Use of Sea Waste to Enhance Sustainability in Composite Materials: A Review

The term “sea waste” generally refers to any solid, liquid, or gaseous material or substance that is discarded, disposed of, or abandoned in the ocean, sea, or any other body of salty water, such as a lagoon, etc. This includes waste generated by human activities on land that makes its way into the ocean, as well as waste generated by ships and other vessels at sea. Examples of sea waste include plastic debris, chemicals and toxic substances, oil spills, sewage, and other forms of pollution. These pollutants can harm marine ecosystems, endanger marine life, and impact human health and wellbeing. Efforts are being made by governments, organizations, researchers, and individuals to reduce the amount of sea waste generated, and to clean up existing waste in the ocean. Less attention is usually paid to waste materials of natural origin as they are considered (sometimes wrongly) to be less critical; an example is the tons of organic and inorganic material of natural origin that wash up on the beaches daily and must be landfilled or incinerated. The present paper intends to provide an updated review of research experiences and engineering solutions that are able to offer a second life to natural (biological) sea waste by incorporating it into the creation of new, more sustainable materials, and especially composites.