In the article, “Boy Genius Boyan
Slat's Giant Ocean Cleanup Machine Is Real,” Schiller (2017) explores the
potential of Boyan Slat’s recent innovation, with claims to radically improve
the situation in the Pacific Garbage Patch, projecting to remove 50% of the
plastic waste within the next 5 years. The article mentions that Slat’s design
functions as an "artificial coastline", utilizing currents to entrap
and gather waste for convenient disposal. With the prototype for the former
design failing in the harsh ocean conditions, Slat was able to learn from and
improve his device. The new design replaces the use of foundations with anchors
situated in the deep-sea layer to slow down the boom and facilitate entrapment.
According to Schiller, Slat made 2 claims. Slat’s first claim was that the
revised system will be more robust, affordable, and "scalable" with
plans to increase the quantity of deployed booms by reducing their size. In a
bid to substantiate his colossal projections for trash removal, Slat also
claims to have done extensive simulations on the interaction of marine devices
and trash in its natural environment. Ultimately, he plans to recycle all the
plastic collected in the Patch.
While I agree on the dire need of cleaning up the ocean, Slat’s innovation fails to collect nano-plastics which greatly impact the environment, marine organisms as well as humans.
While I agree on the dire need of cleaning up the ocean, Slat’s innovation fails to collect nano-plastics which greatly impact the environment, marine organisms as well as humans.
Firstly, nano-plastic impact the
marine organisms in the ocean. Nano-plastic particles come in different shapes
and compositions. Due to its small size, nano-plastics get stuck in the guts of
marine organisms and penetrates animal tissues and organs. It is not surprising
when marine organisms mistake nano-plastic for food. According to Othman (2018),
a study by a scientist from the National University of Singapore (NUS) proof that nano-plastic
are small enough to enter the bloodstreams and infiltrate walls of marine
organisms. In addition, plastic is capable of absorbing pollutants and chemicals
from the oceans. Marine organism plays a major role in the food chain as what
they consume will travel up the food chain and eventually to humans.
Secondly, nano-plastics is harming
the environment. Phytoplankton is greatly affected by the presence of
nano-plastic as it takes up food space in their body and may potentially hinder
its growth. As phytoplankton is responsible for half of the photosynthetic
activity on earth, it plays a major role in the local and global ecosystems. Phytoplankton
uses photosynthesis to convert carbon dioxide into oxygen. Without
phytoplankton, carbon-dioxide levels would rise due to the production in both
biological and industrial sources.
Lastly, the presence of
nano-plastics in the ocean disrupts access to good water quality. Ocean
becomes the main source of living for developing countries. The lack of a supply of
clean water for drinking and sanitation leads to an increase in environmental
and health issues. According to the
United Nations World Health Organization (2002), an estimated 1.7 million
death a year caused by waterborne diseases such as diarrhea disease. Due to
the lack of resources and funds in developing countries, water treatment is
not readily available to convert ocean water into clean water. Plastics, in general, contain toxins that are
harmful to the human body in the long run. As nano-plastics cannot be seen by the
naked eye, it is impossible to avoid drinking its toxins without the aid of
water treatment in developing countries.
Although the message on the
importance of cleaning the ocean was conveyed, it fails to focus on all types
of plastics. Slat’s machine requires improvement to effectively remove all
plastic waste in the Pacific Patch.
Reference List
Best, S. (2017). Shocking extent of plastic pollution: Microscopic photos show how plankton consume tiny toxic microfibres that could devastate the ecosystem. Mailonline. Retrieved, February 2 from https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4420992/Shocking-photos-reveal-plankton-consuming-microplastics.html
Macklin, M. (2016). Plastic Pollution is Killing Plankton. How the Loss of This Species Threatens the Oceans. One Green Planet. Retrieved, February 2 from https://www.onegreenplanet.org/environment/plankton-under-threat-tiny-life-in-major-need-of-your-help/
Macklin, M. (2016). Plastic Pollution is Killing Plankton. How the Loss of This Species Threatens the Oceans. One Green Planet. Retrieved, February 2 from https://www.onegreenplanet.org/environment/plankton-under-threat-tiny-life-in-major-need-of-your-help/
Othman L. (2018) Nanoplastics found to accumulate in marine organisms, risk being transferred up food chain: NUS. Channel News Asia. Retrieved February 5, 2020, from https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/plastic-pollution-nanoplastic-microplastic-ocean-nus-research-10292766
Roscam, B. (2019). How microplastic particles are turning the
ocean into plastic soup. GreenBiz. Retrieved February 5, 2020, from https://www.greenbiz.com/article/how-microplastic-particles-are-turning-oceans-plastic-soup
Schiller, B. (2011). Boy Genius Boyan Slat’s Giant Ocean Clean up Machine is Real. Fast Company. Retrieved January 30, 2020, from https://www.fastcompany.com/40419899/boy-genius-boyan-slats-giant-ocean-cleanup-machine-is-real
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