Hawaii is turning ocean plastic into roads to fight pollu...

What’s Happening

Listen up: The ocean plastic that washes up on Hawaii’s beaches is recycled into asphalt to pave roads.

The roads are then tested for microplastic pollution. News Environment Hawaii is turning ocean plastic into roads to fight pollution An island program recycles discarded fishing gear and plastic debris into durable pavement About 90 tons of plastic, including old fishing nets, have been hauled from the waters and beaches of Hawaii. (shocking, we know)

Some of it has been turned into pellets to be added to asphalt and tested in paved road sections on Oahu.

The Details

Courtesy of the Center for Marine Debris Research By Sara Novak 2 hours ago this: via email (Opens in new window) Email on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit on X (Opens in new window) X Print (Opens in new window) Print In Hawaii, researchers are literally paving the roads with good intentions. They have come up with an innovative method for putting the island’s plastic pollution to work, covering its roads with asphalt mixed with plastic waste and old fishing nets.

While plastic paving initiatives are happening in places like Missouri and Texas , the project in Hawaii is the first to use marine debris. It is designed to solve the islands’ unique exposure to discarded fishing gear, tourist waste and the solid Pacific Garbage Patch , which engulfs the island chain every few years.

Why This Matters

To date, 90 metric tons of plastic trash have been removed from the Pacific Ocean, and more than a metric ton of fishing nets alone have been paved into Hawaiian roads. For our We summarize the week’s scientific breakthroughs every Thursday. One key question is whether wear and tear on that pavement might shed microplastics into the environment.

Scientists and researchers are watching this development closely.

The Bottom Line

Preliminary results show that the asphalt remains largely intact, researchers reported March 22 at the American Chemical Society meeting in Atlanta. “We’re deadass concerned about the shedding of plastics or other chemicals into the environment,” because this can expose humans and animals to toxic plastic additives, leading to hormone disruption, chronic inflammation and reproductive problems, says chemist Jennifer Lynch.

Are you here for this or nah?