleaning and governments now making moves to reduce plastic use on land.

 

 

It is looking more and more likely that ocean plastic might be recovered with a combination of projects:

 

 

OCEAN CLEANUP PROJECTS A - Z

 

* Adidas

* Algalita research foundation

* Aliance to end Plastic Waste AEPW

* Baltimore Mr Trash river cleaning barge

* BAN - Basel Convention Action Network

* Boyan Slat's ocean booms

* CLAIM H2020 EU marine plastic project

* Earth Day - Fact sheet ocean plastic

* Fionn Ferreira's ferrofluid extraction of microplastics

* FlashLight Press Michelle Lord & Julia Blatt

* Greenpeace

* GRIPS - Global Research & Innovation in Plastics Sustainability

* 5 Gyres Institute

* Interceptor tethered river cleaning barges

* Junk Raft - plastic awareness voyage

* Kids Against Plastic Tat KAPTAT

* Kulo Luna graphic novel

* Miss Ocean - Plastic Awareness Events

* Nike - Sneakers from recycled materials, ocean spills

* 4Ocean recycled plastic bracelets

* Ocean Voyages Institute

* Ocean Waste Plastic

* Parley AIR

* Plastic Free Eastbourne

* Plastic Oceans Canada

* Plastic Oceans Chile

* Plastic Oceans Mexico

* Plastic Oceans Org

* Plastic Oceans UK

* Recycling Technologies

* Rozalia Project

* Seabin

* Sea Litter Critters

* SeaVax autonomous drones

* Surfers Against Sewage

* Surrey University PIRATE & Triton

* Sussex Bay - Coastline marine rewilding project

* World Oceans Day

* WRAP - Waste & Resources Action Programme

 

 

 

 

 

 

Emerging technologies could play a part in containing the mountain of plastic that is accumulating on the oceans floors, by recovering floating debris before it sinks.

 

International Beach and Park cleaning efforts using volunteer labour and corporate funding is partially effective at stemming the cumulative build up of ocean plastic, but nowhere near what dedicated machines might achieve.

 

Ultimately, we need legislation to make it illegal for countries to spew plastic waste and other litter from rivers into their territorial waters, and then into the oceans. MARPOL makes it illegal for ships to dump waste at sea. We need a version of MARPOL for land based offenders, putting the blame on the administration in each country concerned.

 

Prosecution and Penalties for such offences against nature should more than cover the harm done, a formula for which could be based on the fines imposed on British Petroleum for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster. Such fine should properly have included the State for granting the exploration and drilling licenses now being extended to the Arctic.

 

We believe that what all of the above developers would like to see from world leaders is one or more of the following:

 

1. An assurance of government funding to development conclusion, 

2. Contracts to clean river, shores, seas and oceans, or 

3. Special tax concessions for investors on land aimed at corporate sponsorship of cleaning operations.

 

Cleaner Ocean Foundation have published a 10 year plan that would see hundreds of SeaVax machines in the water, all making money for their operators after a payback period.

 

We would like to publish a proposed operations plan for the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific ocean clean ups for ocean cleaning machines. But that will have to wait until the organization achieves more funding.

 

The Charity Commission have confirmed that the Cleaner Ocean Foundation (the Foundation) cannot be registered as a charity despite their charitable objects, where they say that the Foundation's focus is limited to SeaVax (untrue). You might find that hard to believe in view of the published subject matter, but it is true that the Commission in the UK have said this, be it blinkered, or simply discriminatory in institutional terms, nevertheless that is their decision. Yet, the Charity Commissioners know about the Foundation's climate change work to combat acid oceans.

 

Instead of being helpful, British politicians and policy makers are making ocean cleaning research more difficult for (certain) UK based developers. Brexit is another hurdle and funds said to have been committed by the G7 to plastic research cannot go to the Foundation, because of the current funding rules regarding research and development organizations being unable to lead a consortium - even if they own the Intellectual Property and know how.

 

Regardless of that, funding goes to favoured institutions that have established links with governments.

 

We imagine that Dutch policies are more pro ocean cleaning research. For sure organizations based in the Netherlands are eligible for Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe (2030) funding calls as members of the European Union.

 

Policies need to change. It was these policies that caused the Climate Change Emergency we are now facing. How long will it be before the United Nations declares an Ocean Emergency?

 

Or are we already facing one.

 

Typically, policy makers are 10-20 years too late on a trailing edge.

 

Why?

 

Because they are economically entangled with those causing the damage.

 

 

 

FAST FOOD - It's not just fast food, it is our exploitative society that is poisoning the planet, without thought for the consequences. We've been living at artificially low prices at the expense of killing other life on earth.

 

 

 

PROTESTS - One way of drawing attention to a social problem like marine litter is to peacefully demonstrate with signs like this that say it all.

 

 

 

 

ABS - BIOMAGNIFICATION - CANCER - CARRIER BAGS - COTTON BUDS - DDT - FISHING NETS

HEAVY METALS - MARINE LITTER - MICROBEADS - MICRO PLASTICS - NYLON - OCEAN GYRES - OCEAN WASTE

 PACKAGING - PCBS - PET - PLASTIC - PLASTICS -  POLYCARBONATE - POLYSTYRENE - POLYPROPYLENE - POLYTHENE - POPS

  PVC - SHOES - SINGLE USE - SOUP - STRAWS - WATER

 

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This website is provided on a free basis as a public information service. copyright © Cleaner Oceans Foundation Ltd (COFL) (Company No: 4674774) 2023. Solar Studios, BN271RF, United Kingdom. COFL is a company without share capital.

 

HOW DO WE CLEAN UP OCEAN PLASTIC WASTE AND OTHER MARINE LITTER?