Trash Headed for Oceans Blocked by the Ocean Cleanup Project's 'Trash Interceptor 007'

Heavy rainfall "has left the Los Angeles' streets unusually clean," writes an editor at the Los Angeles Times. "But I can't help wondering where it all went... Does it all end up in the ocean?"To answer that question, I turned to the experts at L.A. County Public Works, who oversee storm drains and waterways across the region. The good news is that there are a number of ways that trash is caught before it reaches the open sea. All manner of filters and screens and basins - and something called the Trash Interceptor 007 (I am not making this up) installed last fall at Ballona Creek - are employed to collect many thousands of tons of litter before they end up bobbing around the Pacific Ocean, releasing toxins and being mistaken for food by marine animals. Trash Interceptor 007 is a sleek solar-powered boat from The Ocean Cleanup project. Last weekend it caught 11.6 tons of plastic, garbage and debris, and from October to January collected more than 42.5 tons of trash. That's the good news, the Times notes...The bad news is that in storm conditions like we've just experienced, the trash busting systems get overwhelmed and some of the debris washed from the streets ends up on the beaches or in the ocean, along with the dog poop, oil and chemicals that slip through even the best filters. Ugh. All of this is to explain why the many efforts by cities, counties and the state to reduce trash, especially the nonbiodegradable plastic variety, are so important.

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