Download Answers to: Ocean Clean Up Coming Now

Ocean Clean Up Affirmative
SLUDL / NAUDL 2014-15
OCEANS CLEAN UP AFFIRMATIVE
Summary ......................................................................................................................................................... 2
Glossary .......................................................................................................................................................... 3
Affirmative Case ....................................................................................................................................... 4-7
INHERENCY
Inherncy Ext: Plastic Obsession……………………………………………………………………………8
Answers to: Ocean Clean Up Coming Now .............................................................................................. 9-10
OCEAN OF PLASTIC ADVANTAGE
Ocean of Plastic Advantage - Extensions ................................................................................................. 1111
Answers To: Clean Up Efforts Kill Sea Life .............................................................................................. 122
Answers To: Clean Up Efforts Kill Plankton ............................................................................................... 13
Answers to: Plastics Don’t Kill of Species ................................................................................................... 14
Answers to: Food Chain is not protected by clean up .................................................................................. 15
SOLVENCY
Solvency- Funding key ................................................................................................................................. 16
Answers to: Clean Up Fails-Size of the ocean.............................................................................................. 17
Answers to: Clean Up Fails- Ocean Conditions ........................................................................................... 18
Answers to: Clean Up Fails- Sea Life........................................................................................................... 19
Answers to: Economic Viability .............................................................................................................. 20-21
Answers to: Experts Agree ......................................................................................................................... 212
Answers to: Depth of the Ocean ................................................................................................................. 233
Answers to: Depth of Plastics / Sinking Plastic .......................................................................................... 244
PLASTIC TRANSTION DISADVANTAGE ANSWERS
Uniqueness Answers ..................................................................................................................................... 25
Link Answers ................................................................................................................................................ 26
1
Ocean Clean Up Affirmative
SLUDL / NAUDL 2014-15
Summary
There are giant piles of trash in the oceans that largely float just below the surface. They are filled with
broken down plastic bags, bottles, fishing gear and anything else plastic that has made its way to the
ocean. Sunlight breaks down the plastic into little pieces which are easy for sea life to eat. This trash
universe kills animals who eat it, create transportation systems for invasive species and poison the food
chain all the way to humans.
Here is a quick video on the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nh6lkv1udb0
The affirmative would fund a system of passive collection buoys which would be strategically placed in
the ocean with really long buoys to catch the plastic and funnel it to a central collection platform. Details
on how it works below. The plan would just have the federal government steal the idea and expand the
project greatly.
[___] Quick overview of the how passive collection works
Matthews, consultant, eco-entrepreneur, green investor, 2014
(Richard, “Plastic Waste in Our Oceans: Problems and Solutions”, April 10,
http://globalwarmingisreal.com/2014/04/10/ocean-garbage-problems-solutions/)
In 2012, Dutch Aerospace Engineering student Boyan Slat unveiled a concept for removing large amounts of
marine debris. He subsequently formed an organization called The Ocean Cleanup. This approach is not only
cost effective, it is potentially profitable. His idea involves an anchored network of booms that world
work like a giant funnel. Propelled by the ocean’s surface currents, debris would drift into specially
designed arms and collection platforms where it would be separated from plankton and recycled. Slat’s
calculations suggest that using his methods, 7.25 million tons of plastic can be removed from garbage
gyres in as little as five years.
And a video on how they plan to fix the problem. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nh6lkv1udb0
2
Ocean Clean Up Affirmative
SLUDL / NAUDL 2014-15
Glossary
biodegrade- a substance or object capable of being decomposed by bacteria or other living organisms.
biodiversity- the diversity, or variety, of plants and animals and other living things in a particular area or
region. For instance, the species that inhabit Los Angeles are different from those in San Francisco, and desert
plants and animals have different characteristics and needs than those in the mountains, even though some of
the same species can be found in all of those areas.
cetaceans - marine mammals commonly known as whales, dolphins, and porpoises
ecosystems- a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.
endocrine system- the collection of glands of an organism that secrete hormones directly into the circulatory
system
gyre- a circular pattern of currents in an ocean basin.
“There are five massive garbage gyres, one is located in the Indian Ocean, two in the Pacific Ocean and another
two in the Atlantic Ocean. Garbage gyres come together as the trash gets caught in circular ocean currents. This
causes stray garbage to move until they collide and merge with one another.” Matthews, 2014
invasive species- an organism that is not native and has negative effects on the environment it is introduced to
logistical – the planning, implementation, and coordination of the details of a business or other operation.
photodegradation describes the effects of sunlight on the tons of plastic floating out at sea. Essentially, the
sun's rays dry the plastic to the point that it shatters
3
Ocean Clean Up Affirmative
1st Affirmative Constructive
NAUDL 2014-15
Cleanup 1AC (MS Version) 1/4
Contention 1 - Plastics floating in the oceans provide a unique problem since they break down into tiny
pieces but take hundreds of years to disappear.
Cho, staff blogger for the Earth Institute, 2011
(Renee, “Our Oceans: A Plastic Soup”, Earth Institute, 1-26, http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2011/01/26/our-oceans-a-plastic-soup/)
The lightness and durability that make plastic such a useful and versatile material for manufacturers also make
it a long-term problem for the environment. Trash Travels estimates that plastic bags can take 20 years to
decompose, plastic bottles up to 450 years, and fishing line, 600 years; but in fact, no one really knows
how long plastics will remain in the ocean. With exposure to UV rays and the ocean environment, plastic
breaks down into smaller and smaller fragments. The majority of the plastic found in the ocean are tiny
pieces less than 1 cm. in size, with the mass of 1/10 of a paper clip.
4
Ocean Clean Up Affirmative
1st Affirmative Constructive
NAUDL 2014-15
Cleanup 1AC (MS Version) 2/4
Contention 2 is the Danger of Ocean Plastics
A. Ocean debris effects marine life by trapping, choking, or poisoning animals that it comes in contact
with. Plastics kill millions of animals each year and could destroy entire species.
Slat et al, founder and lead designer The Ocean Cleanup Project, 2014
(Boyan, “A Feasibility Study”, http://www.theoceancleanup.com/fileadmin/mediaarchive/theoceancleanup/press/downloads/TOC_Feasibility_study_lowres.pdf)
Every year we produce about 300 million tons of plastic, a portion of which enters and accumulates in the oceans. Due to large offshore currents,
plastic concentrates in vast areas called gyres, of which the Great Pacific Garbage Patch between Hawaii and California is the best known example.
