Is scrubbing out plastic just a drop in the ocean?

SULPHUR oxide (SOx) scrubbers, or "exhaust gas abatement systems" as their manufacturers call them, are controversial.

Environmental purists dislike them because they are a way of continuing to use heavy fuel oil. And the idea that they might be developed further to capture carbon as part of shipping's path to zero carbon goes down even less well in the same quarter. However, the biggest issue is whether washwater from open loop scrubbers is harmful to the environment. That is why scrubbers cannot be used while ships are in some of the world's ports. Both sides of the argument point to scientific studies supporting their respective cases, but I don't intend to get bogged down in that debate right now.

There is much less controversy around the case that plastics, and particularly microplastics, are a real threat to the oceans' ecosystems.