RSS správy blogu o vysávači

Oceánska iniciatíva

Thu, 07 Oct 2010 10:01:57 GMT

Nadácia Surfrider Foundation Europe je mimovládna organizácia (združenie podľa zákona z roku 1901) zameraná na ochranu a zveľaďovanie pobreží. Jej cieľom je „ochrana, zachovanie, zveľaďovanie a trvalá udržateľnosť mora, pláže, pobrežia, vĺn a všetkých tých, ktorí si ich užívajú“.

Vďaka svojim plateným koordinátorom v celej Európe, sieti pobočiek (takmer 50) a viac ako tisícke dobrovoľníkov dokázala nadácia Surfrider presadiť množstvo rozličných iniciatív zameraných na ochranu životného prostredia.

Medzi tieto iniciatívy patrí aj „Oceánska iniciatíva” – celosvetová kampaň na zvyšovanie povedomia o existencii makro odpadu (odpadu ľudského pôvodu v prostredí), ktorá je sprevádzaná každoročnou kampaňou zameranou na čistenie pláží a pobrežia. Touto kampaňou vyzývame miestnych obyvateľov, kluby a iné asociácie, aby zorganizovali svoje vlastné akcie zamerané na zvyšovanie povedomia a čistenie pobrežia s hardvérovou a softvérovou podporou Surfrider. V roku 2010 sa v rámci „Oceánskej iniciatívy" uskutočnilo viac ako 800 akcií, pri ktorých sa z pobrežia zozbieralo niekoľko stoviek kubických metrov makro odpadu, čo samozrejme prispelo k zvýšeniu povedomia o probléme v celej spoločnosti.

Kampane pod vedením nadácie Surfrider zamerané na zvyšovanie povedomia sa konajú aj na lokálnej úrovni. Môžeme spomenúť napríklad akciu na zvýšenie environmentálneho povedomia so zamestnancami spoločnosti Electrolux. Táto akcia sa konala v súvislosti s projektom Vysávač z mora a bola zameraná na zber odpadu, trvala približne dve hodiny a vyzbieral sa počas nej takmer jeden meter kubický makro odpadu. Sedemdesiat percent z toho tvoril plastový odpad.

Benjamin van Hoorebeke, zodpovedný za výchovu a vzdelávanie v nadácii Surfrider Foundation Europe, vysvetľuje ciele tejto operácie:
„Zamestnancov spoločnosti, ako je Electrolux, vezmeme priamo do terénu, aby si plne uvedomili problém makro odpadu. Na vlastné oči môžu vidieť rozsah znečistenia, čím ich nabádame, aby zmenili svoje každodenné správanie v osobnej a pracovnej sfére. Takáto akcia má nielen nápravný, ale predovšetkým výchovný význam a vedie účastníkov k ekologicky zodpovednému chovaniu s cieľom redukovať znečisťovanie, skôr ako k nemu dôjde, pretože je to lepšie riešenie, ako neskôr odstraňovať následky.“

Predchádzajúce príspevky:
Roboty používajú lasery pre triedenie plastov
Majestátne plastové vrecko
Vyrábame ľudské vysávače
Zahájenie sberu!
Plast je večný
Jedno slovo
Date Set for Clean Up in Thailand
5 Gyres: Crossing the Gyres
5 Gyres: Plastic in the World's Oceans
Mainly Blue and White Plastic on Hawaiian Beaches
Understanding the Nature of Plastic Accumulation
Collecting Debris from the Pacific Ocean
Swedish News Channel Raises the Plastic Debris Issue
What is Plastic?
Plastiki Just Arrived in Sydney
Sustainable Futures - Can Design Make a Difference?
Creating Art out of Plastic Debris
Recycling Plastic - a Challenge
Date Set for Hawaii
At the Design Studio
Collecting Debris in Skagerrak, the North Sea
Fragile Coast
Making the Vacs
Collecting Plastic in the South of France
What is the Pacific Garbage Patch?
Plastic Recycling
Welcome to Vac from the Sea

Roboty používajú lasery pre triedenie plastov

Tue, 14 Sep 2010 16:10:27 GMT

Začiatkom tohto roku predviedli na univerzite v Japonskej Osake recyklačného robota, ktorý používá lasery pre triedenie rôznych druhov plastov. Väčšina druhov plastov môže býť spracovaných, ale len 6% ide do kontajnerov k recyklácii. Výrobky z PET a PS sú spracovateľné, ale ich podiel na celkovej výrobe plastov je nízky - 5 a 7,6%. Výrobky z PE a PP doteraz neboli spracovávané, pretože nemôžu byť odlíšené vizuálne, ale ich podiel na celkovej výrobe plastov je vysoký - 23 a 22%. Recykláciu môže vykonať robot s laserovými očami a potrebnými senzormi, ktoré umožňujú rozlíšiť šesť typov plastov.

