Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch: OMG What Have I Done?
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What a difference a day makes. The day before yesterday, this picture reminded me of frolicking in a crystal clear blue ocean on a fun vacation. Today, when I glance at this photograph, it brings forth a scared and nervous feeling in my gut. That feeling you get when you realize that something awful has happened. I now long to turn back the clock and do things over again. Please let it not be too late, I was so selfish, naive, and ignorant, and I need to make things right! I am scared of what the future holds for my children's children!
What happened yesterday was that Charles Moore, the sea captain who discovered the Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch, helped me understand exactly how much my indulgences for plastic are impacting the ocean and all of life in it. Now when I look at this picture, all I can see are millions of tiny little pieces of plastic confetti swirling around in our ocean's currents, fooling all of the marine life into thinking that my trash is their food and habitat. Stuck in my head are Captain's Moore's pictures of all the fish he found with the plastic confetti lodged in their stomachs, the albatross who swallowed a multitude of plastic bottle caps, and the turtle who grew up with the milk jug ring stuck around the middle of its shell.
What happened yesterday was that Charles Moore, the sea captain who discovered the Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch, helped me understand exactly how much my indulgences for plastic are impacting the ocean and all of life in it. Now when I look at this picture, all I can see are millions of tiny little pieces of plastic confetti swirling around in our ocean's currents, fooling all of the marine life into thinking that my trash is their food and habitat. Stuck in my head are Captain's Moore's pictures of all the fish he found with the plastic confetti lodged in their stomachs, the albatross who swallowed a multitude of plastic bottle caps, and the turtle who grew up with the milk jug ring stuck around the middle of its shell.
Plastic Garbage has Become Food and Habitat for Marine Life
All Photographs are from the Algalita Marine Research Foundation
Snapping Turtle with a ring from a plastic milk jug. Photograph from the Algalita Marine Research Foundation.
Captain Moore's Description of the
North Pacific Garbage Patch:
"It was and is a thin plastic soup, a soup lightly seasoned with plastic flakes, bulked out here and there with 'dumplings': buoys, net clumps, floats, crates, and other macro debris."
- A quote from the book,
Plastic Ocean, by Captain Charles Moore
Huge Garbage Patches Have Formed
Our seas have become global dumpsters, and unfortunately, most of us do not realize it, because our trash is swept offshore by the ocean currents so we don't see it gathering. But hundreds of miles away from our coasts, in our deep blue sea, there are huge collections of trash that are growing bigger by the hour.The garbage patch first identified by Captain Moore is located almost halfway between California and Hawaii in the middle of what is known as the North Pacific Gyre. A Gyre is a naturally occurring whirlpool-like rotation of wind and currents. The circular currents of the Gyre draw all of the trash into the calmer center vortex area. As illustrated in the diagram, there are five major Gyres in the oceans worldwide, and all of these contain collections of plastic trash. Currently, according to www.gyrecleanup.org, the North Pacific Garbage Patch contains an estimated 11 million tons (and growing) of floating plastic, and covers an area about the size of Texas in the Pacific Ocean.
Gyre illustration is from the University of California Santa Barbara Department of Geography
"Plastics, like diamonds...are forever!"
- Algalita Marine Research Foundation
Plastic Garbage is Here to Stay
The evolution and use of plastics have made the ocean trash problem severe because plastics are not biodegradable. A plastic object is by design, incredibly strong. It first decays into fragments, and then eventually, it breaks into minute particles, which will then go on polluting our earth for centuries. So once a plastic object is in the ocean, it is there to stay for hundreds of years!Photograph from the Algolita Research Foundation.
Recycling Plastic is Not Adequate
I thought I was pretty responsible because I try to recycle plastic. My assumption was that all of the plastic that I use is getting re-used. Actually, I've learned that plastic recycling is very ineffective. This does not mean that we should stop recycling plastic, but we need to do more. Here are some recycling facts from the Algalita Research Foundation:
- 1The majority of plastics that go into curbside recycling DO NOT get recycled.
- 2Curbside collection DOES NOT significantly reduce the amount of plastic land-filled. Less than 5% of plastic gets recycled worldwide.