The damage to sea life is staggering: at least one million seabirds, and hundreds of thousands of marine
mammals die each year due to the pollution. Even worse, the survival of many species, like the Hawaiian Monk
Seal and Loggerhead Turtle, is directly jeopardized by plastic debris.
Marine species often become entangled in larger debris, leading to “injury, illness, suffocation,
starvation, and even death” (NOAA, 2014). Smaller fragments can be mistaken for food and eaten, causing
malnutrition, intestinal blockage and death. When marine animals eat plastic, harmful chemicals move
up the food chain. Ingestion of and entanglement in marine debris by marine animals has increased by 40
percent in the last decade. Furthermore, plastics can transport invasive species and toxic substances over
great distances.
B. This is not just a problem for species living in the deep ocean. Plastic debris introduces cancerous
chemicals into the food chain which affect every species… including humans.
Cho, staff blogger for the Earth Institute, 2011
(Renee, “Our Oceans: A Plastic Soup”, Earth Institute, 1-26, http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2011/01/26/our-oceans-a-plastic-soup/)
A recent study found that plastics
take up and accumulate persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as
carcinogenic and endocrine-disrupting polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and
organochlorine pesticides such as DDD, a derivative of DDT. Over 50 percent of the plastic samples studied contained PCBs, and over 75
percent contained PAHs. According to Moore, plastic debris can attract and concentrate POPs up to a million times
their levels in the surrounding seawater, and when consumed by marine animals, the POPs endanger
both the creatures that ingest them and humans higher up on the food chain, especially infants. Moore has
said, “No fish monger on Earth can sell you a certified organic wild-caught fish.”
5
Ocean Clean Up Affirmative
1st Affirmative Constructive
NAUDL 2014-15
Cleanup 1AC (MS Version) 3/4
In order to address the problem of trash in our ocean’s my partner and I offer the following plan:
The United States federal government should develop a system of passive ocean plastic clean up arrays as
proposed by the Ocean Clean Up Project.
6
Ocean Clean Up Affirmative
1st Affirmative Constructive
NAUDL 2014-15
Cleanup 1AC (MS Version) 4/4
Contention 3 explains how an ocean clean up would work.
A. The Ocean Cleanup Array would only cost 2 million dollars and prevent the build up of plastics in our
oceans.
Business Week, 2014
(Caroline Winter, “This 19-Year-Old Is Ready to Build an Ocean Cleanup Machine”, http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-0610/this-19-year-old-is-ready-to-build-an-ocean-cleanup-machine
The world’s oceans contain millions of tons of trash, much of it collected into vast gyres of plastic and
debris. Even if humanity stopped putting garbage in the water today, researchers project that these
garbage patches would continue growing for hundreds of years. One such trash vortex, known as the
Great Pacific Garbage Patch, already spans hundreds of miles.
How do we get all that garbage out? Boyan Slat, a 19-year-old Dutch
aeronautical engineering student, is raising $2 million
to build an ocean cleanup contraption he designed to passively funnel garbage to specific collection points.
Working with a team of over 100 people, he recently released a 528-page feasibility study (PDF) detailing how the
complex technology works and grappling with questions of legality, costs, environmental impact, and
potential pitfalls.
Slat’s plan, expressed simply, is to deploy several V-shaped floating barriers that would be moored to the
seabed and placed in the path of major ocean currents. The 30-mile-long arms of the V are designed to
catch buoyant garbage and trash floating three meters below the surface while allowing sea life to pass
underneath. “Because no nets would be used, a passive cleanup may well be harmless to the marine
ecosystem,” he writes in the feasibly study.
Over time, the trash would flow deeper into the V, from which it would then be extracted. The report
estimates that the plastic collection rate would total 65 cubic meters per day and that the trash would have
to be picked up by ship every 45 days. Slat hopes to offset costs by recycling the collected plastic for other
uses.
B. A passive collection system design would work, just needs to be implemented on a broader scale.
Slat et al, founder and lead designer The Ocean Cleanup Project, 2014
(Boyan, “A Feasibility Study”, http://www.theoceancleanup.com/fileadmin/mediaarchive/theoceancleanup/press/downloads/TOC_Feasibility_study_lowres.pdf, p. 29)
Proof of concept
A first proof-of-concept test performed at the Azores Islands validated the capture and concentration
potential of a floating barrier with a skirt depth of 3 m, in moderate environmental conditions. In addition,
qualitative data suggested that the barrier does not catch zooplankton as the net behind the boom
appeared to have caught an equal amount of zooplankton as the net next to the boom.
7
Ocean Clean Up Affirmative (MS Version)
Inherency
NAUDL 2014-15
Inherency Ext: Plastic Obsession
[
]
[
] Our obsession with plastic produces millions of tons of trash to dump into the oceans. These
plastics break down but do not biodegrade, poisoning the oceans
Weishar, news and political reporter and founder of Quiet Mike, 2014
“The Ocean Size Problem of Ocean Pollution”, Quiet Mike, http://quietmike.org/2014/04/07/ocean-size-problem-ocean-pollution/
oceans cover approximately 71% of the Earth’s surface and contains 97% of the Earth’s water. With those kind
of numbers, you’d think it would be hard for us humans to pose a threat to it. Well, humans are capable of
anything when we put our destructive minds to it.
Our
From oil spills to plastic
bags to random sea junk, our oceans may soon resemble some of our dead lakes. The situation is more
desperate than you think.
While the media has under reported the threat of climate change, it has completely ignored the state of our oceans.
plastic is far worse than oil.
There is currently seven million tonnes of plastic floating around in our oceans.
Most people think oil spills do the most harm to our waters. It certainly does damage to be sure, however
Your may have heard of the Pacific and Atlantic garbage patches. They are not large trash islands in the
middle of the ocean as some believe. They are more like galaxies of garbage, populated by millions of
smaller trash islands that may be hidden underwater or spread out over many miles. These garbage
patches are made up of mostly plastic. Unfortunately, plastic breaks down into smaller particles (or
micro-plastics) and is then consumed by marine life. This is what makes plastic so bad and difficult to clean up.
