New Webpage Highlights 52 Technologies to Fight Plastic Pollution in Our Oceans

Duke University researchers have created a new online resource designed to help local governments, conservation groups, businesses and other stakeholders identify the best technologies to clean up plastic pollution in our oceans or prevent it from getting there in the first place.

The Plastic Pollution Prevention and Collection Technology Inventory includes 52 different technologies, from solar-powered catamarans that use conveyor belts to scoop up floating debris, to underwater bubble tubes that force submerged bits of plastic to the surface where they can more easily be collected.

“No one technology will work in all situations, so we’ve created a directory that allows users to search a comprehensive list of established and emerging technologies and identify the ones that are right for their specific location or need,” said Meagan Dunphy-Daly, a marine scientist at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment.

The new inventory is a joint initiative of the Nicholas School of the Environment and the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions. It stems from an interdisciplinary Bass Connections course.