Predpokládá sa, že použitím robotov sa výrazne znížia emisie CO2. A to vďaka novej možnosti recyklácie mnohých druhov plastov. Recyklačný robot nebude tak skoro pre verejnú potrebu (stojí 55 000 USD), ale výskumníci z University of Osaka v Japonsku dúfajú, že vyvinú menšiu verziu, ktorá by sa vošla do bežnej kuchyne, v blízkosti koša na triedený odpad a organických odpadov. Robot bol vyvinutý centrom IDEC, centrom Advanced Photonics Research Center, Mitsubishi Electric a celý projekt je podporovaný zo strany japonského ministerstva hospodárstva, obchodu a priemyslu.

Zdroj: University of Osaka, Japonsko.

Posledné príspevky:
The Majestic Plastic Bag
Making a People’s Vac
Start Collecting!
Eternal Debris
One Word
Date Set for Clean Up in Thailand
5 Gyres: Crossing the Gyres
5 Gyres: Plastic in the World's Oceans
Mainly Blue and White Plastic on Hawaiian Beaches
Understanding the Nature of Plastic Accumulation
Collecting Debris from the Pacific Ocean
Swedish News Channel Raises the Plastic Debris Issue
What is Plastic?
Plastiki Just Arrived in Sydney
Sustainable Futures - Can Design Make a Difference?
Creating Art out of Plastic Debris
Recycling Plastic - a Challenge
Date Set for Hawaii
At the Design Studio
Collecting Debris in Skagerrak, the North Sea
Fragile Coast
Making the Vacs
Collecting Plastic in the South of France
What is the Pacific Garbage Patch?
Plastic Recycling
Welcome to Vac from the Sea

Majestátne plastové vrecko

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 10:49:56 GMT

Táto dokumentárna fikcia („mocumentary“), ktorej rozprávač je oscarový Jeremy Irons, zdôrazňuje, akú skutočnú hrozbu predstavuje znečistenie plastovými vreckami v Kalifornii. Toto video bolo vydané organizáciou Heal The Bay v Santa Monike v Kalifornii, na podporu návrhu zákona AB 1988 v štáte Kalifornia, ktorý si kladie za cieľ znížiť znečištenie plastmi. Úsilie organizácie Heal Bay sa zameralo na záliv Santa Monica a blízke pobrežné vody v južnej Kalifornii. Každopádne, ich práca má často vplyv na kvalitu vody v celom štáte a dokonca v celej zemi.

Posledné príspevky:
Making a People’s Vac
Start Collecting!
Eternal Debris
One Word
Date Set for Clean Up in Thailand
5 Gyres: Crossing the Gyres
5 Gyres: Plastic in the World's Oceans
Mainly Blue and White Plastic on Hawaiian Beaches
Understanding the Nature of Plastic Accumulation
Collecting Debris from the Pacific Ocean
Swedish News Channel Raises the Plastic Debris Issue
What is Plastic?
Plastiki Just Arrived in Sydney
Sustainable Futures - Can Design Make a Difference?
Creating Art out of Plastic Debris
Recycling Plastic - a Challenge
Date Set for Hawaii
At the Design Studio
Collecting Debris in Skagerrak, the North Sea
Fragile Coast
Making the Vacs
Collecting Plastic in the South of France
What is the Pacific Garbage Patch?
Plastic Recycling
Welcome to Vac from the Sea

Vyrábame ľudské vysávače

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 10:49:22 GMT

Plastový odpad v oceáne sa týka každého z nás. Pri zbere plastov z Tichého oceána, Atlantiku, Indického oceána a Severného mora sme spolupracovali s rôznymi organizáciami. Prečo nemôžeme v prípade Baltského mora zapojiť obyčajných ľudí z ulice? A ešte lepšie viac ľudí na mori?

Počas víkendu, v sobotu 27. augusta sme sa zamerali na Sandhamm, malý poloostrov v súostroví Stockholmu. Cieľom expedície je podporiť ľudí, ktorí žijú pri vode a cestujú po vode k tomu, aby zbierali plasty v mori a poslali nám ich. Mnoho ľudí bude zhromažďovať plasty - vysávače Baltského mora.

Sandhamm je dobre známy ako centrum pre plachtenie, a nedávno sa tu konali dokonca dva preteky. Samozrejme, celé pobrežie bolo zaplnené ľuďmi a mnoho ľudí chcelo pomôcť a vykonať niečo prospešné pre Baltské more.

Zahájenie zberu!

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 10:48:38 GMT

"Niekedy je krása výzvou k akcii. V tomto prípade operácia prebieha podľa jednoduchých pravidiel pre udržanie čistoty na planéte. Ale v širšom slova zmysle ide o hlas inšpirácie, vnútorné nutkanie, pretože skutočná krása je opakom ľahostajnosti "

Počas posledného desaťročia, Judith Selby Lang a Richard Lang zhromaždili dve tony plastov na jednej z pláži Point Reyes národnej morskej rezervácie. Vytváraním umeleckých diel z odpadu, chceli umelci upozorniť na prítomnosť plastových odpadov a ich vplyv na krehký morský ekosystém.