A lot of it can’t be seen, and therefore the size of these patches are almost impossible to estimate. I’ve heard
they are as little as the size of Texas (if you can call that small) or as big as the continental U S . I imagine the truth lies
nited
tates
somewhere in between.
we’ve produced more plastic in the last
ten years than the previous hundred years combined. Our addiction to plastic isn’t going away anytime
soon and because plastic is not biodegradable, it is not going away either.
Plastic uses up only 8% of the world’s oil supply, but we use it now more than ever. In fact,
According to Captain Paul Watson, the founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, if we don’t
change our ways, all the world’s fisheries will collapse by 2048. He also believes that all our coral reefs
may be gone by as early as 2025. Pretty scary.
8
Ocean Clean Up Affirmative (MS Version)
Inherency
NAUDL 2014-15
Answers to: Ocean Clean Up Coming Now
[___]
[___] The world’s largest garbage dump is floating in the middle of the Pacific ocean. Millions of plastic
pieces are being pushed by ocean currents into a trash pile the size of North America that threatens lives
and livelihoods around the world.
Layton, staff writer for Discovery Communications, 2010
(Julia, “Could we clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?”
http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/clean-up-garbage-patch.html, January 7, 2010)
About a thousand miles off the coast of California floats one of mankind's dirtiest little secrets. Or at least
it was a secret before the late '90s, when a seafaring scientist stumbled upon it in horror. It's a floating dump in
the ocean, big enough to hold one or two Texases or maybe all of North America, depending on who you
ask [sources: Stone, Silverman, SSF].¶
The discrepancy in size estimates may be due to the fact that since most of the trash is below the surface, the
borders are almost impossible to see from above the water. Plus, the trash moves around with the currents, and
there's more than one of these patches. At least one more lies in the Pacific, and they dot the entire globe. Most
often, "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" refers to the one extending from Hawaii to San Francisco. That
patch of trash is supposed to be the biggest, sporting an impressive 3.5 million tons (3.1 million metric
tons) of watery garbage [source: SSF]. And at least 80 percent of it is plastic [source: Berton].¶
For decades, we've been told plastic doesn't degrade -- that it sits in landfills forever and ever and therefore it is
very, very bad. (Unless you're going to Mexico and need to provide your own water so you don't get the runs -then, it's also pretty handy. But still, very, very bad.) The truth is, plastic does degrade. It just doesn't
biodegrade.¶
Plastic will photodegrade, a process by which it ultimately ends up breaking into countless tiny bits of the
same substance. In a landfill, this may not make a huge difference. But when that plastic is seaborne, it
makes all the difference in the world. And there's the rub: An ever-increasing amount of the world's
ever-increasing amount of plastic refuse is ending up in the ocean.¶
In fact, the Pacific Ocean now hosts the largest trash dump on Earth. It's called the Great Pacific
Garbage Patch, and it's not a pretty picture. Waste dumped both on land and at sea has made its way
into a swirling vortex of oceanic trash that threatens sea life, aquatic ecosystems, fishing industries and
the safety of the human seafood supply. In some coastal areas, a day at the beach is becoming a day at the
sandy trash heap.¶
9
Ocean Clean Up Affirmative (MS Version)
Inherency
NAUDL 2014-15
Answers to: Ocean Clean Up Coming Now
[___]
[___] Plastic bags, soda bottles and other garbage have been dumped into our oceans for decades
creating a global crisis of trash filled oceans with no end in sight. Ocean waters filled with plastic will
have negative impacts on humans and marine animals alike.
California Coastal Commission, 2014
(“Plastic in the Ocean is bad. The Problem With Marine Debris”
http://www.coastal.ca.gov/publiced/marinedebris.htm)
Marine debris is defined as "any manufactured or processed solid waste material that enters the marine
environment from any source." Debris is everywhere—found around every major body of water on the
planet, and below water as well. Marine debris is a global pollution problem that impacts human health
and safety, endangers wildlife and aquatic habitats, and costs local and national economies millions in
wasted resources and lost revenues.¶ ¶
HOW DOES TRASH BECOME MARINE DEBRIS?¶ Many people assume that if trash exists in the ocean, it
must be that the fishing and shipping industries are to blame. But in fact, only 20% of the items found in the
ocean can be linked to ocean-based sources, like commercial fishing vessels, cargo ships (discharge of
containers and garbage), or pleasure cruise ships.¶ ¶
The remainder (80%) is due to land-based sources, like litter (from pedestrians, motorists, beach visitors),
industrial discharges (in the form of plastic pellets and powders), and garbage management (ill-fitting trash can
lids, etc).¶ ¶
TRASHING CALIFORNIA'S BEACHES¶ California residents and tourists love our coast and ocean, making
more than 150 million visits to California beaches each year. The effort to keep our shorelines clear of marine
debris comes at a significant cost. A 2012 study determined that 90 west coast communities spend a total of
more than $520,000,000 each year to combat litter.¶ ¶
In 1975, the National Academy of Sciences estimated that ocean-based sources, such as cargo ships and cruise
liners, dumped 14 billion pounds of garbage into the ocean. In 1988, the U.S. signed onto MARPOL Annex V,
joining 64 other countries that signed the international protocol that regulates ocean dumping and made it illegal
to dump plastic into the ocean. Even so, plastic pollution is still a major problem. A 2001 study found an
average of 334,271 pieces of plastic per square mile in the North Pacific Central Gyre, which serves as a
natural eddy system to concentrate material. And debris in the marine environment means hazards for animals
and humans. Plastic marine debris affects at least 267 species worldwide, including 86 percent of all sea
turtle species, 44 percent of all sea bird species, and 43 percent of marine mammal species.
10
Ocean Clean Up Affirmative
Ocean of Plastic Advantage
NAUDL 2014-15
Ocean of Plastic Advantage - Extensions
[___]
[___] Plastics alone kill hundreds of thousands of animals in the earth’s oceans.
California Coastal Commission, 2014
(“Plastic in the Ocean is bad. The Problem With Marine Debris”
http://www.coastal.ca.gov/publiced/marinedebris.htm)
Common items like fishing line, strapping bands and six-pack rings can hamper the mobility of marine
animals and cause injury. Once entangled, animals have trouble eating, breathing or swimming, all of
which can have fatal results. Plastics do not biodegrade and may continue to trap and kill animals year
after year. Marine debris entanglements have been documented for 135 species of animals. An estimated
300,000 cetaceans die each year from entanglement in fishing gear. (Read summaries of some recent whale
entanglements in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.)
