Marine pollution image

Elastec equipment featured in study on selecting devices to capture plastic pollution

Date Published: February 16, 2021

Elastec’s equipment (PermaFence, Brute Bin, and Omni Catamaran) was recently featured in a study on plastic pollution control. The paper, titled “Ridding our rivers of plastic: A framework for plastic pollution capture device selection,” covers the issue of floating marine debris and plastic pollution and selection of devices to capture it.

The PermaFence containment boom is designed for permanent installations and minimum maintenance. The purpose of the Elastec Brute Bin is to capture floatables from stormwater conveyances and outfalls before they reach our waterways. The Elastec Omni Catamaran is a versatile aluminum trash skimmer boat that also offers a variety of waterway maintenance applications.

The following is the abstract for the paper:

“Rivers are a major pathway for the transport of plastics into the ocean. Plastic pollution capture devices offer one way to reduce the accumulation of plastic in the environment. This paper provides a framework for selecting a device to reduce plastic pollution in freshwater, synthesizing information of forty prevailing plastic pollution capture devices. We distinguish three major components of plastic pollution technology (booms, receptacles, and watercraft vehicles) and collect details on each technology including its features, limitations, efficiency, reported costs, and maintenance requirements. A framework is developed to aid in device selection by water and waste managers, which highlights the need for a watershed assessment, an understanding of site conditions, the attainment of community buy-in, and a long-term maintenance plan. While plastic pollution capture devices can help reduce the flux of plastic waste from freshwater, management of plastic waste at the source is also needed to ultimately clean our oceans and waterways.”

You can find the paper by clicking here.