Viac informácií o práci Langovcov je na ich webových stránkach Beach plastic a blogu Plastic Forever.

Víta vás projekt Vysávač z mora

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 16:15:22 GMT

Víta vás projekt Vysávač z mora

Naše oceány sú plné plastového odpadu. Zatiaľ čo na pevnine je nedostatok recyklovaných plastov.

Dodávky udržateľných surovín, ako napríklad recyklovaných plastov, sú kritické pre vytváranie udržateľných spotrebičov a pomáhaní spotrebiteľom robiť ich domovy ekologickejšími.

Preto dúfam, že sa pripojíte k našej snahe zvyšovať povedomie o hrozbách, ktoré plasty znamenajú pre morský život, a o urgentnej potrebe lepšie sa postarať o plasty, ktoré už existujú.

Hans Stråberg prezident a CEO, Electrolux

Recyklovanie plastov

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 16:15:19 GMT

Neexistujú žiadne presné čísla o tom, koľko plastov sa recykluje.

Podľa správy „Zaujímavé fakty o plastoch 2009, analýza výroby plastov v Európe, dopytu a obnovy za rok 2008“ sa v Európe recykluje približne 20 % spotrebiteľských plastov. Avšak aj rozdiely v tejto časti sveta sú značné.

Ramsvik

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 16:15:19 GMT

Ramsvik, neďaleko miest Smögen a Kungshamn, je jedno z prvých miesto, kde Electrolux začal so zberom plastového odpadu pre projekt Vysávač z mora. Minulý týždeň sme sa spojili miestnou komunitnou iniciatívou pre čistenie a vyrazili na súostrovie Skagerrak s cieľom zbierať morský odpad.

Každoročne sa popri pobreží švédskeho mesta Bohuslän plavia množstvá odpadu. Prúdy zo Severného a Baltického mora posúvajú plávajúci odpad k súostroviu Skagerrak, kde sa zhromažďuje a vyplavuje na naše pobrežie. Hromada tohto materiálu nie je biologicky rozložiteľná a až 80 % tvoria plasty, ale tiež oleje, chemický a zdravotný odpad a vyskytuje sa tu aj vojenský odpad. Odpad sa ukladá na brehoch v morských rastlinách a trávach v zátokách a skalných štrbinách.

Ďalšie informácie a obrázky budú čoskoro k dispozícii!

Plast je večný

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 10:47:57 GMT

Kefka na zuby z mora. Photo: Thomas Engström

Keď sme si prešli odpady z rôznych miest, našli sme mnoho predmetov dennej potreby. Okrem všetkých plastových obalov, fľaše a plastových príborov, sme tiež našli veľa zubných kefiek, hrebene a hračky. Slnkom vybielené a opotrebované po desiatkach rokov na mori. Leštené pieskom, drvené o skaly. Iste, v týchto patinovaných objektoch je krása, ale aj niečo, čo nás desí. Mnohé z týchto objektov je veľmi starých. Plast je večný. Ak sa nič nezmení čoskoro prežije nás všetkých.

Nečistoty na pláži na Havaji. Photo: Thomas Engström

Jedno slovo

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 10:46:11 GMT

Domov: the SSV Corwith Cramer.

Chcem vám všetkým povedať len jedno slovo. Len jedno slovo.
Počúvate ma?

Plasty.

Pred štyridsiatimi troma rokmi na večierku vo filme Absolvent z roku 1967 dostal túto múdru radu Benjamin Braddock, ktorého hral vtedy 29-ročný Dennis Hopper. V tom čase boli plasty rozmáhajúcim sa odvetvím, zaujímavým pre mladého absolventa vysokej školy.

Siete v akcii.

Už v roku 1972, o päť rokov po tom, ako sa Absolvent dostal do kín, boli v časopise Veda uverejnené prvé štúdie ohľadne akumulácie plastov v severnom Atlantickom oceáne. Edward Carpenter, vedec v oceánografickom inštitúte Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, vykonal jedenásť povrchových zberov so sieťou a zistil, že zvyšovanie používania plastov v každodennom živote bude „nepochybne viesť k zvyšovaniu koncentrácie týchto predmetov“.

Plasty v otvorenom oceáne nie sú ničím novým. Vieme o nich už roky.

Doteraz sme našimi sieťami vylovili viac ako 40 000 kusov plastov.

Toto leto vyplávalo tridsaťtri dobrovoľníkov – členov posádky a profesionálnych lodníkov z asociácie Sea Education Association (SEA) na 134 stôp dlhej lodi SSV Corwith Cramer, aby zistili o tomto probléme viac. Vykonali sme spolu 128 povrchových zberov vlečnou sieťou a našli sme v nej viac ako 40 000 kusov plastov. Z paluby sme v oceáne videli plávať turistické topánky, morské huby, záchodové dosky, štítky, proste všetko možné. Raz sme v našej meter dlhej neustónovej sieti zachytili dvadsaťlitrové vedro. Jednoducho vplávalo priamo do siete (spolu s tisíckami iných kusov plastov a niekoľkými ostňovcovitými rybami, ktoré žijú pri pobreží a nedopatrením nasledovali vedro na otvorené more). Toto si jednoducho nevymyslíte.

