Marine Murmurs
Each month The Marine Professional asks you, its readers, to share your views on issues affecting the industry
What action must be taken to reduce the impact of plastic pollution on the world’s marine ecosystems?
Develop biodegradable alternatives to plastic for the uses which contribute most to marine environment pollution. All countries should provide incentives (such as finance or tax breaks) to those organizations that develop alternatives.
Chris Riris, MIMarEST
The only way to save our oceans is to decrease drastically the usage of plastics and stop production. The harm done so far can’t be rectified. Preventing the generation of such products as much as possible also reduces the amount of money needed for controlling and recycling this plastic. The other way to tackle this pollution is to clean up the beaches and shorelines where these plastics get accumulated. Further, it can be recycled through mainly two methods – heat compression method and monomer method.
Nirbhay Ganguly, Cadet
There is actually only one real solution as plastic has become utterly ubiquitous in our throw away world. There is no reason why we cannot return to glass bottles with a deposit on return or paper packaging made from hemp fibres, for example. We actually have the simple technology to be virtually plastic free. Of course what we may not have yet is the willingness. I fear that there
Poll results: Is the World Bank right to stop financing new oil and gas exploration projects?
YES: 53% NO:47%
is too much money tied up in plastics manufacturing, and that this will be the ultimate stumbling block. What will happen are endless world
summits where proposals will be watered down or vetoed out, as has been happening endlessly with carbon emissions, to name but one. But let’s be bold and propose a total
ban in five years. Phillip Nicholas, MIMarEST
Too many different types of plastic are used that must be segregated to be RECYCLED -OSTHOUSEHOLDERSAREUNABLE to identify different types of plastic, so the mixed plastic waste generated has no commercial value or use, except as fuel for a combined heat and power plant. To overcome this we need to take a multi-pronged approach: s&INDALTERNATIVESFORPLASTICTHATARE economically viable and less damaging to the environment.
s-AKEITEASIERTOSEPARATEDIFFERENT
types of plastic for recycling by reducing the number of different types of plastic being used and stopping the use of items made from plastic and plastic composites or plastic and paper/cardboard composites. s7HEREPLASTICSDONOTHAVEA commercial value as a recycled product then it is more environmentally responsible to burn them as fuel in modern waste incinerators. We have to educate the general public on the benefits of this and overcome illogical opposition to incinerators. s-OSTOFTHEPLASTICINTHESEAS apparently comes from 10 major rivers, so installing a method of filtering this out of the river water before it goes into the sea would provide fuel for local power generation and make such an installation economically viable.
Peter Griffin, FIMarEST
What more can senior staff do to ensure that vessels transporting hazardous cargo avoid collisions?
Poll:
Will the offshore industries embrace drones for use in inspection and maintenance?
Share your views on our Twitter poll (@themarinepro), and send feedback to the editorial desk at
marine@caspianmedia.com
QUESTIONS Discussion:
MARCH
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