Gold Panning and Sluicing, yes, but what about . . .Plastic?

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Blue_Cricket
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Gold Panning and Sluicing, yes, but what about . . .Plastic?

Post by Blue_Cricket »

No, not a joke. This is a hopefully profitable side project I am researching because sometimes the old ways are the best ways, but newbies like me just can't quite prove it (and anyone who engineers a decent global solution first gets fame, glory, blah, blah, blah . . . and a chunk of $80 with a "B" billion.)

How an ocean project fits in with fits into gold panning, treasure hunting, and DesertUSA:

The ocean is filling with a specific type of plastic garbage (Polyethylene) of neutral buoyancy (so it competes with free-floating plankton and thus can't be just scooped out leaving the fish with nothing to eat and the globe with 2/3 of its oxygen supply harmed). This plastic washes up on world beaches. I want to jury-rig a simple system -- based on classic gold pans and sluices -- to collect the lightest (not heaviest) thing in contaminated tide areas. A "Tidal Sluice" that could be left alone to passively sort garbage with minimum supervision, using wave motion for energy, and not kill off ocean life. This isn't on the international market right now that I know of -- and in some places (like Hawaii) the plastic that needs recycling goes a foot deep. New Zealand has an impressive volunteer a program in place called "Sustainable Coastlines", but it is currently very labor intensive and expensive.

If anyone who has panning experience is interested in chewing over ideas with me -- or even prefers to go off on their own -- I would be glad to share the web resources I have found so far. Just email me at johndonneisland@gmail.com . Or reply here, and I will post more if the moderators think it is not too off-topic.

Thanks and all the best. :geek:
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