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7
th
International Conference on
Recycling and Waste Management
October 03-04, 2019 | Melbourne, Australia
Journal of Environmental Waste Management and Recycling | Volume: 02
Solid and plastic waste from land to oceans – Challenges, opportunities and need for
innovation in remedial and preventive measures
Michel Soto Chalhoub
Notre Dame University, Lebanon
M
arine plastic pollution has become a major concern
that is not limited to coastal areas but which has spread
offshore forming trash gyres in the oceans. Drifting plastics
have adverse effects on ecosystems and marine species
with harmful effects including entanglement, ingestion, and
suffocation. Floating plastics are vehicles to toxic pollutants
and non-indigenous marine species that threaten biodiversity
and affect human health. Micropastics (particles < 5 mm) are
found in table salt - among other foods - and have therefore
breached our diet.
About eight million metric tons of plastics are estimated to
travel yearly into oceans. Predictive models that use data on
solid waste generated per capita, estimate plastics moving
from land to ocean through rivers. Watercourses running
through densely populated areas generate mismanaged
plastic waste, with about 88% conveyed through the top-ten
ranked rivers. On a smaller scale, we developed a predictive
model for rivers in Lebanon and concluded that such models
require time series parameters related to river seasonality,
climate change, hydrologic factors, and human activity near
river beds.
Innovative techniques are recommended to reduce plastics
at the source rather than react through remedial actions.
Innovation should target bio-based manufacturing as well
as biodegradable final products. Plastic-to-energy is part of
remediation as proven by pyrolysis plants in the United States
and Japan, in addition to promising technologies that aim at
turning plastics into fuels. Recycling is another component
of remedial actions, but recycled plastics lose their physical
properties and become non-recyclable. If no disruptive
innovation occurs to displace traditional plastics at the source,
their production worldwide is expected to grow by about 4%
yearly in the next ten years. Therefore, it is recommended to
develop and commercialize process and product innovation
as part of a preventive rather than remedial strategy.
e:
mchalhoub@live.com