A state funded program to rid Alaska’s coastline of marine
debris will have removed an anticipated 160,000 to 200,000 pounds of debris
this year, but the problem now is what to do with thousands of pounds more to
come.
Dave Gaudet, director of the Alaska Marine Stewardship
Foundation in Juneau, says AMSF has hit a sag, in that the Washington State
recycling firm that AMSF has worked with for years is not taking new shipments,
due to poor markets for the materials. AMSF is begun engaging in a pilot
program with a Canadian recycling firm, one that Gaudet said he hopes will
provide a long-term solution to disposing of plastic marine debris.
These projects are funded through the state‘s Department of
Commerce, Community and Economic Development’s Community Impact Assessment
Program.
The problem AMSF is running into is what to do with the
thousands of pounds of debris collected and bagged. Skagit River Steel and
Recycling, the Washington state recycling firm that AMSF has been working with
for many years is not currently accepting shipments, due to poor markets for
the material.
AMSF is now engaged in a pilot program with Plastic Shores, a
Vancouver, British Columbia recycling firm, which Gaudet said he hopes will
provide a long-term solution to the problem of disposing of plastic marine
debris. Gaudet said Plastic Shores is trying to establish a program to melt
down the plastics and get plastic users to reuse this product. AMSF ships the
plastic to Seattle, where it is then transported by Plastic Shores to
Vancouver. “We are just happy to get it out of Alaska and not put it into a
landfill,” he said.
Reports of debris from the March 2011 Japanese tsunami have
generally decreased. However, at one cleanup at Cape Suckling, on Prince
William Sound, the contractor reported a large influx of debris following the
storms the week of Oct. 21.
The contractor reported a large amount of what appeared to
be household items with Japanese writing on them appearing on the beach that
had just been cleared of approximately 55,000 pounds of marine debris.
Meanwhile at Nelson Lagoon, another 80,000 pounds of marine
debris – mostly line and buoys and nets – is bagged up, but a recycling
location has not yet been identified.
More information on the program is at www.Alaskamsf.org
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