Recycling Marine Plastic into Clothing Apparel via Global Collaborations

According to the United Nations, aquatic pollution affects at least 800 species worldwide, with plastic responsible for up to 80% of the waste. Every minute, up to 13 million metric tonnes of plastic is expected to end up in the ocean, the equivalent of a trash or garbage truck load. Plastic is a design failure; it was never intended to end up in animals' stomachs or at the bottom of the food chain in humans. The fashion industry is a massive contributor to the plastic waste found in the oceans and so it becomes necessary for corporations to take sustainable steps in the direction of reducing Ocean Plastic Pollution. One of the ways to do so would be by recycling ocean plastic into clothes. Our study focuses on analysing global collaborations and suggesting a series of steps for recycling ocean plastic. Keywords: Marine Plastic, Recycling, Supply Chain, Plastic Pollution, Polymers

DETERMINING THE EFFECTS OF POLLUTANTS ON SOME TYPES OF MICRO ALGAE AND MYTILUS GALLOPROVINCIALIS (LAMARCK, 1819)

This study was conducted to determine the effects of aquatic pollutants on aquatic organisms. Izmit Bay, which is polluted both domestically and industrially, was chosen as the study area. Densely populated areas and industry are located around the Izmıt Bay. For this purpose, mussel and micro algae samples were taken from selected stations. In the study, salinity value was measured in the range of 22% - 28%. Water temperature, pH and conductivity varied from 9.20 – 25.01 ℃, 6.81 - 8.3, 30.42 - 45.11 µS/cm, dissolved oxygen values as minimum and maximum 4.62 – 12.61 mg l−1 were determined respectively. In heavy metal analyses Al, Mn, Zn, Cu, Pb, Cr, Ni, Cd and Fe) of seawater were determined in the study. As a result of the study, the highest heavy metal ratio in Mytilus galloprovincialis was determined to be iron. In the study, Oscilatoria sp., Ulnaria sp. and Nitzschia sp. taxa were determined as dominant. These species have high tolerance to aquatic pollution parameters.