What can be done about the 5.2 trillion tons of garbage polluting our oceans? Any ideas?

2015-10-24T00:39:59-04:00

http://www.citylab.com/weather/2015/10/the-oceans-foul-plastic-garbage-has-finally-reached-the-arctic/412081/?utm_source=yahoo

A Sixth 'Great Garbage Patch' Appears to Be Forming in the Barents Sea

Researchers say they’ve documented litter on the surface of extreme-northern waters.

Response by CSM Charles Hayden made Oct 24 at 2015 12:42 AM

2015-10-24T00:42:38-04:00

Sgt Kelli Mays Germany has power plants designed and built to generate electricity from trash. The obedient Germans have started to reduce their trash. England now ships trash to Germany to power those plants!

Response by SFC Mark Merino made Oct 24 at 2015 12:49 AM

2015-10-24T00:49:51-04:00

Aren't there some Middle East countries with a lot of room for landfill? What's the worst that can happen; when they dig the pit they strike oil?

Response by PVT Robert Gresham made Oct 24 at 2015 12:54 AM

2015-10-24T00:54:46-04:00

Sgt Kelli Mays As an avid diver, this is a subject that is near and dear to my heart. The first solution is to prevent dumping of waste into coastal waters. Next, there needs to be a concerted effort to clean up these "Garbage Patches" before our sea life is irreversibly affected. The ocean is a living ecosystem which we have been remiss to take care of for decades. There are many species of fish and corals (which feed the smaller fish, and other creatures eaten by fish) that have come to the point of extinction, and man has not yet figured out that the damage that is done to the smallest creatures will inevitably begin to effect the larger ones. Maybe we will figure it out when a can of tuna costs $9.99, and there are no more Jumbo Shrimp, or Sea Bass, in the restaurants.

Response by MSgt Curtis Ellis made Oct 24 at 2015 9:37 AM

2015-10-24T09:37:42-04:00

Sgt Kelli Mays Here's a kid who is on the right track... Hopefully he gets continued backing!

19-Year-Old Develops Ocean Cleanup Array That Could Remove 7,250,000 Tons Of Plastic From the...

19 year old Boyan Slat has designed the Ocean Cleaup Array which could reduce the world’s oceanic garbage patches by removing 7,2500,000 tonnes from them.

Response by LTC Stephen F. made Oct 24 at 2015 11:09 AM

2015-10-24T11:09:48-04:00

Some of the true garbage [spoiled food] is probably being eaten or consumed from everything from plankton and bacteria through sea birds Sgt Kelli Mays.
Plastic bags and other non-degradable products are certainly an issue. There has been success in developing ways to remove oil spills efficiently and relatively inexpensively using bacteria I believe. It would be interesting if a similar process could be developed for eliminating the types of plastic used in plastic bags.

Response by PO3 Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 26 at 2015 7:33 AM

2015-10-26T07:33:56-04:00

Burning it the solution for trash. The only thing we need to pay attention is how to make sure the air is as clean as possible after the burning.