Water pollution is a huge threat not only for us humans but also to aquatic life. In order to mitigate the problems it causes, some of the world’s most creative minds came up with genius solutions. Here are some of the standouts.
Seabin
The Seabin V5 is a floating garbage bin which skims the water for floating debris. It does this by pumping water in along with the debris, then the water is pumped back into the ocean litter-free. It can even catch microplastics, a form of plastic which we aren’t aware is causing us harm.
Edible Water Blobs
One way we’re doing the environment harm is by throwing plastic bottles into the ocean. Ooho! is an edible seaweed-based water capsule which contains not only water but even condiments and cosmetics. You can eat it but you don’t have to — it naturally biodegrades. This packaging solution is not only more sustainable but also cheaper to produce than plastics. If this idea catches on, we will be needing less of plastic bottles and containers.
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Plastic-to-Energy Technology
Plastics are powerful sources of energy. A recovery facility which converts plastic waste to energy can yield more energy per pound than coal. The good thing about the technologies which allow the conversion of plastic waste to energy is that they have low gas emissions, so they do not contribute heavily to the greenhouse problem like coal. Right now, plastics can be converted into solid, liquid, and gas fuels. These fuels made from plastic can be used like their industry counterparts.
Now, we probably should start looking at plastic as energy gold mines instead of just mere waste.
The Ocean Clean Up
The Ocean Cleanup is a 600-m long floater system which passively collects plastic floating around the ocean.
The Ocean Cleanup does this by taking advantage of the natural oceanic forces — the wind, waves, and the current — to trap the plastic waste and allow it to be taken out of the ocean. This project aims to clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
Sea Vax
The Sea Vax is like one of those robotic vacuum cleaners you see at home, but for the ocean. It is solar-powered, so there won’t be additional emissions to clean up the ocean’s waste. It also comes with wind turbines so that it could extract energy from the wind. Right now, Sea Vax has a capacity for 50 tons worth of plastic waste.
What other solutions can you think of to help solve our water pollution problem?
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