HM051 34 www.foodtechnology.co.nz PLASTICS PRODUCERS URGED TO SAVE OCEANS A damning new report warning that by 2050 the ocean will contain more plastic than fish in weight has led to shock around the globe and a call for plastics packaging producers to review their products. The warning, issued by the World Economic Forum late last month, says at least eight million tonnes of plastic already ends up in the ocean every year – the equivalent of a rubbish truck of waste every minute – and if nothing is done, will cause billions of dollars of damage to marine ecosystems yearly. “Without significant action, there may be more plastic than fish in the ocean, by weight, by 2050,” the Forum warns. “Even by 2025, the ratio of plastic to fish in the ocean is expected to be one to three, as plastic stocks in the ocean are forecast to grow to 250 million tonnes in that year.” The rate of plastic pollution is only expected to increase as growing amounts of plastics is used, particularly in emerging economies with weak or no waste and recycling regimes. In 14 years from now, plastic is expected to be leaking into the ocean at a rate of two trucks per minute, and by 2050 that will hit four each minute. It is estimated that plastics weighing around 150 million tonnes are in the world’s oceans today – about a fifth of the weight of fish. These estimates are conservative because they assume fish stocks remain stable. The Forum says the increasing volumes of plastics, which can take hundreds of years to degrade, harm the health of fish and marine ecosystems, causing billions of dollars in damage. It says a radical increase in recycling and reusable packaging is necessary, and calls for joint efforts of consumer goods companies, plastic packaging producers, authorities that manage waste and policymakers. GOOD VIBRATIONS When it comes to process optimisation, Alfa Laval is a world leader in solid-liquid separation machines using decanter centrifuges within the food industry. Especially in fruit juice, vegetable, cheese and brewing production. Due to the high rotational speeds, centrifuges are affected by abnormalities in weight distribution, leading to high unbalanced forces acting on drive bearings. Left undetected, unexpected machine failure and second secondary plant damage will occur. For this reason, Alfa Laval uses ifm electronic VKV vibration monitoring sensors, to monitor & detect damaging changes in machine vibrations at an early stage. Simply screwed into the centrifuge housing, the VKV sensor monitors damaging levels of unbalanced vibration with a continuous 4-20mA analogue signal, and an adjustable alarm set point. Hence, maintenance can be planned in advance, & unexpected machine failure prevented. Condition monitoring systems Ph: 0800 803 444 www.ifm.com/nz ifm efector Spectrum Advert A4.indd 1 16/12/15 9:12 pm WASTE MANAGEMENT & RECYCLING
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