Research - Zhifu New Materials

What is ocean debris/ocean litter？

Ocean Debris (ocean Debris/ocean Litter), or ocean litter, ocean waste, refers to any durable, man-made or processed solid material that has been discarded, thrown away or abandoned in a ocean or coastal environment. ocean debris (ocean waste) consists of items that have been manufactured or used by humans, intentionally or unintentionally, directly or indirectly, discarded in the environment and eventually lost or dropped by rivers, sewers, heavy rains or winds, or at sea due to adverse weather conditions, and finally overflow into the sea or coast.

Most of the ocean waste is plastic, and the pollution of these plastic waste has a far-reaching impact on the ocean environment, threatening the ocean environment, the health of ocean life, food safety, navigation safety, human health, coastal tourism, etc., and aggravating climate change. As humans continue to increase the use of various plastic products, it is foreseeable that ocean waste at sea and on the coast will continue to grow in the future, but the vast majority of ocean waste will decompose very slowly, so this is a major environmental crisis facing humanity.
What are the types of ocean debris?

All human-made items have the potential to become ocean debris. According to the International Coastal Initiative Cleanup (ICC), cigarette butts, plastic bottles and food packaging are the largest amount of garbage related to daily life. In addition, there are fishery-related wastes, such as floats, fishing nets, fishing lines, crab pots; agriculture-related shading nets, fertilizer bags, fruit mesh bags, etc.; and construction-related waste such as bricks, tiles, rubble, etc.

There is nothing strange about ocean waste. On the coast of Taiwan, refrigerators, video tapes, pregnancy test sticks, and land boundary markers have been found. Other strange things found on beaches in other countries include: scooters, sleds, pans, clown wigs, fire extinguishers, Christmas lights, washing machines, vampire dentures (?). ), sofas, six-wheeled golf carts, and more.

Ocean Debris Survey

For the first time in the investigation ofocean debris, we entered the seabed at the front line. In the past, most of the surveys focused on the inventory of beaches and sea surfaces, so the inventory of seabed waste has become an extremely important piece of the puzzle to understand the overall picture of ocean waste. The importance of seabed debris investigation lies in clarifying the possible hazards of the current situation to ocean life, eliminating the risk factors for the safety of ocean waterways, and formulating more source policies to further intercept or reduce waste. The UK has been monitoring seabed litter for 25 years and found that the amount of seabed plastic belts has indeed dropped significantly after the implementation of the UK's plastic belt charging policy; South Korea has also discovered that certain fishing gear is everywhere in the southern seas, and has initiated a policy of fishing gear recycling and fishermen's education to reduce the chance of garbage entering the sea. The most alarming density of seafloor litter on record comes from the southern edge of Spain's Mallorca island in the western Mediterranean, at up to 400 kilograms per square kilometre. The density of garbage on Taiwan's west coast is 102 kilograms per square kilometer, which is higher than the existing surveys in Japan, South Korea and China.

5 hazards of discarded fishing nets and fishing gear

In addition to reflecting the overfishing of household drift gillnet fishing along the coast of Taiwan, discarded fishing nets and fishing gear also cause health hazards to ocean life, risks to sea navigation, and pollution of seawater. For example, if fishing gear is soaked in the sea for a long time, the chemicals and heavy metals used in the original production may be released into the sea.