V laboratóriu.

Hoci sa nám podarilo vyzbierať z vodného povrchu dosť veľké množstvo plastov, naším cieľom nie je čistiť oceán. Namiesto toho sa snažíme študovať plasty z vedeckého hľadiska. Odkiaľ plasty pochádzajú? Koľko ich tam je? Kde sa ich nazhromaždí najviac? Kam putujú? Spája sa s plastmi nejaká mikrobiologická forma života? Plasty v otvorenom oceáne sú ako moderná morská príšera: žiadna hlava, žiadne ramená, žiadne nohy, len nekonečné telo. Vyčistenie oceánu je takmer nemožné. Myslíme si však, že zdroje využijeme lepšie, ak sa budeme učiť z našich zlozvykov a klásť si otázky o povahe plastu – a schopnostiach prírody.

Zdvíhame kotvy.

Ako Dennis Hopper vo filme Absolvent, aj ja som nedávno ukončil štúdium ma vysokej škole. Toto leto vyučujem plavbu na plachetnici v Newporte na Rhode Island. Každý deň plachtím v zálive Narragansett Bay a vidím, ako naokolo plávajú plastové tašky, kanistre na mlieko a fľaše. Zdá sa mi, že si to nikto nevšíma. A musím priznať, ani ja som si to predtým nevšímal. Až keď som bol konfrontovaný s tým, kam plasty odchádzajú, som si uvedomil rozsah tohto environmentálneho problému, ktorý spočíva na našich pleciach, v našich oceánoch.

Takže ohľadne plastov. Počúvate ma? Mám pre vás len jedno slovo. Jedno slovo.

Recyklujte.

Tyson Bottenus,

dobrovoľník expedície „Plasty v mori 2010“

Date Set for Dive Clean Up in Thailand

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 10:45:47 GMT

Photo from stock.xchng

On the 20^th and 21^st of August we’re off to the Phi Phi Islands in Thailand. Together with the Blue View Divers we’ll do a dive clean up and gather plastic debris that has gotten stuck in coral reefs.

The Blue View Divers group was formed in 2006, and has since been involved in a number of environmental projects. A long term goal for the group is to educate more locals about preserving and protecting the coral reefs in the waters where they dive.

5 Gyres: Crossing the Gyres

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 10:45:24 GMT

In January 2010, the 5 Gyres team crossed the North Atlantic Gyre - also called the Sargasso Sea, aboard our partner Pangaea Exploration's 72-foot, steel hulled Sea Dragon. We sailed through mats of Sargassum filled with plastic trash, and found plastic particles in every one of our surface samples. On the Islands – Bermuda and the Azores – we found beaches awash in plastic trash. With few resources to deal with waste recovery and disposal, islands are in great need of innovative solutions.

Shortly after, we were invited to cross the Indian Ocean Gyre, from Perth Australia to Mauritius, off the coast of Madagascar. Again, not a single one of our samples were free of plastic – shredded plastic packaging, bottle caps, ice cream containers, and plastic pellets served to remind us of where this problem begins – in our own backyards.

We’re now planning 8 expeditions to the South Atlantic and Pacific Gyres, completing our global survey. We invite scientists, journalists, filmmakers, and interested citizens on board, to experience this issue directly, and serve as global ambassadors when they return. Our goal is to bring plastic marine pollution to an International audience, and encourage companies, governments, and citizens to get involved in realistic solutions. We applaud Electrolux for helping to raise awareness, and look forward to supporting one another’s efforts. For more information, visit 5gyres.org

Previous Posts:
5 Gyres: plastic in the world's oceans
Mainly Blue and White Plastic on Hawaiian Beaches
Understanding the nature of the Plastic Accumulation
Collecting debris from the Pacific Ocean
Swedish news channel raises the plastic debris issue
What is Plastic
Plastiki just arrived in Sydney
Sustainable Futures - Can design make a difference?
Creating Art out of Plastic Debris
Recycling Plastic - a challenge
Date Set for Hawaii
At the Design Studio
Collecting Debris in Skagerrak, the North Sea
Fragile Coast
Making the Vacs
Collecting plastic in South of France
What is the Pacific Garbage Patch?
Plastic recycling
Welcome to Vac from the Sea

5 Gyres: plastic in the world’s oceans

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 10:43:53 GMT

Many have by now heard about plastic in the North Pacific Gyre, a massive, slow-rotating oceanic system formed by opposing currents, winds, and the earth’s rotation. Plastic trash from land – the water bottles, bags, toys, cups, packaging, and other disposable objects we use and toss daily – make their way out to sea through rivers, storm drains, and our own carelessness. Swept up into the currents of the gyre, these durable petroleum products can travel thousands of miles, ensnaring untold thousands of marine animals, fouling remote beaches, and breaking into microscopic fragments that enter the marine food web.

