A Town Installed Drainage Nets In Its Water Reserve To Mitigate Plastic Waste Issues

Oct 21, 2019

Plastic is a problem. Its durability means that it doesn't break down for ages -- experts estimate that it takes 450 years for a plastic bottle to degrade in a watery environment. Even then, it only breaks down into microscopic fragments. This means that it's never truly gone. Plastic fragments remain in water and even the air we breathe.

It's also deadly for marine wildlife. According to a report from National Geographic, it kills millions of animals every year.

One Australian town noticed that, like the ocean, its water reserve was becoming polluted with plastic. The material moved through spillways and leaked into the surrounding environment. Town leaders knew that they had to do something.

After a lot of planning, they came up with a filtration system that uses giant, sturdy nets on the spillway drain pipes. Water passes through the nets with no problem, but the nets catch trash and plastic.

Of course, that's only one part of the solution. The trash is still there in the nets. Something has to be done with all of it.

The town removes the garbage when the nets get full. The plastic waste then goes to a center where it can be recycled.

They tried this situation in a single location at first. When it was a huge success, they decided to expand. At just two locations, the nets caught around 800 pounds (370 kg) of trash in a matter of weeks according to Metro.

The results were so amazing that the town put them in place throughout the area. Though this system is expensive, in the long run, it's more than worth it.

Do you think this type of filtration system is a good idea? What else do you think we can do to reduce the impact plastic is having on our environment?