Dropson collaborates with Mar Sana project for a plastic-free marine ecosystem

Photo: AdobeStock

BY 2050, THERE  WILL BE MORE PLASTIC THAN FISH IN THE OCEANS

Recently, the UN launched a warning campaign about marine litter. The plastic represents 90% of the garbage in the oceans.

The figures are alarming: 9 million tonnes of plastic waste reaches into the sea every year. 80% of this marine litter comes from the land, and the remaining 20%?, comes from marine activities such as shipping, oil exploitation, etc.

The World Economic Forum has already warned that, if the situation does not improve, there will be more plastics than fish in the sea by 2050.

Years ago recycling was the solution, but now that we are at the point where we are, recycling, which is essential and indisputable, is not the only answer to the current problem. Single-use plastics should be avoided and reusable products should be used in their absence. We need to reduce the production and consumption of plastics and look for new alternatives. Only reducing it we will reduce the marine pollution.

“Did you know that a plastic bottle takes up to 450 years to decompose?”

 

Microplastics in the food chain

In the oceans there are about 525o billion plastic fragments, which float on the surface and others sink to the depths. Over time and due to natural erosion, plastics gradually disintegrate in the sea and decompose into plastic microparticles, which are consumed by various types of zooplankton. This means that plastic has already entered in the food chain, where, after the big fish eat the small fish, the human being is at the end of the chain, playing the role of the final consumer. We could say then that we are eating our own garbage. Maybe someday we won’t be able to eat fish.

Unfortunately, marine species (turtles, whales, seals, fish…) confuse these plastics with food, causing the death to around 100,000 marine mammals a year and affecting more than 600 species.

 

DROPSON JOINS AMBIENTE EUROPEO´S PROJECT, MAR SANA

Asociación Ambiente Europeo (AAE) is a non-profit organisation dedicated to the protection of the environment through projects based on the creation of social awareness of environmental problems and the ability of citizens to contribute to their solution.

Raise awareness and find solutions to the worrying problem of marine litter has been the meeting point between Dropson and Ambiente Europeo through its project called Mar Sana.

«Become a hero of the sea» is the slogan of Mar Sana, which proposes different actions to reduce our negative impact on marine ecosystems.

Provide a technical solution to reduce environmental impact is at Dropson’s DNA and its latest innovation, the filter can, is at the heart of this collaboration.

 

What is Ambiente Europeo?

Ambiente Europeo

Ambiente Europeo has a multidisciplinary professional team expertise in communication, film, education, international cooperation, environmental law, etc.

Its function is to promote in Spain and in the Mediterranean area, social awareness actions about the reduction of plastic waste in the sea.

Its strategy focuses on five strategic pillars:

  1. Build a social movement for «Waste Free Oceans».
  2. Deep in scientific knowledge through citizen science.
  3. Create synergies with various sectors (fishing, business, tourism, art, etc.).
  4. Promote normative changes and propose public policies.
  5. Promote the circular economy, waste recovery and recycling.

The AAE has coordinated more than 350 cleanups with data collection (citizen science) on beaches, seabed and rivers, mobilizing more than 180 organizations of different types and more than 15,000 volunteers in Spain.

 

What is Mar Sana?

Faced with the challenge of marine litter, the «Mar Sana» project of Ambiente Europeo Association was born with the idea of generating a series of audiovisual products to help raise awareness of the consequences of our daily actions.

Mar Sana seeks to show how small changes in our habits can become the engine of a crucial turnaround in our relationship with the environment. Each of us has the capacity to generate a multiplier effect in our social environment.  Our personal views, ideas, thoughts and actions inspire others.

As part of the Mar Sana project, initiatives such as «Impact», the serie «Water» (with Isabel Muñoz photographer) and «Voices for a Healthy Sea» stand out, in which media personalities from our country give us their personal testimony about the problem of marine debris.

