I was visiting Laguna recently and was marveling at the beautiful blue water that is the Pacific Ocean but was torn by what I know lies beneath.
Watching the gutters as I do, I couldn’t help noticing the lack of filter systems protecting road runoff from going down the drain and into the ocean. Does anyone really know what goes down the gutter? Think about it – thousands of cars travel along Coast Highway every day.
Each car is leaving behind tiny rubber particles, not to mention brake dust, grease and oils, many containing carcinogens. Much attention is currently being paid to micro-plastics in the oceans, and for good reasons. But rubber, which is technically a “micro-plastic,” is flying under the radar as are most of the pollutants I mentioned earlier.
Unlike straws and single-use shopping bags, we can’t ban rubber wearing from tires. So this is where filtration at the curb comes in. There are systems now including bio-filters that can not only trap rubber and heavy metals, but break down harmful carcinogens in grease and oils. What’s even more astounding is that bio-filters are being made using the community’s recycled materials.
Research was recently done by two research organizations CORE (www.core.asn.au) and the Desert Research Institute based in Nevada using Southern Californian recycled materials to test a wide variety of pollutants that achieved astonishing results.
In case you’re skeptical, similar systems have been in place around the world in gutters for 20 years removing tonnes of pollutants and capturing 13 million gallons of water in some cases. The treated water can also be reused for non-drinking purposes, saving the city’s precious water supplies.
So now we know there’s a problem and a solution, let’s do something about it. It’s not hard, especially when aquatic life, surfers, swimmers and the tourist trade depends on Laguna remaining blue!
Chris Rochfort, Australia
