Here’s The Way How We Helped Clean Up Ocean Trash | Sep 9th, 2020

 

 

  • Humans throw away so much plastic that we’ve now created five plastic gyres in what were once naturally circulating ocean currents.

 

  • One of the best ways forward is to transform society into a circular economy with zero waste and a focus on societal benefit — not profit.

 

  • In line with the idea of a circular economy, Miniwiz launched a new project in 2020 called Circular Beach Harvest. A collaboration with One Ocean Foundation, the project set up a series of beach cleanups.

 

  • The best way to reduce ocean trash is to simply reduce production and consumption. But that won’t remove the trillions of pieces of plastic currently floating in the ocean. Each year, only about 5 percent of ocean plastic gets reclaimed. We can do better.


 

 

The ocean is currently littered with more than 50 trillion pieces of plastic, weighing 269,000 tons — or more than 1000 adult blue whales. Plastic can last for several centuries in the water before breaking down into microscopic pieces, but it never truly goes away.

 

What’s worse, the world produces more than 220 million tons of plastic each year, and roughly 8 million tons of that plastic will end up in the ocean. That’s a lot of waste.

Whether floating in the water, resting on the ocean floor, or washing ashore, plastics make their way into the ocean and onto beaches every day. The waste causes immense harm to marine life and water quality, and it poses a significant environmental challenge for us.

 

The Effects of Ocean Plastic and Ocean Trash

Humans throw away so much plastic that we’ve now created five plastic gyres in what were once naturally circulating ocean currents. Gyres are a natural formation brought about by wind patterns. Plastic gyres are not.

 

Gyre vortexes have pulled in so much unnatural marine debris and plastic waste that they’ve transformed into plastic trash piles far too large to scoop from the water. All of this plastic waste doesn’t just disappear. It remains lodged in the marine ecosystem, unable to break down fully for decades or even centuries at a time.

 

 

Ocean Gyres of the World (image source http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2018/plastic-oceans-cleanup/)

 

 

Plastics — including microplastics — make up anywhere from 60 to 90 percent of all debris circulating in the ocean. These plastics come from a variety of sources, such as:

 

● Single-use packaging

 

● Personal and household bottles

 

● Industrial byproducts

 

● Landfills

 

● Synthetic fabrics and textiles

 

● Discarded paints

 

● Marine hull coatings

 

● Transportation materials

 

Many shore and sea creatures end up swallowing plastic pieces or becoming entangled in them. Ingesting plastic or getting caught in large debris often leads to starvation, malnutrition from contaminated food sources, severe internal damage, bodily harm, amputation, or even death.

 

Finding the Way Forward

Our global obsession with plastics is destroying life, and we need change. One of the best ways forward is to transform society into a circular economy with zero waste and a focus on societal benefit — not profit. The circular model aims to:

 

● Reduce waste and pollution

 

● Reuse products and materials

 

● Regenerate natural systems

 

● Renew energy sources

 

In line with the idea of a circular economy, Miniwiz launched a new project in 2020 called Circular Beach Harvest. A collaboration with One Ocean Foundation, the project set up a series of beach cleanups. Each cleanup takes place at a different beach and involves different international artists and influencers to make the most impact for the meaningful events.

 

Circular Beach Harvest has already helped to clean up ocean plastics, engaged the community, and aimed to turn ocean trash into usable and beautiful products. We couldn’t be prouder to play such an active role in plastics upcycling.

 

Beach Cleanup at Terre di Sacra

Our first beach cleanup took place on July 4, 2020 in Terre di Sacra, a beautiful nature reserve in Capalbio, Tuscany. The WWF Lago di Burano nature reserve features a beach separating the lake and the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is here that marine debris often makes its way onto land.

 

Circular Beach Harvest volunteers included people of all backgrounds, from entrepreneurs, scientists, and environmentalists to families that just wanted to help. We welcomed children, young adults, older adults, and everyone in between. Each participant got the chance to take part in a timed ocean trash cleanup.

 

During the event, we split participants into two groups to encourage friendly competition and efficient trash collection. We ended trash pickup after one hour and moved on to sorting and identifying waste.

 

The first team to complete the sorting received a special prize from our sponsors. Everyone, however, was a winner for helping to reduce the amount of ocean waste. After the event, we worked with artists to design an upcycled smartphone pouch made from the plastic waste we collected that day. All participants received a pouch in appreciation of their efforts.

 

We received high praise from participants for the activities and education they received. Everyone left our first beach cleanup with a broadened understanding of ocean waste, greater appreciation for the natural world, and deeper respect for all organizations putting plastics waste to new use.

 

We plan to host additional Circular Beach Harvest events in the near future. With each event, we hope to remove even more plastic from the world’s oceans and integrate it into our zero-waste, closed-loop system.
 

Upcycling Solutions for Ocean Plastic Waste

The best way to reduce ocean trash is to simply reduce production and consumption. But that won’t remove the trillions of pieces of plastic currently floating in the ocean. Each year, only about 5 percent of ocean plastic gets reclaimed. We can do better.

 

At Miniwiz, we are passionate about upcycling, which lets us not only collect and reuse ocean plastic, but also convert plastic into useful products before it ever escapes into the environment. Our Re-View sunglasses, for instance, are built and packaged with recycled plastics — such as CD and DVD cases. Those plastics never get the chance to enter the ocean and damage the environment.

 

TRASHPRESSO is another upcycling solution. A solid waste recycling line, TRASHPRESSO can upcycle up to 50 kilograms of waste per hour. With a simple three-step process — size reduction, purification, and reshaping — and safeguards for environmental discharge, our recycling process line transforms plastic waste into useful architectural tiles that can help build cities instead of pollute oceans.

 

miniTrashpresso by Miniwiz 2019

In collaboration with Promenade du Port in Italy, exchange by Miniwiz is a beautiful store where people can come in and “exchange” plastic trash for goods. The plastic ends up being converted into durable building blocks for architectural projects such as homes and other structures.

 

This is just a snippet of how we are meeting the challenge of ocean plastic waste. Check out our other Miniwiz Solutions and learn about how we’re helping to clean up ocean waters and give back to society at the same time.

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