But what few people realize is that the problem expands far beyond the North Pacific. There are in fact 5 subtropical gyres where plastic trash may accumulate – The North and South Pacific, North and South Atlantic, and the Indian Ocean. The 5 Gyres Project has now been to three of the five, and found “garbage patches” throughout.

Over the past 5 years, we’ve crossed the North Pacific Gyre 3 times with the Algalita Marine Research Foundation, including once on a JUNK raft built from 15,000 plastic bottles.

With Algalita, we saw a rapid increase in the amount of plastic floating on the oceans surface, and new evidence of plastic in the stomachs of fish. This image below of a Rainbow Runner, caught by our JUNK sailors 500 miles off the coast of Hawaii, illustrates the potential human health issue – 17 pieces of plastic in the stomach of a single fish.

This prompted the launch of 5 Gyres, to study plastic pollution at a global level, and begin investigating some of the unanswered questions. Namely - what is the global distribution of plastic waste? And do toxins from plastic accumulate in the tissues of animals, including the fish we eat?

Tomorrow we’ll write more about what we’ve seen on our expeditions and conclusions we’ve made. We’ll also tell you about our future plans.

Previous Posts:
Mainly Blue and White Plastic on Hawaiian Beaches
Understanding the nature of the Plastic Accumulation
Collecting debris from the Pacific Ocean
Swedish news channel raises the plastic debris issue
What is Plastic
Plastiki just arrived in Sydney
Sustainable Futures - Can design make a difference?
Creating Art out of Plastic Debris
Recycling Plastic - a challenge
Date Set for Hawaii
At the Design Studio
Collecting Debris in Skagerrak, the North Sea
Fragile Coast
Making the Vacs
Collecting plastic in South of France
What is the Pacific Garbage Patch?
Plastic recycling
Welcome to Vac from the Sea

Mainly Blue and White plastic on Hawaiian Beaches

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 10:43:27 GMT

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Suzanne Frazer from B.E.A.C.H. talks about the different pieces of plastic that get washed ashore on Hawaii. To watch the clip, click on the image above.

Previous Posts:
Understanding the nature of the Plastic Accumulation Collecting debris from the Pacific Ocean
Swedish news channel raises the plastic debris issue
What is Plastic
Plastiki just arrived in Sydney
Sustainable Futures - Can design make a difference?
Creating Art out of Plastic Debris
Recycling Plastic - a challenge
Date Set for Hawaii
At the Design Studio
Collecting Debris in Skagerrak, the North Sea
Fragile Coast
Making the Vacs
Collecting plastic in South of France
What is the Pacific Garbage Patch?
Plastic recycling
Welcome to Vac from the Sea

Understanding the nature of the Plastic Accumulation

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 10:43:01 GMT

Since the mid 70's SEA Education Association has been sampling plastics from the North Atlantic, the 10th of June they set sailed again. SEA is an educational institution dedicated to exploration, understanding and stewardship of the oceans, and to the study of humanity's relationship with the oceans.

During the 34 days at sea they traveled over 3800 nautical miles and gathered more than 48 000 pieces of plastic. The plastic samples are now taken back to their lab to be analyzed, and the results will give us further understanding about the plastic patches in the oceans.

To watch SEA's clip from the last day of the expedition click on the play-button above.

Previous Posts:
Collecting debris from the Pacific Ocean
Swedish news channel raises the plastic debris issue
What is Plastic
Plastiki just arrived in Sydney
Sustainable Futures - Can design make a difference?
Creating Art out of Plastic Debris
Recycling Plastic - a challenge
Date Set for Hawaii
At the Design Studio
Collecting Debris in Skagerrak, the North Sea
Fragile Coast
Making the Vacs
Collecting plastic in South of France
What is the Pacific Garbage Patch?
Plastic recycling
Welcome to Vac from the Sea

Collecting debris from the Pacific Ocean

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 10:39:51 GMT

Photo by Thomas Engström

This weekend we joined B.E.A.C.H. and local volunteers on Hawaii to collect debris from the Pacific Ocean. These are the first images from the expedition, which was set north of Honolulu and took of about 5:30 in the morning to avoid the strong heat from the mid day sun. More pictures and film to come.

Photo by Thomas Engström

Previous Posts:
Swedish news channel raises the plastic debris issue
What is Plastic
Plastiki just arrived in Sydney
Sustainable Futures - Can design make a difference?
Creating Art out of Plastic Debris
Recycling Plastic - a challenge
Date Set for Hawaii
At the Design Studio
Collecting Debris in Skagerrak, the North Sea
Fragile Coast
Making the Vacs
Collecting plastic in South of France
What is the Pacific Garbage Patch?
Plastic recycling
Welcome to Vac from the Sea

Swedish news channel raises the plastic debris issue

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 10:39:25 GMT

Swedish news channel Tv4 Väst showed a three minute long feature on collecting plastic litter in Sotenäs in the Swedish archipelago. Per-Joel Andersson, leader for the team in Sotenäs, pointed out the problem with the small parts of degraded plastic littering the archipelago.