¶ ¶ Ingestion¶ ¶
Birds, fish and mammals can mistake plastic for food. Debris may cause choking and injuries, and with
plastic filling their stomachs, animals may have a false feeling of being full and may die of starvation. Sea
turtles mistake plastic bags for jellyfish, one of their favorite foods. Even gray whales have been found
dead with plastic bags and sheeting in their stomachs. A recent study of harbor seals in the Netherlands
found that more than 12% had plastic in their digestive system. 95% of Northern Fulmars studied in the North
Sea between 2007 and 2011 were found to contain plastic, on an average 0.38 grams. This could equal as much
as 8.4% of the bird's body weight.¶ ¶
[___] Plastics kill sea life large and small and the pollution rate is increasing.
Cho, staff blogger for the Earth Institute, 2011
(Renee, “Our Oceans: A Plastic Soup”, Earth Institute, 1-26, http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2011/01/26/ouroceans-a-plastic-soup/)
But we know the plastic debris on the surface of the ocean is taking its toll on marine life. Animals get
strangled in fishing lines, nets, and plastic litter. Fish and seabirds ingest bits of plastic they mistake for
food that can block their intestinal tracts and kill them, or make them feel full so that they do not eat real
food. One of Moore’s expeditions collected hundreds of samples of fish, and conducted necropsies on them:
over 1/3 had ingested polluted plastic fragments, including one 2.5 inch fish that had 84 pieces of plastic in its
tiny gut. In 1999, Moore’s research in the Central Pacific found six times more plastic than zooplankton in
the water. In 2002, off the coast of Southern California, he discovered the ratio of plastic to plankton was 2.5.
Preliminary results on samples Algalita took in 2008 already show that there is a significant increase in
the ratio of plastic to plankton in the water.
11
Ocean Clean Up Affirmative
Ocean of Plastic Advantage
NAUDL 2014-15
Answers To: Clean Up Efforts Kill Sea Life
[___]
[___] Bycatch will be minimal. Plankton can float under our system and larger animals will be deterred
by sound systems.
Slat et al, founder and lead designer The Ocean Cleanup Project, 2014
(Boyan, “A Feasibility Study”, http://www.theoceancleanup.com/fileadmin/mediaarchive/theoceancleanup/press/downloads/TOC_Feasibility_study_lowres.pdf, p. 29)
Because they are effectively neutrally buoyant, both phytoplankton and zooplankton are likely to pass
underneath the barriers along with the current. But even assuming the worst - The Ocean Cleanup Array
would harvest all the plankton it encounters - this would constitute a maximum loss of 10 million kg of
planktonic biomass annually. Given the immense primary production of the world oceans, it would take
less than 7 seconds to reproduce this amount of biomass.
With regard to vertebrates, harm caused by the barriers seems unlikely because non-permeable barriers
are used, although some bycatch may occur in the near vicinity of the platform’s extraction equipment.
To prevent the possible impact on vertebrates, active deterrent techniques could be implemented near the
extraction equipment.
[___] The Ocean Cleanup Array floats and does not use nets so sea life can swim around it while plastics
and debris stay in it.
Ian Somerhalder Foundation, 2012
(“The Ocean Cleanup Array: An Amazing Environmental Invention”,
http://www.isfoundation.com/news/ocean-cleanup-array-amazing-environmental-invention)
The Ocean Cleanup Array would be located at the sites of the five largest trash islands—also known as
gyres—which include the Indian Ocean, the North and South Atlantic, and the North and South Pacific.
Slat believes that the ocean current is the biggest advantage to help solving the garbage problem. As such, "an
anchored network of floating booms and processing platforms will span the radius" of each gyre with the
"booms acting as giant funnels" to push the debris in the processing platforms. When the plastic and
other debris enters the processing platform, it would then be filtered from the water and stored in
containers until it is picked up to be recycled on land.¶ ¶
Another very positive aspect of the Ocean Cleanup Array is that absolutely no nets will be used, so there is
no chance of marine life getting harmed. In addition, the booms will only move along with the ocean
current and not any faster, so marine life can also escape the plastic being pushed towards the processing
platforms. To substantiate these claims, Slat is currently testing his methods as part of the project’s feasibility
studies.¶ ¶
12
Ocean Clean Up Affirmative
Ocean of Plastic Advantage
NAUDL 2014-15
Answers To: Clean Up Efforts Kill Plankton
[___]
[___] Downward current of skirt system will minimize bycatch of plankton.
Slat et al, founder and lead designer The Ocean Cleanup Project, 2014
(Boyan, “A Feasibility Study”, http://www.theoceancleanup.com/fileadmin/mediaarchive/theoceancleanup/press/downloads/TOC_Feasibility_study_lowres.pdf, p. 316)
Because the boom skirts are designed to generate a downward current, most phytoplankton is expected to
escape capture by the booms. The fraction of phytoplankton captured in front of the booms might also be
consumed by zooplankton, leading to a (partial) recycling of nutrients within the ecosystem. However, the
phytoplankton that is drawn directly into the platform by the slurry pump is assumed to be removed
from the ecosystem entirely.
[___] Plankton won’t get caught in the system.
Slat, founder and lead designer The Ocean Cleanup Project, 2014
(Boyan, “Responding to Critics”, The Ocean Cleanup,
http://www.theoceancleanup.com/blog/show/item/responding-to-critics.html)
“The definition of plankton is an organism that can’t swim against a current; plankton have no control where
they go and the assumption that they’ll somehow avoid the current that is taking the plastic into the processing
thinga-ma-jiggy is a bad one.”
Boyan: Plankton indeed comes from the Greek word Planktos, meaning ‘wanderer’ or ‘drifter’. This is exactly
why they won’t get caught. The ocean current passes underneath the floating barriers, taking all
neutrally buoyant sea life (including both phytoplankton and zooplankton) with it, while positively
buoyant plastics remain in front of it. Down to a certain particle size of course, where the force downward
(the current) equals out the force upwards (the buoyancy force of the plastic). In collaboration with the Freiburg
Institute of Advanced Studies, we simulated this hypothesis using Computational Fluid Dynamics
simulations (CFD software and code used were LEMMA ANANAS, Comsol Multiphysics, and ANSYS CFX,
if you’re interested), which confirmed our expectations; plastic gets caught, neutrally buoyant organisms
do not. (feasibility study, chapters 3.3 and 3.4). So there is no centrifuging needed; plankton does not
accumulate, while plastic does. But in the hypothetical case that all plankton that passes underneath these
barriers would be damaged, the time it would take to restore that biomass is less than 7 seconds in a year. And
that’s the worst-case scenario. (feasibility study, chapter 6)
13
Ocean Clean Up Affirmative
Ocean of Plastic Advantage
NAUDL 2014-15
Answers to: Plastics Don’t Kill of Species
[___]
[___] Floating plastic islands can introduce invasive species that wreck the local ecosystem and destroy
biodiversity.
