Littertrackers: where does our litter end up?
We’ve often heard that in a small windy island like ours, litter is likely to end up in the sea no matter where it first hits the ground. In the case of plastics, that has serious implications. It means our litter may well be contributing to the global problem of plastic pollution in our oceans, which is killing sea life and threatening our very existence as planet. One more good reason not to litter!
The statistics are shocking. Worldwide, billions of kilos of disgarded plastic can be found in swirling convergences in the oceans, making up about 40 percent of the world’s ocean surfaces. For every foot of coastline in the world, the equivalent of 5 grocery bags filled with plastic ends up in our oceans each year. By 2050, it is estimated that there will be more plastic in the oceans than fish.
IBAL is partnering with Cork-based telematics company MotionMetrics with a view to uncovering – for the first time, we believe – where exactly our litter goes when it is dropped. Using GPS trackers (‘littertrackers’) kindly supplied by MotionMetrics, we can see, on-screen and in real-time, the journey that an item of a litter takes – over a period of up to 3 years.
We’ll keep you updated on how the project progresses, so watch this space!