Suzuki starts production of outboards with microplastic collecting device

Suzuki starts production of outboards with microplastic collecting device

Suzuki Motor Corporation announced it has started production this month on five mid-size outboard motors with the world’s first Microplastic Collecting Device as standard equipment. The engines will be shipped worldwide, including to major markets such as North America and Europe. The company first introduced the concept at IBEX in October 2020 featuring installation of a device on outboard motors which collects microplastics near the water surface simply by running the boat.

After the announcement, the company carried out testing and monitoring surveys in 14 countries, including Japan, the United States and Europe, with further improvements made to the device. The five models now in production with the device included as standard equipment are the: DF140BG, DF115BG, DF140B, DF115B, DF100C. Suzuki commented in its announcement on the huge amount of marine plastic waste that flows into the ocean, creating a significant environmental issue along with microplastics and their well-documented detrimental impact on ecosystems.

The installation of this device on outboard motors is one of the three activities the outboard producer has undertaken as part of its Suzuki Clean Ocean Project – committed to address the marine plastics issue:

Clean-Up the World Campaign – a volunteer waterside clean-up campaign carried out by Suzuki Group employees and partners, started in 2011.  As of March 2022, 53 distributors and more than 10,000 people worldwide have participated in the campaign. The project is being continued and further expanded in 2022.

Reduce Plastic Packaging – Suzuki has also set out to reduce the plastic packaging for its outboard motors and parts, using the following guidance:  1) Can we stop using it?  2) Can we reduce the amount? and 3) Can we replace it with materials of less environmental impact?”  Since the effort was undertaken in October 2020, Suzuki reports it has avoided using over 11 tonnes in plastic packaging.  Suzuki said it aims to further reduce plastics in 2022 by increasing the number of applicable products and genuine parts in the packaging program.

As IBI reported at the time of its introduction, the microplastic collection system consists of an inline filter installed on the engine’s cooling water outflow, where it collects microplastics and other tiny bits of debris sucked in by the engine as it operates. The system is designed so that the filter element can be cleaned of debris by the boat operater as needed and re-used, with a built-in bypass that will prevent a clogged filter from ever causing engine performance or overheating issues.

Source: IBI News