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Comment on Why don't we just gather up all the ocean's trash and all the nonrecyclables, put them in a rocket, and launch it into the sun?

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themeatbridge@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

First - The major problem with trash isn’t the getting rid of it part, it’s the gathering it up part. If we could do that, it wouldn’t be a problem.

The frustrating part is that this could be the easiest to solve. Require boats to weigh in and out, and account for everything on board. Minus fuel, plus fish, but those old, broken nets and plastic waste need to return to port to be properly disposed of. Throwing even a soda can overboard should result in significant fines.

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bestboyfriendintheworld@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
A lot of ocean trash comes by river from poor countries.

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- yesman@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Ocean trash comes from plastic manufacturers. Responsible wealthy countries ship their dutiful recyclables to garbage pits in poor countries.
  
  Most poor people don’t even have the education or resources to polymerize crude into poly-vinyl, it’s harder than you’d think.
  
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- kent_eh@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  
  A lot of ocean trash comes by river from poor countries.
  
  Also by river from wealthy countries, and has done so for centuries.
  
  The scope of the task of removing it is far bigger than OP can imagine.
  
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  - bestboyfriendintheworld@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    ourworldindata.org/ocean-plastics
    
    Most of the plastic in our oceans comes from land-based sources: by weight, 70% to 80% is plastic that is transported from land to the sea via rivers or coastlines
    
    Most of the world’s largest emitting rivers are in Asia, with some also in East Africa and the Caribbean
    
    Seven of the top ten rivers are in the Philippines. Two are in India, and one in Malaysia. The Pasig River in the Philippines alone accounts for 6.4% of global river plastics
    
    Rich countries tend to have better functioning waste collection and disposal services.
    
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    kent_eh@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    
    Rich countries tend to have better functioning waste collection and disposal services.
    
    These days it is a lot better, but it wasn’t always that way.
    
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xigoi@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
How do you weigh a boat precisely enough to detect a soda can missing?

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- themeatbridge@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Fair question. You’re not going to catch a soda can, but a boat should be a closed system. The thresholds should be as low as is practically enforceable.
  
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