A remarkably innovative way to help prevent plastic waste from contaminating the oceans has been devised in Portugal - ‘bubble barriers'.
Portugal has long been at the forefront of combating plastic pollution. Specialist researchers warn that every minute of every day, the equivalent of one garbage truckload of plastic waste enters our oceans. In Europe alone, an estimated 825 million pieces of plastic end up in the sea yearly. Experts caution that by 2040, this figure could reach a staggering 37 million tonnes annually. This includes huge quantities of microplastics, which are killing hundreds of marine species and severely endangering human health by infiltrating our food chain. This is not alarmist speculation - it is a reality that demands urgent action.
The coastal town of Vila do Conde in northern Portugal has joined forces with scientists to create a ‘bubble barrier’ in the Ave River. This relatively simple yet highly effective system uses a curtain of air bubbles to trap plastic waste in a container before it can reach the Atlantic. Plastics - even microplastics - can then be eliminated. So far, the ‘bubble barrier’ has successfully intercepted 86% of the plastics in the river.
Further high-tech methods may help address this growing crisis, but municipalities, businesses, and individuals also need to play their part by actively collecting and reducing plastic waste – both near the water and elsewhere.
Written by Len Port
See more information at https://thegreatbubblebarrier.com/