California Coastal Commission, 2014
(“Plastic in the Ocean is bad. The Problem With Marine Debris”
http://www.coastal.ca.gov/publiced/marinedebris.htm)
Floating marine debris can provide a new and increased method of transport for species across vast
ocean distances, which may cause trouble for biodiversity if the introduced species prove to be invasive. A
2002 study of 30 remote islands throughout the world showed that marine debris more than doubled the
"rafting" opportunities for species. In 2005 and 2006, surveys of marine debris in the Seychelles Islands
showed that on some beaches more than 60% of debris items carried non-native species.¶
[____] For animals not killed by the plastics, survival becomes harder as invasive species ride trash
islands to new ecosystems, destroying their balance and threatening all life in the oceans.
Newitz, editor in chief of io9 and PhD in English and American Studies from UC Berkeley, 2012
(Annalee, “Lies You've Been Told About the Pacific Garbage Patch, 5-21, http://io9.com/5911969/lies-youve-been-told-about-thepacific-garbage-patch)
The "plastisphere" is a term coined by marine biologist Erik Zettler to describe the creatures — like water skaters — who
thrive in an environment with hard surfaces in the water. They are similar to creatures who cling to piers or the hulls of
ships. Before human-made hard surfaces were everywhere, they would have lived on rocks or flotsam. The problem with the
plastisphere is that it's radically changing the balance of a sea ecosystem that was once mostly just open
ocean creatures.¶
"One thing that people worry about is that hard surfaces can transport invasive species," Goldstein said.
"Some animals are good at hitching a ride and they can be destructive. By adding big chunks of plastic
these species can move around better, and could be introduced to places like the Northwest Pacific
Islands, where there are some of the best coral reefs in the world." In other words, the plastisphere isn't
destroying the ocean ecosystem — the creatures who ride on the plastic are. We're witnessing an
ecosystem that is slowly falling off balance.¶
For now, the open ocean is still mostly inhabited by lantern fish. "There's one lantern fish for every cubic meter of ocean," Goldstein explained,
noting that these fish are probably more common than the pieces of plastic her team has sampled. But if trends continue, we're going to see
more plastic than fish. And with that plastic will come more invasive species, more water skaters, and
more creatures to eat the water skaters' eggs. The danger is that this could alter the open ocean forever —
and destroy all the native life there that has kept the oceans healthy for thousands of years.
14
Ocean Clean Up Affirmative
Ocean of Plastic Advantage
NAUDL 2014-15
Answers to: Food Chain is not protected by clean up
[___]
[___] Our technology would remove microplastics. Passive collection booms will extend 3 meters down
to catch most particles and microplastics make up a very small amount of the pollution.
Slat, founder and lead designer The Ocean Cleanup Project, 2014
(Boyan, “Responding to Critics”, The Ocean Cleanup,
http://www.theoceancleanup.com/blog/show/item/responding-to-critics.html)
“Perhaps one of the worst assumptions evident in this design is that the plastic will be on the sea surface.
Researchers have shown that plastic suspends in the water column at 100-150 meters due to wave action and sea
state.”
Boyan: This is misleading. It is true that the mixed layer can stretch to these depths during winter months, and
it’s true that very small amounts of plastic can be found throughout the water column, but as our past 3
expeditions to the gyres have shown, the vast majority of plastics can be found in the top 1-3 m (depending
on wind and sea state). This explains why researchers (as well as 5Gyres themselves) sample the surface
layer of the oceans to measure plastic pollution. When we conservatively look at the data taken in winter
months only, the surface layer contained 10x more microplastics than the layer at 4.5 m of depth. Hence
our barriers stretch down to 3 meters, to capture the most of plastic. And in fact, here I am only
addressing the small particles. The large plastics (that make up over 80% of the plastic in the gyres) are
all at the sea surface. (feasibility study, chapter 2.2, 2.3)
[___] Harmful chemicals enter the food chain and can disrupt the endocrine systems of humans.
Matthews, consultant, eco-entrepreneur, green investor, 2014
(Richard, “Plastic Waste in Our Oceans: Problems and Solutions”, April 10,
http://globalwarmingisreal.com/2014/04/10/ocean-garbage-problems-solutions/)
According to UNEP, at least 267 species worldwide are impacted by plastic debris in the oceans. As the plastic
disintegrates, it ultimately becomes small enough to be ingested by a wide range of life forms. Plastics are
deadly to a number of species including marine birds and sea turtles. Various investigations including
research by Charles Moore found that in some places the overall concentration of plastics was seven times
greater than the concentration of zooplankton. Plastics enter the food chain when ingested by aquatic
organisms and the impacts go all the way up the chain to humans.
Researchers have discovered that floating debris can also absorb organic pollutants from seawater,
including PCBs, DDT, and PAHs. When consumed, plastic has both toxic effects and disruptive impacts
on the endocrine system.
15
Ocean Clean Up Affirmative
Solvency
NAUDL 2014-15
Solvency- Funding key
[___]
[___] The technology and communication capability to find and pick up the ocean debris exists.
Additional funding is necessary to tackle the problem.