- If you take a closer look on the beach there are small parts that we can’t take care of. What to do with these, I don’t know, Per-Joel said showing a handful of plastic litter.

Collecting the plastic litter for Vac from the Sea, Cecilia Nord, Vice President, Floor Care Environmental and Sustainability Affairs, at Electrolux, talked about the importance of taking the plastic debris issue seriously.

- The usage of plastic is increasing each year, if we can’t create sustainable systems for taking care of and recycle plastic, the debris problem will become unmanageable, said Cecilia Nord.

Se the whole clip here:
Skräp blir dammsugare

Previous Posts:
What is Plastic
Plastiki just arrived in Sydney
Sustainable Futures - Can design make a difference?
Creating Art out of Plastic Debris
Recycling Plastic - a challenge
Date Set for Hawaii
At the Design Studio
Collecting Debris in Skagerrak, the North Sea
Fragile Coast
Making the Vacs
Collecting plastic in South of France
What is the Pacific Garbage Patch?
Plastic recycling
Welcome to Vac from the Sea

What is plastic?

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 10:38:52 GMT

Photo from stock.xchng

PLASTIC(S) from the latin word plasticus, (“plastic”, “malleable”), is a synthetic material made from one or more polymers combined with a variety of additives. Polymers are natural or synthetic substances that are formed of chain molecules. Polymers are what give plastics its special characteristics. All plastic are malleable at some point during the manufacturing process.

There are two main types of plastic – Thermosetting plastics and Thermoplastics. Thermosetting plastics do not melt when heated. Instead they turn to ash and therefore cannot be used to make new objects. Thermoplastics, on the other hand, softens when heated and can be reshaped and therefore used to make new objects. Here are some of the most common plastics, and plastic varieties that have been important in the history of plastics.

Celluoid. The first plastic. Semi synthetic, based on cellulose (the material that cell walls in plants are made of).

Bakelite. Thermosetting plastic. Hard and dark. The first synthetic plastic.

Carbamide plastics. Thermosetting plastic. Slightly grainy surface. The first plastic suitable for household goods.

Melamine plastic. Thermosetting plastic. Smooth surface. Hard and resistant to light and heat.

Polystyrene. Thermoplastic. Hard but fragile. One the first thermoplastics. Later improved – heat resistant and robust.

Polyethylene. Thermoplastic. Waxy surface. Very common in household goods.

PVC. Thermoplastic. PVC means Polyvinyl chloride. Used in, for example, rain coats and toys.

Nylon. Thermoplastic. A synthetic polyamide fiber that can be used for textiles and other items.

Previous Posts:
Plastiki just arrived in Sydney
Sustainable Futures - Can design make a difference?
Creating Art out of Plastic Debris
Recycling Plastic - a challenge
Date Set for Hawaii
At the Design Studio
Collecting Debris in Skagerrak, the North Sea
Fragile Coast
Making the Vacs
Collecting plastic in South of France
What is the Pacific Garbage Patch?
Plastic recycling
Welcome to Vac from the Sea

Plastiki just arrived in Sydney

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 10:38:29 GMT

Photo from Plastiki website

After 130 days at sea Plastiki, the catamaran made out of 12 500 plastic bottles, just arrived in Sydney. The voyage started in San Francisco the 22 of march and in total the catamaran have traveled 8393 nautical miles. The aim with the project is to raise awareness of the over usage of plastic bottles and to make people re-think waste as a resource. Everyday you’ve been able to track not only Plastiki itself, but also how many plastic bottles that have been used in USA since the departure.

Previous Posts:
Sustainable Futures - Can design make a difference?
Creating Art out of Plastic Debris
Recycling Plastic - a challenge
Date Set for Hawaii
At the Design Studio
Collecting Debris in Skagerrak, the North Sea
Fragile Coast
Making the Vacs
Collecting plastic in South of France
What is the Pacific Garbage Patch?
Plastic recycling
Welcome to Vac from the Sea

Sustainable Futures - Can design make a difference?

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 10:38:07 GMT

Both Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter and environmental site Treehugger writes about the exhibition Sustainable Futures at the Design Museum in London. The exhibition is opened until the 5th September and is set out to answer the question; Can design make a difference?

Sustainability and design is explored around five themes: Cities, Energy and Economics, Food, Materiality and Creative Citizens. Under each theme the exhibition shows different ongoing projects that in somehow are aiming to get the visitor to think about the impact one makes on the world, and how to change it.

One of the projects shown is Plastiki, the catamaran made out of 12 500 recycled plastic bottles that just arrived in Sidney after 126 days at sea. Plastiki is a project aiming to raise awareness about re-thinking waste as a resource, and with smart design decrease our impact on the environment.

