
The Global Plastic Watch tool, accessible at https://globalplasticwatch.org/.
CREDIT: The Minderoo Foundation
New method could enable monitoring of sites likely to leak plastic waste into rivers and oceans
A new computational system uses satellite data to identify sites on land where people dispose of waste, providing a new tool to monitor waste and revealing sites that may leak plastic into waterways. Caleb Kruse of Earthrise Media in Berkeley, California, Dr. Fabien Laurier from the Minderoo Foundation in Washington DC, and colleagues present this method in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on January 18, 2022.
Every year, millions of metric tons of plastic waste end up in oceans, harming hundreds of species and their ecosystems. Most of this waste comes from land-based sources that leak into watersheds. Efforts to address this issue require better understanding of where people dispose of waste on land, but resources to detect and monitor such sites—both official sites and informal or illegal ones—are lacking.
In recent years, the use of computational tools known as neural networks to analyze satellite data has shown great value in the field of remote sensing. Building on that work, Kruse and colleagues developed a new system of neural networks to analyze data from the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-2 satellites and demonstrated its potential for use in monitoring waste sites on land.
To evaluate the performance of the new system, the researchers first applied it to Indonesia, where it detected 374 waste sites—more than twice the number of sites reported in public records. Broadening to all countries across Southeast Asia, the system identified a total of 966 waste sites—nearly three times the number of publicly recorded sites—that were subsequently confirmed to exist via other methods.
The researchers demonstrated that their new system can be used to monitor waste sites over time. In addition, they showed that nearly 20 percent of the waste sites they detected are found within 200 meters of a waterway, with some visibly spilling into rivers that eventually reach the ocean.
These findings, as well as future findings using this system, could help inform waste-management policies and decision-making. The data are publicly available, so stakeholders can use it to advocate for action within their communities. Looking ahead, the researchers plan to refine and expand their new waste site-monitoring system globally.
The authors add: “For the first time, Global Plastic Watch arms governments and researchers around the world with data that can guide better waste management interventions, ensuring land-based waste doesn’t end up in our oceans.”
Original Article: Satellites can be used to detect waste sites on Earth
The Latest Updates from Bing News
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Waste site monitoring
- Residents applaud community council rejection of waste facility
Lake Echo residents are celebrating their successful challenge against a proposed construction and demolition site near their homes. Harbour East-Marine ...
- EU nations reach major breakthrough to stop shipping plastic waste to poor countries
The European Union made a major breakthrough Friday in efforts to stop sending its plastic trash to poor countries. Under a tentative agreement, the 27 EU countries will no longer be able to export ...
- Stevenage quarry operator jailed for waste offences
Liam and Mark Winters were sentenced after illegally storing enough waste at Coldicote Quarry to have filled the Albert Hall three times ...
- Jail terms for brothers for storing ‘large amounts’ of household waste at quarry
Two brothers from Warwickshire have been awarded prison sentences, one of which was suspended, for operating a quarry near Stevenage and filling it with “enough illegal waste “to fill the Royal Albert ...
- Solid waste disposal: NGT panel flags lapses in Jal
Chandigarh: The joint committee of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) pointed out glaring lapses like non-functional piezometers, absence of leachate m.
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Monitoring waste with satellites
- California still hasn’t launched its own damn satellite
The state has long been planning to deliver on former Gov. Jerry Brown’s 2016 vision for California to “launch its own damn satellite” after then-candidate Donald Trump threatened to cut off access to ...
- About environmental satellites
Geostationary satellites, such as Himawari-8, orbit the Earth over the equator at a height of approximately 35 800 km. They complete one orbit every 24 hours, in sync with the Earth's rotation about ...
- New satellite will track C02 emissions from worst polluters from space for the first time
The satellite launched by a Canadian company will be able to detect carbon emissions from sites like coal plants from space for the first time.
- Centre to use Isro satellites for pollution monitoring
This project will, however, amplify the ambit of pollution monitoring to all sources. We're now on WhatsApp. Click to join. “Through satellite imaging, we will identify hotspots for vehicular ...
- Mapping methane: Satellites seek out gas-spewing waste sites
“Organic waste has been made visible through satellite,” said Marcelo Mena, chief executive of the Global Methane Hub. The hub recently announced it received a $5m grant from Google.org to ...