Watch the video:

«A sea that seems forgotten by those of us who live on the earth, a sea without an apparent owner, which seems to be everyone´s but is nobody’s responsibility. Because we live completely with our backs to the sea, a sea that offers us so many good things that if we don’t do something to take care of it, it will end up giving us back what it has received…». These are just some of the ideas we can hear in the project «Voices for a Healthy Sea».

 

DROPSON CREATE A WATER FILTER TO REDUCE PLASTICS IN THE SEA

A water filter to reduce, reuse and recycle

The Dropson filter can transforms up to 300 litres of quality water directly from the tap, reducing and avoiding the consumption of bottled water. An alternative solution that respects the balance of our environment, helps to reduce the impact of plastic waste on the ecosystem and complies perfectly with the well-known rule in ecology as the three R´s:

  1. Reduce: with the use of the filter can, the consumption of single-use materials such as water bottles are automatically reduced.
  2. Reuse: one single can takes up to 3 months of quality water, which means that every time you consume tap water, you will be using the same filter. In addition, as the water is of excellent quality, all the water left over after drinking, can be used for the tank of the coffee maker or for watering the plants, for example.
  3. Recycle: the can is a 100% disposable and recyclable. The components inside the filter are completely organic.

 

BOTTLED WATER, AN UNSUSTAINABLE PRODUCT

Did you know that a million plastic bottles are bought every minute in the world, although few end up in recycling plants? Spain is the sixth largest consumer of bottled water in the world, the third largest in Europe, but do we really know what the consequences of bottled water are?

In 2017, the mineral water production was 5.500 million litres in Spain. Worldwide, we consume 200 billion litres of bottled water a year, but unfortunately, only one in five bottles of water goes into the recycling process.

plasticos-en-el-mar

Every year, more than 8 million tons of plastic bottles end up in the sea.

Its manufacture and distribution is really negative for the environment, generating tons of waste and consuming millions of resources. For every litre of water produced, 2 to 3 litres of extra water are discarded and about 3 million tonnes of plastic are needed to make these bottles.

Already recognised as the new «blue gold», a litre of bottled water costs 1000 times more than tap water. At what point do we start paying so much for a resource we can have for free?

 

THE THREE MAIN ENVIRONMENTAL ADVANTAGES OVER BOTTLED WATER

1. Plastic reduction:

Very little plastic is needed to make a Dropson can. With an estimated capacity of 300 litres of water and onlu 85g of plastic, it replaces 200 bottles of 1.5L and a total of 7kg of plastic.

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2. Reduction in transport:

A heavy truck is needed to transport 16.600 bottles of 1.5L (25 tons), equivalent to aout 25.000 litres of water. However, only one loading cart is needed to transport 84 Dropson cans (9kg), equivalent to 25.000 litres of filtered water.

 

3. Reduction of CO2 emissions:

lata filtrante dropson menos co2

With 100 heavy trucks, 1.600.000 bottles of 1.5L would be transported, about 2.500.000 litres of water. The same amount of water could be obtained with 8.333 Dropson cans transported in a single van. Can you imagine the diesel consumption of 100 trucks and their respective CO2 emissions?

 

DROPSON FILTER CAN, THE ECOLOGICAL ALTERNATIVE TO BOTTLED WATER

The Dropson filter can is a real solution to the great demand for bottled water that exists, offering water of excellent quality and pleasant taste.

This innovative water filter is portable and compact, ideal for taking with you on vacation, in your suitcase or in your handbag. Really easy to use, no needed any installations or replacement cartridges. It has never been so easy and confortable to store 300L of water in your fridge.

A change in our consumption habits can help to stop the deterioration of our environment. You can´t imagine what you can achieve with a small gesture, that´s why Dropson and Mar Sana encourage you to collaborate locally with small gestures to make a global impact.

For a see free of rubbish, for a Healthy Sea.

More info: Ambiente Europeo / Mar Sana

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dropson-sello-pyme-innovadora