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April 25, 2024

Plastic waste: a garbage disposal for the seas

A stormy night in April with gale-force winds and meter-high waves, far off the coast, somewhere between Seattle and San Francisco. Günther Bonin, IT specialist and passionate sailor, was traveling with a friend's boat - not a good season for this tour. "By morning the storm had finally cleared," says Bonin, "everything was calm and peaceful again, gray whales came to meet us, and we sailed through the garbage track of a freighter, nothing fancy actually, there were about ten plastic bags of scraps of food floating around. But this image never left me in. How many thousands of ships dumped their garbage into the sea tonight? I went ashore and started investigating. " That was 2008.

Activist Günther Bonin has had the catamaran built for 600,000 euros.

10 years later ...

... with a glass of champagne in his hand, the tall Munich resident is standing in Hong Kong's "Maritime Museum" in front of about 100 invited guests from business, politics and various environmental organizations. Next to him is host Stefan Mulder, vice president and development director of the personal care brand CD, as well as actress Katja Riemann, face of the label.

Actress Katja Riemann is on board as a CD brand ambassador, the biologist dr. Rüdiger Stöhr belongs to the team at the "Seekuh".

The two men got to know each other when Stefan Mulder was searching for people who would make the world a little better: "Real Heroes", which he presents on the CD homepage. Günther Bonin fascinated him immediately: "He is a maker and simply tackles the problems. He had no public perception. That's why we've tried, as far as we can, to bring it to the public. " Since then, the company has been sponsoring Bonin's project - and helps him find additional supporters he desperately needs

Microplastic in cosmetics

Microplastic particles are mainly used in some scrubs and wash gels. "However, the share of cosmetics in the total volume is low," says Verena Bax from the German Nature Conservation Union (Nabu). Most produce in Germany the abrasion of tires. "Nevertheless, according to recent projections by the Fraunhofer Institute, beauty products yield 1608 tonnes of wastewater per year in the German sewage system, and only a very small proportion of them reach the sea." In order to avoid this, the industry has voluntarily committed itself to rinsing off microplastic particles in Germany to give up their products and give it time until 2020. According to industry association body care and laundry detergent (IKW), the project has been largely implemented.

Natural cosmetics manufacturers or companies like CD have never used plastic particles anyway. But plastic in dissolved, gelatinous and liquid form is in the criticism. This makes for makeup about good opacity. The IKW sees no problem in this, as these compounds were filtered out mainly in sewage treatment plants and were not detected in water. Environmental organizations such as Nabu and Greenpeace are calling for stricter regulatory requirements, as the ingredients are difficult to degrade and there are no long-term studies on their effects in water bodies. The Federal Environment Agency also recommends that cosmetics should contain as little difficult to digest substances as possible.

Soon more plastic waste than fish?

How threatening the pollution of the oceans, Günther Bonin already recognized in 2008, during his first research. And the process continues: over 300 million tons of plastic are produced worldwide each year, up to 13 million of which land in the sea, where wind, waves, salt water and sun break it up into ever smaller pieces eaten by fish and seabirds or their own Boys are fed. Many animals starve to death, their belly bulging with the garbage. Even so-called microplastics, particles less than five millimeters in diameter, pick them up because they confuse it with plankton and filter it out of the water.

In the end, it can end up on our plates - including the plasticizers and all kinds of toxins that attract plastic like a magnet. Most garbage is taken from cities across rivers into seas. Recycling rates have been low everywhere, even in the European Union only about 30 percent. "If we do not change the way we make and use plastics, will more plastic float in our oceans in 2050 than fish?" Warned Frans Timmermans, First Vice President of the European Commission.

The "sea cow": A plastic garbage-fishing catamaran

Finally, in 2011, Günther Bonin founded the association "One Earth - One Ocean", whizzed his IT company, looked for sponsors and put together a team of marine biologists and ship designers, who developed the prototype for a plastic fishing catamaran for 600,000 euros: the "manatee ". With her, Bonin wants to get plastic from the sea before it sinks microfine to the ground, sorting it and recycling it.

