Prevented Ocean Plastic: Research launched into how litter ends up in the ocean after rainfall

08 Mar 2023 --- Prevented Ocean Plastic is funding a research project by the University of Georgia, US, to help stakeholders identify the scale and type of plastic leaking into the marine environment.

The Prevented Ocean Plastic business and eponymous product by Bantam Materials offers an ongoing supply of recycled plastic at an industrial scale while aligning plastic recycling standards across coastlines at risk from ocean plastic pollution.

It is investing in the research project to investigate how litter ends up in the oceans after heavy rainfall.

The research project encompasses the development of a Hydrologic Litter Transport Model and Circularity Assessment Protocol (CAP). The main goal is to develop a tool to assess inland litter hydrodynamics during wet weather events and to provide a snapshot of the city’s circularity that can provide data for local, regional or national decision-making.

“The scale of the ocean plastic pollution problem is almost too big to comprehend. No one can solve this problem alone and it’s vital that businesses support academics and NGOs in the important work that they do. It’s vital that what we do is underpinned by research,” says Raffi Schieir, director of Prevented Ocean Plastic and Bantam Materials.

“We are on a mission to solve the problems of the recycling industry by providing sustainable, long-term recycling supply solutions that reduce the need for virgin plastic, support collection, and clean up our natural environment.”

The research project will investigate how litter ends up in the oceans after heavy rainfall.Gathering data
The project’s Litter Transport Model will help determine when and where the litter is within a community during and after a rain event. The tool will be developed and validated in the US first and then applied in other locations.

Additionally, CAP will collect data to empower a city to determine what current actions and activities are working and to inform decisions and interventions to improve circularity as the city desires, including reducing leakage, which has the potential for plastics to reach waterways and the ocean.

“Inland litter pollution continues to burden communities, especially underserved communities,” highlights Dr. Felix Santiago-Collazo, who is leading the research.

“Creating a tool that could help this problem worldwide is the main focus of our research lab, Compound Inundation Team for Resilient Application (CITRA). The CITRA lab motto is the nexus between research and practical solutions.”

Santiago-Collazo adds that the collaboration addresses the litter issue through applied research that will be translated into practical solutions for the community.

“By identifying the litter hotspots after a rain event, stakeholders and community leaders can devise strategies to avoid litter accumulation at this location and prevent future litter from reaching a waterway, and eventually the ocean,” Santiago-Collazo says.

Apart from the funding, the Prevented Ocean Plastic Research Centre will also be available to the University of Georgia researchers.

The research center will enable researchers to investigate and apply their expertise to a wide range of themes relevant across the supply chain – from learning to better understand consumer attitudes and behaviors regarding plastic to obtaining insights on the lives of plastic waste collectors – while offering support to the project, such as helping provide access to research locations.

Ocean-bound plastic
According to a recent study, one million metric tons of plastic enter the oceans annually. Ocean plastics have formed a vortex of plastic waste three times the size of France in the Pacific Ocean between California and Hawaii, US, known as The Great Pacific Garbage Patch.The annual plastic flow entering the ocean is estimated to triple by 2040 to 29 million metric tons, according to Prevented Ocean Plastic.

With Prevented Ocean Plastic’s sponsorship in the University of Georgia research entitled “Inland Litter Hydrodynamics: Characterizing the Litter Transport during Wet Weather Events in Communities,” the aim is to define and broaden the body of knowledge on ocean-bound plastics.

“For too long, communities have borne the burden of plastic pollution, from production to managing materials. Investigating not only what leaks out but the input of plastics, including what products and packaging are available, is critical for community-led decision-making about optimizing circularity,” says Dr. Jenna Jambeck at the University of Georgia.

“Recycling is one component of circularity and data about the larger systems will help communities work in their local context to continue to reduce and prevent ocean plastic.”

Prevented Ocean Plastic details that this type of research is vital as studies estimate that 11 million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean each year. The annual plastic flow entering the ocean is estimated to triple by 2040 to 29 million metric tons.

“To date, most academic research in this space has focused on litter entering the ocean from coastal areas, whereas evidence about how litter travels from further inland via stormwater is lacking. One part of this research will investigate how, after heavy rainfall and other wet weather events, litter from inland may end up in the ocean,” the plastic recycling company shares.

By Radhika Sikaria