MARINE LITTER
Plastics waste collected in three Spanish ports / Categorised articles from Atlantic and Mediterranean waters
 Some of the marine litter collected in Spain (Photo: Aimplas) |
The "RepescaPlas" project, which is studying marine waste recycling, has so far collected more than 3 t of marine litter from sea beds near the Spanish ports of Gandía, Marín and Vigo. The project's coordinators are Aimplas (Valencia / Spain; www.aimplas.es), Fundación Global Nature (Madrid / Spain; www.fundacionglobalnature.org), Asociación Vertidos Cero (Madrid; www.vertidoscero.com) and the University of Vigo (Pontevedra / Spain; www.uvigo.gal).
RepescaPlas, which started in January 2018, completed in October the task of categorising the nearly 8,000 items of waste gathered by fishermen during their fishing. The pile exceeded the target of 1,500 items envisioned when the project was launched. In terms of weight, what was amassed was ten times more than the initial goal.
The most numerous categories of waste retrieved in Gandía, located in the country's southeast facing the Mediterranean Sea, were plastic food packages and plastic bags, which totalled 995 and 967 articles, respectively. In Marín and Vigo, both in the northwest along the Atlantic Ocean, the assortment yielded 473 items of industrial packages as well as 460 items of plastic sheets and plastic bottles.
RepescaPlas, which started in January 2018, completed in October the task of categorising the nearly 8,000 items of waste gathered by fishermen during their fishing. The pile exceeded the target of 1,500 items envisioned when the project was launched. In terms of weight, what was amassed was ten times more than the initial goal.
The most numerous categories of waste retrieved in Gandía, located in the country's southeast facing the Mediterranean Sea, were plastic food packages and plastic bags, which totalled 995 and 967 articles, respectively. In Marín and Vigo, both in the northwest along the Atlantic Ocean, the assortment yielded 473 items of industrial packages as well as 460 items of plastic sheets and plastic bottles.
Plastics a major proportion of marine collection
Plastic articles dominated the types of litter brought in from the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The collection had metal objects including 465 beverage cans as well as 308 pieces of clothing and fabrics. Fishing lines, ropes and other fishing-related objects like nets were also found.
The Asociación Vertidos Cero implemented the process of counting and classifying the type and category of litter. Its data will be incorporated in the marine litter monitoring programme of the ecological transition ministry Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica (Madrid; www.miteco.gob.es). The last phase of RepescaPlas involves identifying which waste could be used in manufacturing new products at an industrial level.
The project’s collaborating partners are Fundación Biodiversidad (Madrid; www.fundacion-biodiversidad.es) and the Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica through the "Pleamar" programme (www.programapleamar.es), which is co-funded by Spanish federation of municipalities and provinces FEMP (Madrid; www.femp.es).
The Asociación Vertidos Cero implemented the process of counting and classifying the type and category of litter. Its data will be incorporated in the marine litter monitoring programme of the ecological transition ministry Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica (Madrid; www.miteco.gob.es). The last phase of RepescaPlas involves identifying which waste could be used in manufacturing new products at an industrial level.
The project’s collaborating partners are Fundación Biodiversidad (Madrid; www.fundacion-biodiversidad.es) and the Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica through the "Pleamar" programme (www.programapleamar.es), which is co-funded by Spanish federation of municipalities and provinces FEMP (Madrid; www.femp.es).
30.11.2018 Plasteurope.com [241195-0]
Published on 30.11.2018