Great Example - Interactive marine debris map - WWF Australia

This is a Gr8 exanple of visual marine debris map classifying types and percentage which displayed with colourful map and pie chart.

Love it a lot........thinking to do such thing for Thailand! ....hmmm very interesting!!!

Interactive marine debris map
http://www.wwf.org.au/ourwork/oceans/debrismap/

The information gathered to compile these quantities comes from various sources. These include WWF's annual marine debris surveys in northern Australia, datasheets received from users of The Net Kit: A Fishing Net Identification Guide for Northern Australia and beach survey and clean up work performed by interested parties, school and community groups around Australia.

Tackling Marine Debris in the 21st Century

Tackling Marine Debris in the 21st Century

Authors:
Committee on the Effectiveness of International and National Measures to Prevent and Reduce Marine Debris and Its Impacts, National Research Council

Description:
Marine debris from ships and other ocean-based sources-including trash and lost fishing gear-contributes to the spoiling of beaches, fouling of surface waters and the seafloor, and harm to marine animals, among other effects. Unfortunately, international conventions and domestic laws intended to control marine debris have not been successful, in part because the laws, as written, provide little incentive to change behavior.

This book identifies ways to reduce waste, improve waste disposal at ports, and strengthen the regulatory framework toward a goal of zero waste discharge into the marine environment. Progress will depend on a commitment to sustained funding and appropriate institutional support.

The Interagency Marine Debris Coordinating Committee should, through planning and prioritization, target research to understand the sources, fates, and impacts of marine debris. It should support the establishment of scalable and statistically rigorous protocols that allow monitoring at a variety of temporal and spatial scales. These protocols should contain evaluative metrics that allow assessment of progress in marine debris mitigation. The United States, through leadership in the international arena, should provide technical assistance and support for the establishment of additional monitoring and research programs worldwide.

5th IMDC immediate Release from Ocean Conservancy "Trash Free Seas"

For Immediate Release: March 22, 2011

Clean Coast Project

Clean Coast Project: Facts and Fifures

Clean Coast Index (a tool for beach cleanliness assessment)

Aim of the Project: Cleaning up Israel’s open,
undeclared beaches – with no lifeguards and
no swimming – and keeping them clean.

Microscopic Plastics_Research Project Proposal

Reasearch Project Proposal_Do microplastic fragments present a hazard to marine life?
Richard C Thompson and Steve J Rowland, University of Plymouth UK



Marine Litter, Microscopic plastics KIMO International Web page

Beach Cleanups & Campaigns - Worldwide summary

Beach Cleanups & Campaigns - Worldwide summary

Plastic Marine Debris: What We Know

Want to know about Plastic Marine Debris Click

Frequency asked questions you might want to know:

Do plastics degrade in the environment?

What are "microplastics"?

Is it true that our fish are being poisoned by marine debris? (plastics and pollutants)

Is it true that (NOAA has found that) 100,000 marine mammals and/or sea turtles die each year due to marine debris/plastics/plastic bags?

Is plastic a large portion of the debris that enters our oceans? How much?

Have there been studies by NOAA on impacts of plastics to marine mammals and fish?

Are all plastics created equal once they are in the environment? Do some cause more damage than others?

Is there a source/reference to see an actual plot of plastic marine debris occurrence?

Capt. Charles Moore: ...the ocean is downhill from everywhere...

Gwent Schools Set To Receive New Sports Kits Made From Plastic

Gwent Schools Set To Receive New Sports Kits Made From Plastic
27th October 2010

Youngsters bottle top collections will be winner for school teams and marine litter

Children at schools in Gwent are taking part in a pilot scheme which will help them understand the problems of marine and beach litter whilst giving their sports teams a brand new kit made from plastic bottles!

The schools, from Caldicot, Pontypool, Abertillery, Newport, Caerphilly, Blaenau Gwent and Monmouthshire are among the first schools in the UK to take part in the Bottle Champions Recycling Campaign - a partnership scheme between the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) and Plastics 2020 Challenge, an industry group focussed on diverting plastic from landfill and preventing littering.

