June 28
International home appliance maker Electrolux has announced plans to
make a limited number of vacuum cleaners from plastic recovered from the
ocean as part of an effort to raise recycling awareness.
"Plastic is a material with many advantages. But when plastic ends up in
the wrong place it becomes a problem. To raise public awareness about
this issue, Electrolux aims to gather plastic debris from vulnerable
marine habitats -- and produce a limited number of vacs out of it," Hans
Stråberg, president and CEO of Electrolux, states in a message on the
company´s website.
Plastic debris is known to concentrate in five oceanic gyres, where
plastic debris that washes off of shorelines and ships collects and is
battered down into tiny particles. Researchers have found evidence of
chemicals found in plastic compounds in fish caught in these areas;
algae and plankton activity in these gyres are often decreased, and
larger concentrations of plastic debris can pose entrapment hazards to
wildlife, researchers say. The most famous gyre, the Pacific Garbage
Patch, is estimated to cover an area equal in size to Texas.
For more information on the company, visit www.electrolux.com.
Contact Waste & Recycling News reporter Amanda Smith-Teutsch at
330-865-6166 or
asmith-teutsch@crain.com
w w w . w a s t e r e c y c l i n g n e w s . c o m
copyright 2010 by Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved.