Blog # 255 Good News for Osprey: Biodegradable Plastics

Thanks to the changing weather fronts, Ospreys have been returning to the Greater  Cayuga Lake Basin all week. Sights of males guarding their nests and waiting for their  mates is common from Ithaca north to the mucklands of Savannah. Pair bonds are  being cemented with copulations and overt other acts of courtship. Yesterday, I watched  Orpheus at Salt Point, perform a fantastic courtship sky dance for his mate Ophelia.  

Orpheus perched and Ophelia on Salt Point nest, courtesy of Steve Ruoff.

Orpheus flew several hundred feet above the nest squawking with a small fish clearly  dangling from his talons. He helicoptered closer to the nest in intervals, creating a great  spectacle visible and audible for miles. As he grew closer to the nest, his performance  grew louder until at last he was in range of the nest and delivered the fish to his waiting  mate. 

There is great news from Japan for Ospreys and all creatures living off the sea.  Researchers at Osaka University have developed a new low-cost biodegradable plastic  made from starch and cellulose that breaks down in sea water. There are great  expectations that this new material will help solve the growing global problem of marine  debris accumulation and have a major societal impact. 

The largest floating garbage island of marine debris,  

the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in the North Pacific Ocean, courtesy of Forbes.com. 

Plastic is accumulating in the world’s oceans at a staggering rate. An estimated eight  million tons of plastic are disposed of in our oceans as marine debris. Marine debris is  litter that ends up in the ocean, mainly via rivers, sewage systems, road run-off, litter,  and overt dumping, that damages marine ecosystems, harming ocean animals, and  entering the human food chain. This pollution is so ubiquitous that plastic can be found  throughout the marine environment – from coastlines and lagoons to remote ocean  hotspots where plastics, caught up in ocean currents, congeal into huge ‘garbage  patches’ in the ocean, the largest of which is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, also  known as the Pacific trash vortex, which spans from the West Coast of North America to  Japan.

Locations of the largest trash vortices in the world, courtesy of Forbes.com. 

Biodegradable plastics, which break down in the environment into smaller harmless  chemicals, already exist, but they are not as strong or water-resistant as ubiquitous  commercial plastics like polyethylene. Currently, biodegradable plastics cost twice as  much as petroleum-based plastics and can also only be produced in small amounts.  However, this new transparent plastic is made from readily available natural biological  polymers—cellulose from plant walls and starch from corn and potatoes. This new plastic forms a starchy membrane that is reinforced with tiny, microscopic cellulose  fibers. Unlike the early biodegradable cellulose straws, this new material has high  mechanical strength and durability in water but will break down in seawater over time. Because this new material is inexpensive and simple to manufacture, the Japanese  researchers foresee practical applications soon and hope it leads global efforts to  reduce ocean plastic pollution to zero by 2050. 

I’m hopeful that such advances in biodegradable plastic will help curb the plastic  garbage overload that ends up in the oceans. However, society must also relearn to  choose and reuse durable items rather than buying single-use products. Society also  needs waste management systems that help individuals process their waste ethically. 

This spring, adopt an Osprey nest or two and keep the area around them free of  garbage, especially twine and harmful plastic debris like balloons, strings, bottles,  plastic bags, netting, and fishing line. Ospreys and all aquatic animals will be  appreciative. 

Eyes to the sky! 

Candace

Candace E. Cornell 

Friends of Salt Point 

Lansing, NY 

cec22@cornell.edu 

Read: 

On Osprey Time 

Ospreys of Salt Point 

Explore! 

Cayuga Lake Osprey Trail 

Please email the location of any nest not recorded on the Cayuga Lake Osprey Trail. The ongoing Cayuga Lake Osprey Survey depends on your help!  Email you reports to cec22@cornell.edu. Many thanks for your help!

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