Sand Extraction's Hidden Threat: Microplastics in Our Oceans

🌎The world's oceans are facing an environmental crisis, and it's not just about the sand that's being extracted from the ocean floor. It's about the hidden threat it poses to microplastics.

💡Plastics in the marine environment undergo break and shortening to form micro/nanoparticles, thanks to the mechanical and photochemical processes accelerated by waves and sunlight. Part of synthetics made already in size of microplastics are adding to this problem called primary and the latter called secondary. These microplastics come in various colors and densities, depending on the type of polymers they're made of.

📊Now, consider this: About 54.5% of microplastics floating in the ocean are polyethylene, while 16.5% are polypropylene. The rest includes polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, polyester, and polyamides. Polyethylene and polypropylene, due to their lower density compared to marine water, float and affect the oceanic surfaces while denser particles such as polystyrene, polyamides, and polyesters are with higher density sink, become part of the sediment.

🌊Recently, Marine Sand Watch, an initiative by GRID-Geneva under the UN Environment Programme, revealed that over six billion tonnes of sand are extracted from the world's oceans every year. This activity is causing irreparable damage to benthic life and marine ecosystems. But here's the critical link to microplastics:

🚨Sand extraction, by disturbing the ocean floor, stirs up these microplastics, mixing them with water, and potentially releasing them into the marine environment. These microplastics experienced a lot of changes in size, shape, and surfaces and partly adopted to the ocean floor ecosystem. The consequence of this disruption can have far-reaching consequences for marine life and the overall health of our waters.

🌿At SATOORNIK, we specialize in microplastics separation technology. We understand the intricate web of challenges posed by microplastics, from their presence in the sediments to their potential release into the water column. The extraction of sand threatens to exacerbate this issue, affecting not only marine ecosystems but also the very waters we rely on.

📜As we confront this complex environmental challenge, we stand with the UN Environment Programme in calling for better monitoring of sand extraction's impact on our oceans and marine life. We support the establishment of international standards to ensure responsible sand extraction.