Previous Posts:
Creating Art out of Plastic Debris
Recycling Plastic - a challenge
Date Set for Hawaii
At the Design Studio
Collecting Debris in Skagerrak, the North Sea
Fragile Coast
Making the Vacs
Collecting plastic in South of France
What is the Pacific Garbage Patch?
Plastic recycling
Welcome to Vac from the Sea

Creating Art out of Plastic Debris

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 10:37:40 GMT

If you look around, there are many creative and artistic ways to approach recycling. One we came across is artist Steve McPherson. For over 15 years Steve has been collecting objects from beaches of the North Kent Coast of the UK, and turning them into pieces of art. It started when he was a teenager running around the beaches with his friends looking for objects to burn. But as he grew older he started collecting pieces turning them in to art and to use in his diaries and journals.

In his most recent work, Steve combines found objects from his local coast, with a summary text that gives the object a potential identity and history. He sees the fact that the objects are lost and then found, fills them with a story and an interconnectedness. But he likes the fact that he doesn’t know the truth to why they are lost.

- The truth of these objects now becomes a matter for questioning and is itself filled with countless possible beautiful alternatives, Steve says.

The environmental issue is a big one for Steve. He is aware of that the mark he makes on the actual environment, by cleaning the beaches, is small compared to the actual problem. But the art is his way of raising awareness to the problem.

- Plastic pollution is a growing problem not a diminishing one, and we have yet to begin to understand its true impact or the long term cost to the environment and ourselves.

Steve’s art is not only a way to remind us that there’s more than one way to recycle, but he also reminds us that we’re all connected through the sea. He talks about the sea's way of being local and global at the same time.

- When someone throws something overboard on the coast of the USA it may end up in the Azores or Portugal or on the West coast of the UK. Connecting me, the finder, who is local, with the sea that brought it and the person who discarded it, which are or may be global. The world oceans are vast yet finite; they have no borders.

More info about Steve:
Steve McPherson
Steve McPherson - News and Events
MarinePlastic.org

Previous Posts:
Recycling Plastic - a challenge
Date Set for Hawaii
At the Design Studio
Collecting Debris in Skagerrak, the North Sea
Fragile Coast
Making the Vacs
Collecting plastic in South of France
What is the Pacific Garbage Patch?
Plastic recycling
Welcome to Vac from the Sea

Recycling plastics – a challenge

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 10:37:18 GMT

Computers, refrigerators and vacuum cleaners all have one thing in common. When they are no longer functional it is often less expensive to throw them away rather than repair them. Every year millions of tons of plastics-rich waste are generated. Most of these mixed plastics are difficult to recycle and reuse due to the fact that it is hard to identify and separate the different plastics from each other.

Electrolux is working together with MBA Polymers that has developed a process where it is possible to economically recover distinct types and even grades of plastics from mixed plastics-rich waste. The mixed plastic is first separated from non-plastics and then sorted by type and grade using a fully automated process that converts the material to high value new materials.

Previous Posts:
Date Set for Hawaii
At the Design Studio
Collecting Debris in Skagerrak, the North Sea
Fragile Coast
Making the Vacs
Collecting plastic in South of France
What is the Pacific Garbage Patch?
Plastic recycling
Welcome to Vac from the Sea

Date Set for Hawaii

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 10:34:57 GMT

Things are moving forward! On July 25th we'll team up with organization B.E.A.C.H. on Hawaii and head for Kahuku beach North of Honolulu. Here, plastic debris from the Pacific Ocean continuously gets carried to the beach by the waves. Suzanne Frazer at B.E.A.C.H. describes it as "if the ocean is throwing up to get the debris out of its system". From tiny grains to larger items - the cocktail of plastic debris in the water is complex. More info and documentation to come.

Previous Posts:
At the Design Studio
Collecting Debris in Skagerrak, the North Sea
Fragile Coast
Making the Vacs
Collecting plastic in South of France
What is the Pacific Garbage Patch?
Plastic recycling
Welcome to Vac from the Sea

At the Design Studio

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 10:32:41 GMT

The first collected plastic is starting to arrive at the Electrolux design studio. Soon a first prototype will be made to test how the sea plastic behaves when it is molded into a finished vacuum cleaner.

The challenges are many;

Which parts can be made with plastic from the sea?

How do you solve the problem with casting together different types of plastic?

And what will the final vacs look like with plastic from different oceans?

It is an exciting work.

Previous Posts:
Collecting Debris in Skagerrak, the North Sea
Fragile Coast
Making the Vacs
Collecting plastic in South of France
What is the Pacific Garbage Patch?
Plastic recycling
Welcome to Vac from the Sea

Collecting Debris in Skagerrak, the North Sea

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 10:32:14 GMT

The plastic is hidden in the grass among seaweed and driftwood. Sometimes you have to dig deep in the sand to release fishing nets and long plastic ropes. Sometimes it feels like the sand dunes hide more plastic than we can ever remove.