MCS Litter Policy Officer, Sue Kinsey, says the initiative is a real first: “We believe it’s the first time that the plastics industry and an environmental charity have worked together in this way. The project is a fantastic way to get school children involved in recycling by learning about the dangers of marine pollution and then seeing the benefits of their efforts.”

The campaign will be introduced to Gwent youngsters as part of the MCS Cool Seas Roadshow, which gives primary aged children an insight into the amazing wildlife that lies beneath the waves. Roadshow leader Andy Starbuck says: “I’ll be telling the children about all the good things our seas have to offer and by introducing the Bottle Champions campaign we can focus on the importance of recycling to reduce the rising tide of plastic litter found in the sea and on beaches.”

Nine national football teams wore shirts made out of recycled plastic bottles at this year’s World Cup, including Brazil, Portugal and Holland. Schools taking part in Bottle Champions pilot will ask each pupil to bring in ten bottle tops - having already ensured that the bottles have been recycled at home. Ten plastic tops per child in the school will result in a new football, rugby or netball kit for the school team. 10 recycled bottles amounts to one sports kit!

Barry Turner of the Plastics 2020 Challenge comments: “As well as being unsightly, plastics litter represents a huge waste of precious resources that could be re used, recycled or converted to create much needed energy. There is no need for any plastics to end up in the marine environment. We value the opportunity to work with the MCS and help to educate kids on the importance of reducing the amount of plastic that ends up in landfill.”

Hannah Jones, Education Services Team Manager at Careers Wales Gwent says: “We are delighted to be working with primary schools across Gwent alongside the Marine Conservation Society and Plastics 2020 to promote the Bottle Champions Recycling Campaign. Students will have a unique opportunity to learn about an important environmental issue in a fun and stimulating way”.

MCS Litter Policy Officer, Sue Kinsey, says marine litter is a huge problem: “The only way to solve it is by involving everyone, from the public through to industry and Governments. Plastic litter is a particular problem at sea and makes up over 60% of all litter found on UK beaches. It’s incredibly harmful to animals whether it’s plastic bags mistaken for jellyfish by turtles, or small plastic pieces that are ingested by other marine creatures.”
-Ends-

Press contacts and information:
Schools in Gwent taking part in the pilot launched with a visit from the Cool Seas Roadshow are:
Rogiet Primary - Caldicot, George Street Primary – Pontypool, Ystruth Primary – Abertillery, New Inn Primary - Pontypool, Millbrook Primary – Newport, Trellech Primary – Monmouth, Thornwell Primary – Chepstow, Shirenewtown Primary – Chepstow, Durand Primary- Caldicot, Deri View - Abergavenny

For MCS:
Dr Sue Kinsey: Litter Policy Officer
Tel 01989 561585
ISDN 01989 561660

For Plastics 2020
Helen Roache
Helen.roache@ppsgroup.co.uk
Tel: 020 529 1700


The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) is the UK charity dedicated to the protection of our seas, shores and wildlife. MCS campaigns for clean seas and beaches, sustainable fisheries, and protection of marine life. Through education, community involvement and collaboration, MCS raises awareness of the many threats that face our seas and promotes individual, industry and government action to protect the marine environment. MCS provides information and guidance on many aspects of marine conservation and produces the annual Good Beach Guide (www.goodbeachguide.co.uk), the Good Fish Guide and www.fishonline.org on sustainable seafood, as well as promoting public participation in volunteer projects and surveys such as MCS Beachwatch, Adopt-a-Beach and Basking Shark Watch.www.mcsuk.org

MCS Cool Seas Roadshow – is part funded by the Save our Seas foundation and visits primary schools in the UK taking the secrets of the seas into the classroom revealing the amazing wildlife beneath the oceans

The Plastics 2020 Challenge
The Plastics 2020 Challenge commitment is to lead the UK in diverting plastics from landfill by 2020 in order to reduce climate change impact, address the energy deficit, and achieve a step change in efficient use of resources.