Maritime Reporter, 2012
(“Project to Clean Up North Pacific Garbage Patch,” Tuesday, February 21, 2012
http://www.marinelink.com/news/project-pacific-garbage342616.aspx)
¶ ¶ Future support ¶
During the past three years, Ocean Voyages Institute’s Project Kaisei, has been successful in studying and
documenting what is going on in the Gyre from a scientific perspective. By reviewing ocean current
distribution it has accomplished an encompassing survey of clean-up possibilities. In addition, the
organisation has built a world renowned group of naval architects, marine engineers and ocean experts
that are act as a 'think tank' for designing marine debris collection equipment. The project is currently
working on four types of equipment which it believes will enable the four major categories of debris to be
addressed.¶ “In 2011 our emphasis is surveying coastal areas and coastal Gyres created by rivers, bays and our
other watersheds which are also accumulating debris. There is a great deal of interest in seeing how much of the
debris can be found closer to shore,” Crowley said. ¶
While becoming the center for information regarding marine debris collection equipment and heralding
the need for global clean-up efforts, Project Kaisei has also been approached by various governments for
assistance with designing marine debris collection vessels. “We have been approached by various
maritime companies who have told us they have the equipment to accomplish marine debris collections
and are working on ways of obtaining corporate and government investment to conduct the clean-up
expeditions on a larger scale to test the equipment. ¶
“Ultimately, the assistance of additional funding will enable us to fulfil the potential of providing
accurate information on the best and most efficient ways of clean-up. Our future expeditions will be
concentrating on continuing science, documentation of the problem, education and research for major
clean-up efforts. Obviously, the ability to communicate remains fundamental to our success,” Crowley said.
16
Ocean Clean Up Affirmative
Solvency
NAUDL 2014-15
Answers to: Clean Up Fails-Size of the ocean
[___]
[___] Despite the huge amount of trash involved, most pieces concentrate in gyres or giant circuits located
in each of the earth’s oceans.
Surfrider Foundation & UCLA School of Law’s Environmental Law Clinic, 2013
(“Federal Actions to Address Plastic Marine Pollution,
http://law.ucla.edu/~/media/Files/UCLA/Law/Pages/Publications/CEN_EMM_PUB%20Surfrider%20UCLA%20%20Plastics%20Solutions.ashx)
Marine litter tends to accumulate in a limited number of sub-tropical convergence zones known as gyres
or garbage patches. Currently, there are five gyres: North Pacific, South Pacific, North Atlantic, South
Atlantic, and Indian Ocean. Studies have shown that marine litter deposited in coastal areas tends to
accumulate in the gyres within two years of entering the ocean. The litter remains cycling within these
gyres for many years, with more than 200,000 pieces of plastic per square kilometer in some areas. The sizes of the gyres are difficult to
determine because they are constantly expanding and moving, but the gyres are estimated to contain 100 million tons of
marine litter.
[___] Passive technology is scalable. Allows for ocean clean up in all 5 oceans for a limited cost.
Slat et al, founder and lead designer The Ocean Cleanup Project, 2014
(Boyan, “A Feasibility Study”, http://www.theoceancleanup.com/fileadmin/mediaarchive/theoceancleanup/press/downloads/TOC_Feasibility_study_lowres.pdf)
The main advantage of passive cleanup is that it is scalable. Using conventional ship-and-net methods, it
has been estimated that it would take about 79,000 years to remediate the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
(Moore and Philips 2011). And that estimate assumes that vessels cover the entire oceanic area, and that the
plastic pollution is spatially static. While the former assumption is
perhaps naive or unrealistic, the latter is false. Ship-and net methods are less efficient as the high variability in
current directions caused by eddies makes them either repeat their run on the same patch of the sea or to miss
some of the plastics.
In contrast, our concept uses the natural movement of the water to its advantage. In combination with
the circulation period of the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, the cleanup duration could be drastically
reduced (a minimum of 5 years).
Due to the passive collection approach, operational expenses can potentially be very low, making the
cleanup more cost-effective. Furthermore, converting the extracted plastic into energy, oil or new
materials could cover (a large part of) the costs of the execution.
17
Ocean Clean Up Affirmative
Solvency
NAUDL 2014-15
Answers to: Clean Up Fails- Ocean Conditions
[___]
[___] Design elements have been tested and will survive in ocean conditions.
Slat, founder and lead designer The Ocean Cleanup Project, 2014
(Boyan, “Responding to Critics”, The Ocean Cleanup,
http://www.theoceancleanup.com/blog/show/item/responding-to-critics.html)
“The problem is that the barriers to gyre cleanup are so massive that the vast majority of the scientific and
advocacy community believe it’s a fool’s errand”
Boyan: We have now engineered a new floating barrier, that can span the 100 km that is needed to collect
almost half the plastic within 10 years. To be sure it stays in one piece, we used a safety factor of 2.5x to 3x,
which is much higher than the offshore standard of 1.82x, to be able to accommodate the weakening of the
materials due to fatigue. (feasibility study, chapter 3.6). The new design furthermore enables the buoyancy
element to move with the waves, which prevents plastic from splashing over or underneath the boom.
This has been confirmed with scale model tests. These scale models also showed that this new design can
potentially reduce the loads on the tension-carrying element of the barrier by 60%, making our
dimensioning even more conservative.
[___] The collection platform is based off of technology that is already employed worldwide to withstand
ocean conditions.
Slat, founder and lead designer The Ocean Cleanup Project, 2014
(Boyan, “Responding to Critics”, The Ocean Cleanup,
http://www.theoceancleanup.com/blog/show/item/responding-to-critics.html)
My home state of Oregon has been trying to create North America’s first offshore wave energy farm. The first
test buoy that was launched, just about 2.5 miles offshore, sank after just a few months. That buoy had a ‘100
year survivability’ rating, and wasn’t just an idea on an Ipad.”
Boyan: According to the spokesperson of the wave energy test, the object in question was actually designed to
survive only a couple of months. He mentions to Renewable Energy World: “So when people say - Oh there's
this device and it sank. How do you expect it to last 20 years or even five years in a real commercial
development? It wasn't designed for that,". In The Ocean Cleanup concept, there is also a need for a
platform. As some may have noticed, the design of this processing platform has changed from the concept
design. We chose for a spar design, which is proven technology, having been used through decades of
ocean engineering. Its specific design has been made in collaboration with a Belgian engineering company.
(feasibility study, chapter 4.3) The working principles of the system did not change since I presented the
concept 1.5 years ago, must be noted.
18
Ocean Clean Up Affirmative
Solvency
NAUDL 2014-15
Answers to: Clean Up Fails- Sea Life
Bycatch will be minimal. Plankton can float under our system and larger animals will be deterred by
sound systems.
Slat et al, founder and lead designer The Ocean Cleanup Project, 2014
(Boyan, “A Feasibility Study”, http://www.theoceancleanup.com/fileadmin/mediaarchive/theoceancleanup/press/downloads/TOC_Feasibility_study_lowres.pdf, p. 29)
Because they are effectively neutrally buoyant, both phytoplankton and zooplankton are likely to pass
underneath the barriers along with the current. But even assuming the worst - The Ocean Cleanup Array
would harvest all the plankton it encounters - this would constitute a maximum loss of 10 million kg of
planktonic biomass annually. Given the immense primary production of the world oceans, it would take
less than 7 seconds to reproduce this amount of biomass.