The rocks are slippery and the terrain is difficult to cross with your hands full. The operation to load the heavy sacks into the boat takes a long time.

A day's work results in a huge pile of plastic, collected from just a few square meters of coastline. It is a good day's work, but cleaning up the whole coast is close to a sisyphean task.

Back in the harbor after a whole day at just one narrow cove of the Bohuslän archipelago. A great amount of plastic debris, nearly 40 sacks, has been loaded from the boat. One of the sacks is now on its way to the Electrolux design studio. The first Vac from the Sea is soon to be created.

Previous Posts:
Fragile Coast
Making the Vacs
Collecting plastic in South of France
What is the Pacific Garbage Patch?
Plastic recycling
Welcome to Vac from the Sea

Fragile coast

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 10:31:44 GMT

Debris in the Bohuslän archipelago

As we reported before, we have collected plastic on the West Coast of Sweden, outside of Bohuslän. The plastic is now on its way to the Electrolux design studio.

No other coastline in Sweden is so severely impacted by sea debris than that of Bohuslän. This specific coast, due to its geographical location, is exposed to the complex system of currents that runs through the North Sea and Skagerrak. Practically all surface waters in the North Sea sooner or later meet the Bohuslän coast, including the Jutland current.

About 20 000 tonnes of garbage is dumped in the North Sea every year. The Bohuslän archipelago, with its thousands of islands and reefs, acts as a filter for the water masses on their way North. Most of the debris sinks to the sea floor, and around 5000 cubic meters of debris floats ashore on the beaches of Bohuslän.

Most of the debris that reaches the country consists of plastic products such as fish boxes, fishing gear and plastic bottles. Before, man-made products such as fishing gear and ropes which were washed up decomposed after some years on the beaches, but when plastic was introduced to society after World War II, the piles of debris have grown on the beaches and become one of the biggest problems in the marine environment.

Source: ”Strandskräp i Bohuslän en internationell miljöfråga” by Roland Olin, Västkuststiftelsen (West Coast Foundation)

Previous Posts:
Making the Vacs
Collecting plastic in South of France
What is the Pacific Garbage Patch?
Plastic recycling
Welcome to Vac from the Sea

Making the Vacs

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 10:31:03 GMT

A sketch by the design team of what the vacs might look like.

Here is a short update for you. We are now starting to get the first batches of plastic and are in the middle of preparations to collect on Hawaii together with B.E.A.C.H. In the coming days we will be posting more documentation.

The people in our modeling studio are ready to face the obvious challenges of making functioning vacs out of the collected debris. Discovery News correctly points out some of the things to consider. The size of the plastic material will vary – from microscopic grains to identifiable items. Separating and classifying the different kind of plastic will be a challenge. We hope to be able to share this as we get further into this endeavor.

But, as they say: if you don’t succeed at first, try, try again.

Previous Posts:
Collecting plastic in South of France
What is the Pacific Garbage Patch?
Plastic recycling
Welcome to Vac from the Sea

Collecting plastic in the South of France

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 10:29:49 GMT

Electrolux employees team up with the Surfrider Foundation to collect plastic debris for the Vac from the Sea-project. Where? The beaches and piers of les Leques at St Cyr-sur-Mer, in the South of France.

Plastic litter is a well known problem along the Mediterranean coasts. Sometimes the debris lays visible on the beach. Sometimes it is hidden from the human eye, between the stones or under the sand.

The plastic is shoveled into garbage bags. Some of it will be used to produce the vacuum cleaner from the sea.

Plastics can be wedged in between rocks and stones for years, because of the slow degradation process.

Some of the found debris has been flushed out from the beaches. Other debris has been dumped directly into the sea from boats.

The wrong thing in the wrong place.

Some debris is difficult to reach.

A full day's work results in many garbage bags.

Mission accomplished. The collected plastic is ready to be sent to the Electrolux design studio to finally become a Vac from the Sea.

Previous Posts:
What is the Pacific Garbage Patch?
Plastic recycling
Welcome to Vac from the Sea

What is the Pacific Garbage Patch?

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 10:29:20 GMT

Image via Wikimedia.

Jaymi Heimbuch of Planet Green works to improve the environmental status of our planet. She was one of the first people to write about Vac from the Sea on Treehugger. Here, she tells us about the Pacific Garbage Patch, and what we can do about it:

What is the Pacific Garbage Patch? Simply put, it's a swirling mass of plastic in the middle of the Pacific Ocean that is big enough to qualify as the planet's largest landfill. That's a huge amount of marine litter, and a huge problem. Learn everything about the Pacific Garbage Patch, from its impact on ocean life, to how that plastic is ending up back on our dinner plates, to what our options are for fixing the problem over on Planet Green.

Jaymi Heimbuch
Follow Jaymi on Twitter.

Previous Posts:
Plastic recycling
Welcome to Vac from the Sea