In short:
Thousands of plastic and fibreglass buoys used for scientific research are left to drift in the ocean after their batteries die.
A global data company is trialling the use of wooden buoys constructed by Tasmania's Wooden Boat Centre in a bid to reduce oceanic pollution while maintaining durability in harsh conditions.
What's next?
The five buoys will be dropped in Antarctic waters, with further design improvements already being worked on.
Drifting in the world's ocean today are thousands of buoys once used for scientific research.
They're dropped in the water to aid researchers by collecting important environmental data like sea surface temperatures from the most remote parts of the globe.
But, the catch is after their battery dies most of these buoys are never retrieved — and may end up in the ocean's garbage patches or on beaches around the world.
Oliver Palin helped put together the idea of using wooden buoys instead of the traditional plastic ones to record sea surface temperatures out in remote oceanic areas. (ABC News: Maren Preuss)
The buoys are typically made from plastic and fibreglass, which aren't biodegradable and can break up into microplastics.
Global data company CLS Oceania is attempting to alleviate some of this waste by making them out of wood instead.
Why are the buoys never retrieved?
The wooden buoys will dropped into Antarctic waters later this month, to aid scientific research efforts. (ABC News: Maren Preuss)
CLS Oceania environmental technician Oliver Palin said sending ships to Antarctica and remote parts of the ocean could be prohibitively expensive.
"The cost of retrieval is too big to warrant (sending a ship)," Mr Palin said.
He said the battery in a buoy lasted for approximately 2 years and once it died, its location was unknown.
When asked if the money should be spent to go out and retrieve them, Mr Palin said "rather than trying to affect all the other companies, we're just trying to move forward with our own solution".
Mr Palin approached the Wooden Boats Centre in the Huon Valley in Southern Tasmania to create five buoys out of wood, to be dropped into Antarctica's icy waters later this month.
Strong buoys needed for harsh conditions
Cody Horgan works at the Wooden Boat Centre in Franklin. (ABC News: Maren Preuss)
The buoys need to be very robust to handle being out in the remote parts of the ocean.
"There's huge waves and currents, they have to survive up to 10 metre drop off the side of the ship, they have to be quite rugged," Mr Palin said.
Tasmania Wooden Boats Centre Manager Cody Horgan said while making the buoy's ball housing was a challenge, it was also "in our wheelhouse."
"The hardest thing was trying to come up with the angles required to make it work like an orange and create the ball structure," Mr Horgan said.
The buoys are each fitted with electronics, a bettery and an antenna so they can be connected to satellites. (ABC News: Maren Preuss)
"If you can imagine, there are 16 pieces to put together to make the ball.
"It's like a jigsaw puzzle trying to hold it all together."
The five buoys were created from accoya wood, purchased from northern Tasmania, which is predicted to last around 10 years in the ocean.
The buoys are then fitted with electronics, a battery, and antennae to connect to satellites.
Mr Palin said while those elements would still contribute to waste, it was a small step in the right direction.
Drifting towards sustainability
Mr Palin says the initial buoys are a 'proof of concept', and will be improved upon in future models. (ABC News: Maren Preuss)
Mr Palin said the initial buoys were a 'proof of concept' and would be improved in future versions.
"So we're moving towards having as little plastic as possible in the buoys," Mr Palin said.
They are already onto the next project — creating a pancake-shaped buoy out of wood — and placing it inside an iceberg.
"It's going to be deployed in the ice as it melts, and then it can track the melting ice as it moves in the ocean," he said.
"So that'll be ready next year, and it'll be going down to Antarctica, probably mid to late next year."