- 3Plastic recyclers are the ones promoting its recyclability. Plastic resin pellet producers pay for recycling ads to promote the sale of plastics. In reality, most plastics can only be recycled into lesser grade products. For example, plastics which contain food products can never be used again for food, since plastic cannot be heated hot enough to kill the bacteria.
How is Trash Getting Into the Ocean?
Captain Moore helped me understand where all of this trash in the ocean is coming from. Two factors contribute to our ocean's trash pollution: 1) our own carelessness, and 2) Mother Nature. It is estimated that approximately 20% of the trash in the ocean comes from industries that use the ocean, like the fishing industry. The remaining 80% travels to sea from land. In Moore's research, a significant portion of the plastic confetti he found in the ocean were the resin pellets that plastic manufacturers ship out to companies who manufacture plastic objects. These pellets are shipped around the country in rail cars, and a portion of them fall to the earth during transfers, and then end up in the ocean.Additionally, anything that goes down our storm drains ends up in the ocean. No matter how careful we are with our plastics, Mother Nature is always going to step in to remind us not to use plastic at all! Think about what happens during hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes, and tsunamis: Mother Nature takes everything we have on earth and carries it out to sea. I shudder when I think about the amount of garbage that flowed into the ocean during Japan's recent tsunami!
"Start with yourself. Evaluate your daily routine and assess exactly what you use plastic for, and more critically, what plastics are you throwing out every day? Systematically try to minimize the amount of plastic that you use and throw out."
What Can Be Done?
Plastics are so integrated into so many people's daily lives that this is clearly a global problem. Change needs to happen through awareness and education. Start with yourself. Evaluate your daily routine and assess exactly what you use plastic for, and more critically, what plastics are you throwing out every day? Systematically try to minimize the amount of plastic that you use and throw out. Here are some ideas to help.
- Buy in bulk, and bring your own cloth or recycled grocery gags to the store.
- Keep litter, leaves, and debris out of the street gutters and storm drains.
- Stop drinking plastic bottled water! If you live in an area with safe tap water, drink it! Tap water in the United States is much more strictly regulated than bottled water. If you need bottled water, get a reusable bottle that can be refilled
- Reuse whenever possible.
- Choose products which have been packaged in recycled materials.
- Buy local products whenever possible because this reduces the amount of fuel and plastic packaging used to ship materials to you.
- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Refuse!
Do Not Accept Another Plastic Shopping Bag!
Stock up on reusable bags--and use them for all purchases: at the grocery store, the drug store, even the clothing store.
Do Not Buy Another Plastic Water Bottle!
Keep a non-plastic sports bottle handy. I prefer bottles with a large mouth that can be cleaned out easily.
Use Self Filtering Water Bottle For Travel
Switch to a Brita water bottle instead of buying bottled water when you are on the road and won't have access to your filtered water at home. This is a good choice because they have a recycling program for their filters where you can drop off the filters at Whole Foods stores (and other locations as well). Not only is it environmentally friendly, this bottle fits nicely in your bag and you won't have to "pay" for water!
Use Wax Paper Bags Instead of Plastic Ziploc Bags
Use these bags for packing items in your lunches.
Read the Latest Ocean Garbage Patch News
- Tsunami Debris Headed to the United States!
- Wrecked cars, portions of homes, boats, furniture and more -- all swept up by the destructive, magnitude 9.0 earthquake that struck off the coast of Japan 11 months ago -- are on a slow-motion collision course with California.
- Join Algalita on a Voyage to Study the Tsunami Debris
- Japan's 2011 tsunami disaster brings a unique opportunity to not only further research on the issue of plastic pollution and its effects on the marine ecosystem and potential risks to human health, but to witness first-hand the resultant power of Mother Nature at work. The Algalita Marine Research Foundation and the 5 Gyres Institute are collaborating with Pangaea Explorations to conduct a 7,000-mile, high-seas research expedition aboard the Sea Dragon sailing vessel May 1 through July 1, 2012.
- Metabolix Makes Plastic that Biodegrades in Ocean
- Most biodegradable plastics don't break down well in marine environments-they require the relative warmth of soil or a compost heap. A new plastic on the market degrades quickly both on land and in seawater.
- Long Beach to Expand Ban on Plastic Bags
- Long Beach's ban on plastic bags will expand to include many smaller businesses, such as liquor stores, beginning on New Year's Day.
- San Jose Bans Plastic Bags
- Starting Jan. 1, 2012, don't shop in San Jose without bringing your own bag. The plastic variety are being banned and not just in grocery stores, virtually every business must comply. San Jose isn't the first city to ban bags, but its law is considered to be the most comprehensive.
Please Read Captain Moore's Book:
Plastic Ocean: How a Sea Captain's Chance Discovery Launched a Determined Quest to Save the Oceans
Amazon Price: $4.61 (as of 06/03/2012)
Support Captain Moore's Research Foundation
- Algalita Marine Research Foundation
- Charles Moore founded Algalita Marine Research Foundation (AMRF) in 1994 to focus on the "coastal ocean", specifically on the restoration of disappearing giant kelp forests and the improvement of water quality through the preservation and re-construction of
wetlands along the California coast.
In 1997, his focus dramatically changed. While returning to California from Hawaii aboard his 50-foot catamaran, the Alguita, he chose to chart a course through the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. This area of the Pacific is a circulating rotation of ocean currents and is normally avoided by sailors due to its light winds.
In the eastern portion of the Gyre he encountered a substantial amount of trash, mostly plastic, scattered across the area. Now commonly referred to as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, it is a vast plastic soup (from the surface down through the water column) containing everything from large abandoned fishing nets (ghost nets) to plastic bottles, bottle caps, toothbrushes, containers, boxes, to miniscule particles of plastic that have either been reduced from larger pieces by wave action or sunlight (photodegradation).
Since 1997, Captain Moore has made numerous research voyages to the Gyre aboard the ORV Alguita, resulting in a body of authoritative research publications and data and educational programs. During the most recent voyage in the summer of 2009, AMRF's area of study extended to the International Date Line which revealed more of the same - plastic sludge in our trawl samples.
During our celebration of Algalita's 15th anniversary in 2010, we have participated in voyages to the North Atlantic and Indian Ocean Gyres. We will participate in a voyage to the South Atlantic Gyre later this year and plan to go to the South Pacific in 2011, expanding our research to include all five major gyres worldwide. We are confident our research will lead the way to a new era of consciousness regarding the issue of plastic marine pollution. Part of our current research is focusing on a better understanding of the magnitude of our plastic "footprint", including the effects of fish ingestion of plastic on human health.
Leave Your Comments:
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KarateKatGraphics
Mar 8, 2012 @ 5:48 pm | delete
- The snapping turtle photo absolutely breaks my heart :( :(
Great lens! We'll be exploring the Pacific soon, for spring break. Will be sure to pick up any trash, but hope there won't be much.
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barcodenation
Feb 29, 2012 @ 9:39 pm | delete
- I've found that this tsunami will be hitting west coast in a week, maximum two weeks, and it will be really nasty, you can see pics and videos here: http://www.thetruthsource.org/wake-up/the-great-pacific-garbage-patch-to-get-hit-with-debris-from-japanese-tsunami
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SecondHandJoe
Feb 21, 2012 @ 12:35 pm | delete
- Incredible subject, incredible lens.Real nice job and Congratulations on Purple Star and Lens of the Day!
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mobileboutique
Feb 19, 2012 @ 8:28 pm | delete
- WOW! Glad I got out of the world of "Plastic Engineer"..yes, there is a degree for that..I have one, now for sale..lol! I know a lot about the "regrind" plastic, that is recycled plastics and no, factories don't want it, it's contaminated, and most of the time messes with production...and also the additives they put in now, so it turns to dust in the sunlight...but I had NO idea about this impact! Thank you! I'll have to write what knowledge I have from my "past life" as an Engineer in this area.
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autoindiapro
Feb 10, 2012 @ 8:34 am | delete
- This is a serious issue.
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