With regard to vertebrates, harm caused by the barriers seems unlikely because non-permeable barriers
are used, although some bycatch may occur in the near vicinity of the platform’s extraction equipment.
To prevent the possible impact on vertebrates, active deterrent techniques could be implemented near the
extraction equipment.
19
Ocean Clean Up Affirmative
Solvency
NAUDL 2014-15
Answers to: Economic Viability
[___]
[___] Multiple options for recycling ocean plastic that do not require sorting by plastic type. Means
ocean clean up can still cover its own costs.
Slat, founder and lead designer The Ocean Cleanup Project, 2014
(Boyan, “Responding to Critics”, The Ocean Cleanup,
http://www.theoceancleanup.com/blog/show/item/responding-to-critics.html)
“Plastic can only be recycled if it’s clean ocean (…) plastics are about the worst possible feedstock for recycling
imaginable”
Boyan: Partly true. Of course plastics degrade (oxidise) when exposed to the marine environment for years to
decades. But when we (in collaboration with Universidade de Caxias do Sul) quantified the oxidation rate of
ocean plastic using infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, the quality turned out to be much higher than expected
(feasibility study, chapter 9.1). Because many people wonder what to do with the plastic once extracted, we
included the post-processing into the scope of the report. First we proved ocean plastic can be turned into oil,
and is just as suitable as normal waste plastic. There is a large market for oil, but the net value is modest. Hence
we then also tried mechanical recycling (both heat pressing and injection moulding), which showed the
plastic can actually be turned into new materials. The only pre-processing was washing; the plastic didn’t
even have to be sorted into different polymer types. (feasibility study, chapter 9.2) And even if most damage
occurs near the coasts, with an estimated 1.27 B USD of annual damages in the APEC region, removing almost
half the plastic within the North Pacific Gyre for just 31.7 M euro per year seems like a pretty good deal,
even leaving the value of the plastics aside.
20
Ocean Clean Up Affirmative
Solvency
NAUDL 2014-15
Answers to: Economic Viability
[____]
[____] Passive collections is the only cost effective option and annual operating costs can be covered by
selling plastic recycled from the project.
Slat et al, founder and lead designer The Ocean Cleanup Project, 2014
(Boyan, “A Feasibility Study”, http://www.theoceancleanup.com/fileadmin/mediaarchive/theoceancleanup/press/downloads/TOC_Feasibility_study_lowres.pdf, p. 30)
The Ocean Cleanup Array is estimated to be 33 times cheaper than conventional cleanup proposals per
extracted mass of plastics. In order to extract 70 million kg (or 42 percent) of garbage from the North
Pacific Gyre over 10 years, we calculated a total cost of 317 million euro.
In the calculations, a limited lifetime of 10 years is applied instead of a general economic lifetime (for most
equipment 20 years). This is because projections indicate the mean amount of plastic mass will decrease
with time. Thus, the average mass of plastic that will be collected per year will likely be lower than what
has been calculated using the 10-year deployment time. As expected with the passive cleanup concept,
capital expenditures outweigh the operating expenditures. The total annual estimated operating
expenditures is estimated at five million euro.
A break-even cost of €4.53 per kg of plastic collected must be realized in order for The Ocean Cleanup Array to
be profitable. This amount falls in the range of beach cleanup costs, estimated to be €0.07 – €18.0 per kg. This
is also less expensive than the plastic-caused damage to the maritime industry in the APEC region.
****Cost estimates in the piece of evidence are stated in Euros (€) the type of money used in most of
Europe. While the value of currencies fluctuate as a general rule 1 Euro is equal to about $1.33. So
operating costs of 5 million € a year would be about 6.65 million $ per year.
21
Ocean Clean Up Affirmative
Ban Plastic Bags Counterplan Answers
NAUDL 2014-15
Answers to: Experts Agree
[___]
[___] Passive collection method has been tested and supported by experts.
Slat, founder and lead designer The Ocean Cleanup Project, 2014
(Boyan, “Responding to Critics”, The Ocean Cleanup,
http://www.theoceancleanup.com/blog/show/item/responding-to-critics.html)
It’s a great story, but it’s just a story. (…) Gyre cleanup is a false prophet hailing from La-La land that won’t
work (…) Slat’s project as it stands is in the fairy tale phase…”
Boyan: We have just published a 530-page report, concluding that The Ocean Cleanup Array is a feasible
and viable method for large-scale gyre cleanup, marking the successful end of the preliminary engineering
phase. Because of its length and diverse nature, a journal won’t publish it. Hence we have asked external
experts to do an informal peer review, which the report passed. Furthermore, part of the report (the
plastic processing, the vertical distribution and computational fluid dynamics) will be separately
published in a journal. We are currently increasing the size of the vertical distribution dataset through new
expeditions, in collaboration with the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research.
22
Ocean Clean Up Affirmative
Ban Plastic Bags Counterplan Answers
NAUDL 2014-15
Answers to: Depth of the Ocean
[___]
[___] Technology exists to moor the ocean clean up system in 4,000 meters of water.
Slat, founder and lead designer The Ocean Cleanup Project, 2014
(Boyan, “Responding to Critics”, The Ocean Cleanup,
http://www.theoceancleanup.com/blog/show/item/responding-to-critics.html)
Boyan: In fact, many small moorings have been placed in over 5000 m of depth by oceanographic
institutions like NIOZ and NOAA. The deepest moored oil rig is the Shell Perdido Spar at 2500 m of depth.
The Ocean Cleanup will be placed at 3900 m. So we collaborated with the market leader in offshore
anchoring systems, who came to the conclusion that “The tools and methods that are available to offshore
engineering world can readily be applied for the realization of this project. It is Vryhof Anchors’
professional opinion that with the current knowledge and technology, the mooring of the objects at the
given water depths is feasible. The mooring configuration and deployment procedures are similar to
proven solutions at 2500 m water depth.” (Senol Ozmutlu, PhD). (feasibility study, chapter 3.7)
[___] Outside experts agree the mooring system for the platform would be less complex than many oil
and gas drilling operations.