The North Atlantic right whale is one of the most endangered whales in the world, and one of its main causes of death is trapped in ghost fishing gear. There are some not-so-obvious effects of the sea. Toxins that have been found in plastics not only affect the ocean food web, but plastic debris is known to absorb pollutants that flow into the ocean from land, including pharmaceutical waste and industrial waste. As ocean species eat and are eaten, toxicity can be transferred through the food chain. There is also a growing concern that non-native species such as algae, molluscs and barnacles are hitching a ride on floating garbage into foreign seas and soils, where they can invade distant aquatic environments and degrade species. To further complicate matters, most of the plastic waste in the ocean ends up sinking to the bottom of the ocean like an underwater garbage heap, suffocating the coral reefs and ocean life below.
While the amount of ocean plastic we need to tackle is unimaginable, the science tells us that most of the solutions we need already exist. Many regional, national and local activities are underway to help reduce the flow of plastic into the ocean, such as regional seas conventions, national bans on single-use plastics, Businesses and governments have pledged to reduce, redesign and use plastic products, increase the amount of recycled plastic in new products, curbside initiatives, and a ban on plastic bags in cities. Breaking the Plastic Wave is a global analysis of how to change the trajectory of plastic waste, revealing that if we make the most of existing technologies and solutions, we can reduce the amount of plastic entering the ocean by about 80% over the next 20 years. Improve waste management systems so that there is the right infrastructure in place to receive plastic waste and ensure that a significant portion of it can be reused or recycled. Enhance circularity by promoting more sustainable consumption and production practices across the plastics value chain. Engage consumers in tackling plastic pollution to influence the market and inspire behavioural change. Plug the sources of pollution by phasing out unnecessary, avoidable, and most problematic plastic supplies and replacing them with alternative materials, products, and services.

A number of existing international agreements and conventions already support the reduction of ocean pollution, the fight against climate change and the sustainable use of the oceans. The Global Partnership on ocean Litter, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Convention on Biological Diversity are directly related to the health of the oceans, ocean ecosystems and ocean life. The Basel, Stockholm and Rotterdam conventions all address the transfer and disposal of hazardous wastes and chemicals. There is also a growing call for a potential global agreement on ocean litter and plastic pollution to address this scourge. One solution alone won't work. As with many intergenerational environmental disruptions, this requires systems thinking, innovation, and transformation. But there is only one goal: to reduce the use of unnecessary, avoidable and problematic plastics and stop them from flowing into our lakes, rivers, wetlands, coasts and oceans. We are all in this together, and we can and must work together to tackle ocean litter and plastic pollution

Circular green plastic PCR

The full name of PCR isPost-Consumer Recycled material，Recycling plastics after consumption, such as the recycling of waste plastics generated from consumer daily items such as meal boxes, beverage bottles, shampoo bottles, mineral water bottles, laundry detergent buckets, etc., and then processing them into recycled material particles for manufacturing new packaging materials.

Why do we need to develop PCR regenerated plastic packaging materials

With the EU's goal of carbon neutrality by 2050, countries around the world are trending towards net zero carbon reduction, with Taiwan also participating. The Environmental Protection Agency held a draft discussion meeting on "Key Points for Promoting Non Food Contact Plastic Recycling Products" in 2022, inviting cosmetics, cleaning products, and recycled materials to attend. The goal was proposed to increase the proportion of recycled ingredients in packaging containers by 25% by 2025 and reach 35% by 2030, working together to achieve net zero carbon emissions in the sustainable efforts of the natural environment and the earth. Plastic is lightweight and durable, and can be used for packaging various daily necessities such as food, housing, transportation, household appliances, medical supplies, etc. It is ubiquitous in daily life< However, due to its cheap and easily accessible nature, it has led to people's abuse and indiscriminate disposal, resulting in plastic being equated with environmental pollution, leading to the stigmatization of plastic. Instead, many anti plastic environmental policies have emerged, shifting towards the use of other less environmentally friendly paper and other products Rather than avoiding the use of plastic, it is more important to choose good plastic materials, use high-quality plastic products, implement reuse, extend the service life of plastic, recycle plastic waste, and re-enter the recycling system.

What are the contents of PCR recycled plastics

Common plastic materials such as PET, PP, PE, PA, ABS, PC, etc. can be recycled after consumption and then made into recycled particles.

How are these things recycled?

Plastic containers used for consumption are collected from different regional units such as shopping malls, communities, and schools. These containers are manually classified into different materials, compressed and packaged into plastic recycling bricks, and transported to the recycling plant at the back end.