Marine Pollution

Marine pollution is of major concern to-day and it is becoming more and more apparent that the marine environment can be a very vulnerable place. There are many activities that have an impact, either directly or indirectly, on the marine environment. In fact land based sources of pollution, such as waste, account for 80% of marine pollution throughout coastal Europe.

Our oceans and coasts are under considerable threat due to the fact that many people are not disposing of waste in a responsible manner. In an effort to make people aware of this, BIM have produced the Marine Debris Biodegradation Timeline poster. 

The poster highlights the breakdown rates of rubbish in the marine environment. For instance, a milk carton can take up to three months to breakdown, a styrofoam coffee cup can take up to 50 years and a plastic bottle 450 years.

The poster - available to preview in pdf format below (654kb) - has been distributed to all members of the industry, all IYA sailing and diving clubs and all schools.

To order a biodegradation time line poster contact Patricia Comiskey tel | 01 2144 278 email | Comiskey@bim.ie  

In addition BIM have worked directly with the aquaculture and processing industry on waste solutions for disposing of organic waste. Read more >>