The "manatee" can use their net to scrape off plastic and other garbage up to four meters deep.

The "manatee" ran from the Lübeck shipyard in 2016 to gain initial experience on the Baltic Sea. While the San Francisco-tested project "The Ocean Cleanup" by young Dutchman Boyan Slat picks up the garbage by using a 600-meter-long floating tube with a kind of curtain hanging in the water, a net is stretched between the two hulls of the "manatee", The plastic can fish to a depth of four meters. She drives only at walking pace, so that fish can avoid. Since by far the largest plastic waste hotspot is located in Asia, it was shipped to Hong Kong and is intended to promote a whole "manatee" fleet in the particularly dirty port cities.

On board is the biologist dr. Rüdiger Stöhr, one of the employees of the association. He studies microplastics from all over the world and is regularly supplied with water samples from well-defined routes by a shipping company. Although he wants to give concrete figures only after further analysis, but he already sees an alarming increase in the small particles in the water. "With plastic, a new quality has come into the world, a material that practically does not degrade," explains Stöhr.

Beaches free from plastic waste with "Beach Clean Up"

Mimi Law at the "Beach Clean Up" on Lantau, the largest Hong Kong island.

The waves splash on the fine sands of Lantau Bay, the largest of the 263 Hong Kong islands. A path leads along the sea. Actually an idyllic place, if it were not for the Flutsaum. Shell shells and empty snail shells lie here, drinking-nibbled straws, lighters, fishing lines, ice buckets, water bottles, torn-up ketchup bags, syringes and plastic fragments in all colors and sizes.

Dana Winograd of "Plastic Free Seas" organized the cleaning up.

About 20 women and men have met on the beach for "Beach Clean Up", organized by the organization "Plastic Free Seas". They come here regularly to collect garbage, at least once a month, more often if needed. Günther Bonin met some of them at the reception, so he came with the "manatee" to help. Networking is part of his daily business. In addition, the local press is there - good deeds need advertising.

Why so much plastic waste ends up in the sea, especially in China

Dana Winograd, Director Operations of the charity organization distributes sacks and cotton gloves. On normal days the group fills up to 100 bags, after the last typhoon it was over 900.

Plastic fishing lines end up as rubbish on the beach.

But picking up alone is not enough, says Dana, as new plastic is added every day. Now she organizes donation campaigns to offer flyers and information courses. Her colleague Mimi Law now gives schoolchildren in Cantonese a more environmentally friendly way of dealing with plastic. Why is so much plastic in the sea landing in China? "We have a disposable lifestyle," says Mimi. "Everyone in Hong Kong is working very long and long, drinking tea to go, buying packaged fast food and plastic lunchboxes without thinking about it."

Even tourism has its share - and Southeast Asia so far no functioning waste management. Many people are very poor and have other worries. Günther Bonin is convinced: "If we give people money to collect plastic waste, the problem will soon be solved - we finally need a market for garbage."

The maritime garbage disposal has great future potential

In some places that works, in Cambodia, for example, there is a recycling plant that pays for collected and pre-sorted plastic. After all, it is a valuable material. Günther Bonin's vision: Remote-controlled catamarans, similar to his "manatee", are designed to clean the coastlines using wind and solar energy. If the nets are full, they are closed and provided with buoys and Retrievers. Their position is transferred to the "Seefarmer", a converted fishing boat, which collects the full nets and brings them to the recycling ship, the "sea elephant".

The "Seekuh" and other projects are therefore supported by CD and presented under "Real Heroes" on www.cd-koerperpflege.de/das- pure-life. CD has its own "purity requirement", dispenses with plastic particles and with new products on liquid plastic.

There, the cargo is then sorted and processed to sulfur-free fuel oil. "This is an economic niche, the maritime garbage collection can become a billion dollar market," says Bonin."Ten years ago, people still laughed at me, I did not care, I always knew the subject would come." However, to build more ships and convince governments, the club needs much, much more resources. "But raising money," says Günther Bonin with a laugh, "I can do that."