Debris in the environment has been identified as a significant risk to biodiversity, economies, human health, fisheries management, tourism and invasive species transport. This is particularly a challenge more so now that COVID-19 encourages once off use of plastic with more that 80% of plastic ending up in the environment. As a result, the cost of plastic pollution in the rivers and ocean keeps increasing. It is evident that there is a lot of education and environmental awareness required to turn the tide against plastic pollution as well as to ensure proper disposal and that decreased dependence on plastic remains a priority. It is, however, also important to introduce physical measures to prevent plastic from entering the environment to help decrease plastic pollution in the oceans.
Installing trash booms is one of the ways of removing plastic from the environment. Trash booms are built using affordable, local materials – stainless steel and galvanized steel wire mesh, suspended from PVC pipes. Trash booms are an economic solution that can be built within a few days and will provide a scaleable solution that limits the amount of plastics that end up in the oceans. It will also result in increased plastic recycling which will result in less plastic in the ocean.
Due to its favorable properties, plastic products will remain a convenient choice for consumers for the foreseeable future. Over and above advocating for proper waste education and management, tangible solutions on the ground such as trash booms that prevent plastic from entering the oceans will go a long way in promoting sustainable marine environments.
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