Plastics 2020 made this founding commitment at their launch, which took place at the Houses of Parliament in Westminster on 7 July 2009. The founding members are the British Plastics Federation, PlasticsEurope and the Packaging & Films Association. Together they represent 5,000 small, medium and large enterprises that employ approximately 186,000 people across the UK. The industry’s exports are worth £4.6 billion a year and the UK remains dominant in worldwide markets.

The Founding commitments of the Plastics 2020 Challenge relate to the 4 Rs of the waste hierarchy as follows:

1. REDUCE
Reduce wastage and environmental impact by continuous innovation of lightweight, high performance plastic materials and products.

2. REUSE
Develop new solutions and designs to increase the reuse of plastic products.

3. RECYCLE
Double plastic packaging recycling rate by 2020 through working in partnership with the whole value chain and all levels of government to facilitate and promote effective markets, technologies and infrastructure.

4. RECOVER
Support high efficiency energy from waste techniques for end-of-life plastics where recycling is not an option.

Full details can be viewed at www.plastics2020challenge.com


Source: MCS UK http://www.mcsuk.org/press/view/323

Microplastics' may pose previously unrecognized pollution threat

Microplastics' may pose previously unrecognized pollution threat
October 29, 2007

Submicroscopic particles of PVC (shown via electron microscope) and other plastics may pose a previously unrecognized pollution threat. Credit: Courtesy of Emma Teuten, University of Plymouth, UK
Microscopic particles of plastic debris that litter marine environments may pose a previously unrecognized threat to marine animals by attracting, holding, and transporting water pollutants, a new study by British researchers is reporting. It is scheduled for the Nov. 15 issue of ACS' Environmental Science & Technology.
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Marine Ecology - - an evolutionary perspective Read this journal online - www.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Emma L. Teuten and colleagues note long-standing awareness that large pieces of plastic waste, including cargo wrapping sheet plastic and six-pack rings, can sicken and kill fish, birds, turtles and other animals. Seawater eventually breaks down these large pieces into microplastics, which can adsorb high levels of PCBs and other toxins.
Microplastics also enter the environment directly from use as "scrubbers" in household and industrial cleaning products. However, little research has been done on the environmental impact of these tiny, pollution-packed pellets.
In the new study, researchers exposed several different types and sizes of microplastics to phenanthrene, a major marine pollutant, and used a model to predict their effects on a group of sediment-dwelling marine worms (lugworms).
The scientists found that addition of just a few millionths of a gram of contaminated microplastics to the sediments caused an 80% increase in phenanthrene accumulation in the tissues of the worms.
Since lugworms are at the base of the food chain, phenanthrene from microplastics would be passed on and biomagnified in other marine animals. The finding suggests that microplastics are an important agent in the transport of pollutants in marine organisms and throughout the global environment, the researchers say.
Source: ACS http://www.physorg.com/news112879241.html

Microplastics are...........?

What are "microplastics"?

A new term has been introduced and used in the field of marine debris--microplastics. Typically, when used it encompasses a range of small pieces of plastic marine debris. For its purposes, the NOAA Marine Debris Program defines microplastics as plastic debris pieces in the size range of 0.3-5mm (i.e., the thickness of two human hairs side by side to the size of a grain of rice).

There are two categories of microplastics:

1) Primary microplastics: Intentionally produced for direct use, or as pre-cursors to other products. Examples of sources include point-of-origin or manufacturing losses (e.g., pre-production plastic pellets) and plastic spherules in personal care products like facial scrubs (typically made of polyethylene).

2) Secondary microplastics: Formed from the breakdown of larger plastic material. Examples of sources include point-of-use losses, any polymer fragment formed by weathering, and breakdown of “bio-degradable” polymers.

Credit: http://marinedebris.noaa.gov/info/plastic.html#2