https://spatial-humanities.library.utoronto.ca/files/original/8b7c69a48464c3cf4d680899208c2304.jpg f0b00d64791a64cd92f62ee9e7d82748 https://spatial-humanities.library.utoronto.ca/files/original/1ef367e3b9f5bbbfacc28721885b13da.jpg 8b366ee45f00a73a470f3df7227a8d13 https://spatial-humanities.library.utoronto.ca/files/original/6a5842f5fe3c675c3489ec04578a7eeb.jpg 81a2221b39b1d9c694f8813e281e895a https://spatial-humanities.library.utoronto.ca/files/original/a9f8cfadc3c715f23551b91e8fb88a86.pdf 84f79a3e115a468b7b1a97ee7516aaf4 PDF Text Text Researchers are finding 'fatbergs' floating on Toronto's waterfront Social Sharing • • • • • Facebook Twitter Email Reddit LinkedIn A growing project to track aquatic pollution could help clean up Lake Ontario Vanessa Balintec · CBC News · Posted: Feb 07, 2023 2:16 PM EST | Last Updated: February 7 Researchers look into a floating water trash device called a seabin near Marina Quay West in Toronto. (Submitted by Ports Toronto) Floating, rock-like masses formed of fat, grease and trash like wet wipes and diapers — researchers found more than 100 of these "fatbergs" along the docks of Toronto Harbour last year. Despite the stench, it's a celebratory feat. That's because since the research team's launch in the summer of 2019, keeping tabs on this form of pollution remained just out of reach. �"They certainly were there in the past. We just weren't capturing them," said Chelsea Rochman, an assistant professor of ecology at the University of Toronto. Rochman is the co-founder of the Trash Team, a group using contraptions called Seabins to track garbage and other pollutants in Lake Ontario. The Seabin is a cylindrical container mounted to the side of a dock that sucks in all the gross surface gunk — everything from larger items to oil and gas spills, and even micro plastics. • The Great Lakes are awash in plastic. A new project is using trash-trapping technology to get rid of it • Toronto marina installs experimental floating garbage cans to keep water clean Back in 2019, the project was only a pilot, with three Seabins at the Outer Harbour Marina and two student researchers to help collect and analyze their contents. But 2022 saw 10 Seabins installed on Toronto's waterfront, as well as 10 litter traps along Queens Quay and seven undergraduate students to help skim litter near Peter Street Basin Park, Rochman says. In a news release Tuesday, Ports Toronto says the project captured a record haul of nearly 93,000 small pieces of plastic over the course of last summer. �A fatberg is what researchers call a rock-like mass of waste often comprised of fat, grease and materials like wet wipes and diapers. (Submitted by Ports Toronto) While the project was already a success, it was with the help of local organizations like Swim Drink Fish, the Waterfront Business Improvement Area, Toronto Region Conservation Authority and the city that it was able to expand. "It's been more resources, but also, which I think is more exciting, more stakeholders coming to the table that want to be part of the solution and work together," said Rochman. Researchers estimate 10,000 metric tonnes of waste enter the Great Lakes each year, much of it plastic. Fatbergs, or F.O.G monsters (fat, oils and grease), are reminders for residents to carefully consider the "three Ps" when they flush something down the drain, Rochman says. "Pee, poop and paper. Nothing else should ever be going down," she told CBC Toronto. "At the end of the day, it comes back to haunt us in the places where we recreate or we fish, right? The places we love on the waterfront." • Industrial plastic is spilling into Great Lakes, and no one's regulating it, experts warn • Stuff we 'flush down the toilet' ending up in Toronto Harbour, environmental group warns While waste is commonly found in urban waterways due to industry, overflows, debris blown away from trash bins near the water's edge and storm water runoff, Ports Toronto says human waste and microplastics are particularly harmful to wildlife and can contaminate drinking water. Rochman says the Trash Team is using the data from each year to establish a baseline of how much waste they collect. When their growth stabilizes, they hope to figure out just how much aquatic pollution is improving or worsening overtime. RJ Steenstra, president and CEO of Ports Toronto, says he's encouraged by the progress of the tracking program. "We have witnessed a great many changes, notably the troubling rise in plastic pollution that now seriously threatens the sustainability and biodiversity of our lakes and waterways," he says. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Climate, Technology, Justice Subject The topic of the resource TYP023 Course on digital humanities in the age of climate crisis Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource TYP023 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Spring 2023 IIIF Collection Metadata UUID 2199b25b-3e00-44d7-97e0-9d1f0054121d Website A resource comprising of a web page or web pages and all related assets ( such as images, sound and video files, etc. ). Local URL The URL of the local directory containing all assets of the website https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/fatbergs-seabin-toronto-program-1.6739637 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Ross--Researchers Are Finding Fatbergs" Floating on Toronto's Waterfront Description An account of the resource CBC article on the existence of "fatbergs" along Toronto's waterfront and what they can tel researchers about pollution in the area. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Vanessa Balintec Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived CBC News Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available CBC News Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource February 7, 2023 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF File Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant ||||osm Toronto ||||osm Ontario ||||osm Canada IIIF Item Metadata UUID 1971797f-b314-4769-88f9-d14edb1ff933