Suzuki Motor Corporation is continually seeking to develop innovative solutions to environmental issues associated with the manufacturing of automotive and marine products and has now developed the world’s first* Micro-Plastic Collecting Device for installation on outboard motors.
Marine plastic waste is a growing environmental issue with a huge amount of mismanaged waste flowing into the oceans each year. The waste then breaks down into micro-plastics in the ocean’s ecosystem, significantly impacting marine life.
To help tackle this issue, Suzuki has focused on the structure of the outboard motor, which pumps up tons of seawater to cool the engine and then returns the water to the ocean.
Actual micro-plastic waste collected during the monitoring research
Suzuki has developed a device which collects micro-plastic waste from the returning water. Through this device, micro-plastic waste can be collected just by running the engine.
The device can be easily installed to the return hose and does not affect the engine performance since it only utilizes the returning water that has already been used to cool the engine.
Micro-Plastic collecting device
During monitoring research conducted in Japan, a substantial amount of micro-plastic waste was found within the substances collected in the filter. Research is also currently being conducted internationally with further improvements scheduled for the device going forward.
Suzuki plans to introduce the device as optional from 2021 and incorporate it as a standard feature in the future.
Mark Beeley, Head of Marine & ATV for Suzuki GB, said, “This ground-breaking development is part of Suzuki’s continuing determination to devise innovative solutions that mitigate the serious impact of plastic waste on our natural environment. It marks the first time in marine industry history that an outboard motor cooling system has been utilized to extract micro-plastics from the seawater.”
