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Strategies for Green Shipbuilding Design and Production Practices Focused on Reducing Microplastic Pollution Generated during Installation of Plastic Pipes
Summary
This paper proposes that shipbuilders should account for microplastic pollution during the design and fitting-out stages of vessel construction, particularly when cutting and preparing plastic pipes — a process that scatters plastic debris that can easily enter the marine environment. By choosing pipe layouts that minimise cutting and handling near open water, the shipbuilding industry could meaningfully reduce its contribution to ocean microplastic pollution.
In recent years, microplastic pollution has been given increasing attention in marine environments due to the hazard it poses for aquatic organisms. Plastic pipes are now being widely used in shipbuilding, and due to easy processing, they are often installed directly on ships. This includes the cutting and preparation of pipes for welding, which produces plastic debris in the immediate vicinity of the marine environment. Such plastic debris can easily become airborne, and when it is ultimately deposited into the water, it can be a contributor to marine microplastic pollution. This could be reduced if, during the design stage and outfitting stage, engineers would take into consideration ecological aspect of their design, which is currently not the case. Therefore, in this paper, suggestions for green shipbuilding practices, focused on the piping design and production phases, are presented for the possible reduction in operations with plastic pipes, with the main aim of reducing microplastic pollution. Based on these recommendations, additional economic and feasibility investigations are needed to obtain optimal results, which would be beneficial both from a manufacturing and ecological perspective.