University of Sheffield Proposes Way of Cleaning Harmful Plastic Pollution

Some new groundbreaking research has been going on at the University of Sheffield. Apparently they have been working on a way to clean up harmful plastic pollution from the seas. Not only will this help the environment, but it will keep the world that everyone lives in looking great.

According to this new research, certain marine microbes could be used to break down pollution from plastics and the harmful chemicals that are associated with them. These are the same chemicals that are affecting the oceans of this planet.

The doctor who led the study, Dr Mark Osborn, said that 300 million tonnes of plastic are produced globally each and every year. A significant proportion of this actually makes its way to the marine environment for whatever reason. Their research is revealing the potential for marine microbes to “colonise” plastics and to potentially degrade these key environmental pollutants.

According to Greenpeace, there are some 4,500 particularly harmful pollutants used in manufacturing today. All of these are known as persistent organic pollutants and can end up affecting all of the marine life on Earth. This, in turn, effects people since they live off fish for food that comes from these very oceans.

Although this is a step in the right direction, this research will not solve the world’s problems. Plastics are just one of the many forms of pollutants that affect the seas. Things like sewage, waste tips, industrial run off and oil also find ways into the world’s oceans everyday. Some experts even point out that radioactive disposals are affecting the seas as well. This is impacting the sea life and human life more than what people know.