Since its first invention in the 1900s, plastic has taken over the world – a flourishing industry with 380 million tonnes of production every year and a chaotic polluter with 10 million tonnes dumped into the oceans every year. The advancement of society has led to plastic being a daily component of life and has thrust itself into the global marine ecosystems. These masses of macro and microplastic have caused irrevocable threats to marine life.
Following Einstein’s words “we cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them”, artificial intelligence (AI) is now being used to map and remove plastic and other litter from the oceans. Apps like CleanSwell, Marine Debris Tracker, and Marine LitterWatch encourage people to engage in community clean-ups and record items found which contribute to a larger global database. These data give scientists, conservationists, and policymakers insight to make informed decisions and come up with sustainable solutions to protect coastal areas.
Though mapping, data collection, and using machine learning to process such data can be expensive and time-consuming, knowing the extent of damage is important for change, for action. Engaging people through initiatives like these bridges the gap between scientific knowledge catered for marine conservation and public interest towards conservation.
New mechanisms like The Ocean Cleanup, Ellipsis, and Interceptor use AI to remove garbage from the ocean and prevent accumulation via rivers. The Ocean Cleanup functions with natural oceanic forces – wind, wave, and current – and a sea anchor to catch the plastic from the gyres, which are then periodically removed by a vessel. They then merchandise products made out of marine plastic, proceeds of which fund the continuation of the programme. Interceptor, another initiative by The Ocean Cleanup, focuses on river plastic waste. The plastic flowing down a river is directed towards the Interceptor, which is then collected by a conveyor belt and dumped equally across six dumpsters. It employs a sensor to inform local operators to collect garbage once it is filled. Ellipsis uses the drone system to give a different perspective plaguing the beaches, oceans, and rivers across the globe. Their custom machine learning can identify plastic with 93% accuracy and uses geospatial mapping to update their data library. They work with governments, non-profits, and corporations to spread awareness and educate while seeking solutions.
AI companies actively involve themselves through projects of their own (Siemens Corporate Technology) or collaborate with conservancies (Microsoft with Sustainable Coastlines) to impact the clean-up efforts while creating accurate data. Being a part of the second most polluted ocean (Eriksen et al., 2014), these avenues should be explored as a collective effort by the states, corporations, and organisations. While it is impossible to revert years of damage, it is high time to take action towards progress and mitigate future possible repercussions.
(This article is written by Jayomi Marasinghe who is a volunteer with The Pearl Protectors)
IG: @pearlprotectors
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Sources:
Eriksen M., Lebreton L.C.M., Carson H.S., Thiel M., Moore C.J., et al. (2014) Plastic Pollution in the World’s Oceans: More than 5 Trillion Plastic Pieces Weighing over 250,000 Tons Afloat at Sea. PLOS ONE 9(12): e111913.Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0111913
https://theoceancleanup.com/
https://marinelitterwatch.discomap.eea.europa.eu/
https://oceanconservancy.org/trash-free-seas/international-coastal-cleanup/cleanswell/
https://www.ellipsis.earth/identify
https://news.microsoft.com/apac/features/artificial-intelligence-takes-on-ocean-trash-cleaning-up-the-worlds-beaches-with-the-help-of-data/
https://new.siemens.com/global/en/company/stories/research-technologies/open-innovation/innovations-waste-in-oceans.html
LKI (2020). Available at: https://lki.lk/blog/marine-plastic-pollution-opportunities-for-sri-lanka/
Orion Market Research (2019). Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Environmental Protection Market: Overcoming the challenges of global warming and resolving environmental concerns. Retrieved from https://www.omrglobal.com/