Slat et al, founder and lead designer The Ocean Cleanup Project, 2014
(Boyan, “A Feasibility Study”, http://www.theoceancleanup.com/fileadmin/mediaarchive/theoceancleanup/press/downloads/TOC_Feasibility_study_lowres.pdf)
Keeping the array in position at all times will place substantial demands on a passive mooring system. At
the given water depths, a fiber rope mooring system is the only option to use. To ensure integrity of the
system, chain and wire rope is used at the bottom and top ends.
A Stevmanta Vertical Load Anchor (surface area 14 m²) is sufficient to withstand the design loads
including the safety factor.
“Although it is a new type of floating concept, the size and weight of the object as well as the potential
risks (environmental as well as commercial) are less severe than the majority of offshore structures in oil
and gas. The tools and methods that are available to offshore engineering world can readily be applied
for the realization of this project. It is Vryhof’s professional opinion that with the current knowledge and
technology, the mooring of the objects at the given water depths is feasible. The mooring configuration and
deployment procedures are similar to proven solutions at 2500 m water depth. The concept is executable
regarding anchor and mooring line installation and load transfer from the tension member to the seafloor.”
Senol Ozmutlu, PhD, Projects Director, Vryhof Anchors
23
Ocean Clean Up Affirmative
Ban Plastic Bags Counterplan Answers
NAUDL 2014-15
Answers to: Depth of Plastics / Sinking Plastic
[___]
[___] Most plastics are found near the surface especially the large plastics which make up 80% of the
trash in the gyres.
Slat, founder and lead designer The Ocean Cleanup Project, 2014
(Boyan, “Responding to Critics”, The Ocean Cleanup,
http://www.theoceancleanup.com/blog/show/item/responding-to-critics.html)
“Perhaps one of the worst assumptions evident in this design is that the plastic will be on the sea surface.
Researchers have shown that plastic suspends in the water column at 100-150 meters due to wave action and sea
state.”
Boyan: This is misleading. It is true that the mixed layer can stretch to these depths during winter months, and
it’s true that very small amounts of plastic can be found throughout the water column, but as our past 3
expeditions to the gyres have shown, the vast majority of plastics can be found in the top 1-3 m (depending
on wind and sea state). This explains why researchers (as well as 5Gyres themselves) sample the surface
layer of the oceans to measure plastic pollution. When we conservatively look at the data taken in winter
months only, the surface layer contained 10x more microplastics than the layer at 4.5 m of depth. Hence
our barriers stretch down to 3 meters, to capture the most of plastic. And in fact, here I am only
addressing the small particles. The large plastics (that make up over 80% of the plastic in the gyres) are
all at the sea surface. (feasibility study, chapter 2.2, 2.3)
24
Ocean Clean Up Affirmative
Ban Plastic Bags Counterplan Answers
NAUDL 2014-15
Uniqueness Answers
[___]
[___] Non-unique plastic consumption and production are growing now.
Wilson, Associate Director at The 5 Gyres Institute, 2013
(Stiv,”The Fallacy of Cleaning the Gyres of Plastic With a Floating "Ocean Cleanup Array"
, Inhabitat, July 17, http://inhabitat.com/the-fallacy-of-cleaning-the-gyres-of-plastic-with-a-floating-oceancleanup-array/)
Like the size of the ocean, the amount of plastic we consume is an issue of scale. In North America, the
annual per capita consumption of plastic is roughly 326 pounds as of 2010. That statistic is up nearly a
100 pounds per capita from 2001. Of course, the plastics industry doesn’t like the idea of us consuming less
because it means less plastic sold. They keep saying all we need is ‘more recycling.’ But despite even nominal
gains in recycling, the sum total of virgin plastics produced in the world annually is going up, not down,
which means the sum total of plastics entering the ocean is going up, too. I’m not anti-recycling; recovery is
part of the solution, albeit small.
25
Ocean Clean Up Affirmative
Ban Plastic Bags Counterplan Answers
NAUDL 2014-15
Link Answers
[___]
[___] Attention-- Cleanup efforts raise attention to mobilize groups to reduce plastic usage.
Slat et al, founder and lead designer The Ocean Cleanup Project, 2014
(Boyan, “A Feasibility Study”, http://www.theoceancleanup.com/fileadmin/mediaarchive/theoceancleanup/press/downloads/TOC_Feasibility_study_lowres.pdf, p 39)
Firstly, cleanup concepts have demonstrated the potential to attract attention, including the concept that is
the subject of this feasibility study as introduced in Chapter 1.7 (Slat, 2012). If used wisely, this attention
could not only emphasize the scale and urgency of the plastic pollution problem, but can also be used to
help preventive measures, by stressing the importance of closing the tap first. And since the cost of
preventing and cleaning plastic pollution on land is likely to be lower than offshore, this could also
quantify the financial incentive for improved pollution control on land.
[___] Visualization— ocean clean up efforts allow people to easily see the extent of pollution.
Slat et al, founder and lead designer The Ocean Cleanup Project, 2014
(Boyan, “A Feasibility Study”, http://www.theoceancleanup.com/fileadmin/mediaarchive/theoceancleanup/press/downloads/TOC_Feasibility_study_lowres.pdf, p 39)
Secondly, a cleanup would be able to make the problem more visible. Although the numbers (by both
mass and particle count) are large, it is hard to visualize, because the debris is dispersed over a vast area,
with concentrations ranging from 0.01 to 10 parts per m³ (Goldstein et al., 2013). However, by concentrating
and/or extracting a significant percentage of plastic from the oceans, coverage of this collection process
could help in raising awareness about the problem as well.
[___] Scientific research resulting from building the clean up system would provide better evidence to
convince skeptics about the scope of the issue.
Slat et al, founder and lead designer The Ocean Cleanup Project, 2014
(Boyan, “A Feasibility Study”, http://www.theoceancleanup.com/fileadmin/mediaarchive/theoceancleanup/press/downloads/TOC_Feasibility_study_lowres.pdf, p 39)
Finally, a cleanup project contributes to the scientific understanding of the oceanic plastic pollution
problem. Both the research in the R&D phases before a cleanup as well as a large-scale cleanup itself
would provide much better insights into the amount and composition of plastics in the oceans. Most
recently for example, it has been recommended reducing the uncertainties of debris mass estimates “by
developing large-scale, cost-effective techniques to monitor subtropical gyre accumulation zones that are
millions of square kilometers in size” (Law et al., 2014)
26