Giant Plastic Trash Continent
Image courtesy VBS.tv's excellent 12-part video series.
Out in the beautiful deep blue waters of the Pacific Ocean swirls a giant mass of plastic trash. It’s huge, it’s gross, and it’s growing.
Some Say It’s Twice the Size of Texas
This giant plastic trash continent goes by many names: the Pacific Gyre, the Great Garbage Patch, and Garbage Island. And before the real estate speculator in you gets excited about the possibility of a new oceanfront property, you should know it’s not a single cohesive mass of trash, but rather billions and billions of plastic pieces, big and small, that float out to sea and collect in a large, shifting swirl, thanks to ocean currents.
For an eye-opening visual of this floating trash vortex, see VBS.tv’s excellent (but, parents be warned, foul-mouthed) 12-part video series. Each episode is about seven-minutes long: http://www.vbs.tv/shows.php?show=1154
What Goes Around, Comes Around
Unfortunately, the vast majority of plastics manufactured are not biodegradable. That means this patch of old bottles, toothbrushes, straws, nets, shoelace tips, wrappers, packaging, and more is here to stay. The pieces of plastic do, over time, erode into smaller pieces, which are then ingested by birds and fish, which then are ingested by us. Pause here to think not only how disgusting that is, but how harmful to our health it is to ingest known toxins and carcinogens.
What Can You Do to Stop the Great Garbage Patch?
There’s been some talk about cleaning the mess up, though due to the enormity of the task and small pieces, it may not be feasible. Think how hard it is to fish out a single speck of eggshell from a bowl of cracked eggs and multiply that by trillions.
The best way to help is to stop it from growing. And the best way to stop the Great Garbage Patch from growing is to reduce our consumption of plastics, non-biodegradable plastics, in particular.
I, for one, tuck a small shopping bag in my purse when I go out, just in case I make an impulse buy. For planned shopping trips, I bring my own bags. I carry a stainless steel water bottle with me instead of buying bottled water. I don’t use straws. I refill our hand soap dispensers. I avoid products with lots of wrappers. And, of course, I recycle what plastics can be recycled. It’s not the entire solution, but it’s a start. It’s also, honestly, a lot less convenient. But thinking of the huge floating plastic trash heap keeps me in line.
There are millions of ways to make a difference. I’ve heard of people bring their own food containers for takeout and bringing containers back to their neighborhood health food store for refills. If you have more ideas, please post a comment and share them here.
More resources:
Join the Stop the Great Garbage Patch cause on Facebook:
http://apps.facebook.com/causes/57731?recruiter_id=10314532
“Giant Plastic Soup Floats Out to Sea,” on frogblog:
http://blog.greens.org.nz/2008/02/11/giant-plastic-soup-floats-out-to-sea/
“Is There a Solution to the Continent of Plastic that Pollutes the Pacific?” on Fat Knowledge:
http://fatknowledge.blogspot.com/2008/06/is-there-solution-to-continent-of.html
“Continent-Size Toxic Plastic Stew of Plastic Trash Fouling the Pacific Ocean,” San Francisco Chronicle:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/18/SS6JS8RH0.DTL
September 10th, 2009 at 8:14 am
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September 10th, 2009 at 11:15 am
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October 12th, 2009 at 11:09 am
When I buy feeder crickets for my geckos, I take my cricket keeper with me… so that’s one fewer plastic bag a week being consumed! I also use plastic jar lids and medicine bottle lids as food/water dishes for my various herps. A pill bottle lid is a perfect calcium powder dish for leopard geckos, and a vitamin bottle lid makes a great water bowl for baby corn snakes.
October 22nd, 2009 at 6:48 pm
If the health-and-nature assumption hits runners hard, it’s still more dramatic when it comes to the local-sustainable food movement. ,
December 22nd, 2009 at 10:34 pm
This is sort of like the Sargasso Sea. I wonder if we will begin to hear stories about ghost ships stranded in the Pacific Gyre and bound to struggle through plastic wrap for eternity?
The sad fact is that this may already be impossible to clean up. The scope of this problem is already astronomically huge and growing daily. The cost to correct the situation would probably bankrupt most governments.
January 3rd, 2010 at 5:57 pm
For me, it always seems to lead back to that slogan that (for some reason) we don’t see much anymore:
“Any cause is a lost cause without a reduction in population”. Yes, we are morally obligated to help reduce the size of this disgraceful, disgusting product of our short-sighted ways, but make no mistake, it is just one of many such grand disasters in the making. Whether it’s climate disruption, land and resource depletion, environmental poisoning, or this, an ever-growing human population means more and more pressure and ultimately a near-future world we’d prefer not to live in.
January 9th, 2010 at 1:23 am
I normally dont take the time to write a comment, but it is not easy to find actual thoughts on this topic today. You did a great job in this post and I think I’ll check out your other articles as well. Keep up the good work!
January 9th, 2010 at 1:24 am
I don’t usually take the time to drop a comment, however it is not easy to find good information on this topic today. You did a great job in this blog post and I may just go read your other blog posts now. Keep up the good work!
January 25th, 2010 at 6:47 am
we need to stop using plastic and go back to using glass!
February 5th, 2010 at 8:08 pm
Keep up the hard work keeping the environment clean, I am right here with ya man! To a greener 2010!!
March 20th, 2010 at 1:12 am
i was starting to reckon i could possibly be the sole woman / man whom thought about this, at the least at present i understand i’m not nuts :) i am going to be sure to have a look at a few several other posts when i get a bit of caffeine in me, it is actually rough to read without my coffee, I was until the wee hours of the morning last evening practicing zynga poker and after downing a few beers i finished up getting rid of all my zynga poker chips adios for now :)
March 20th, 2010 at 7:06 pm
i was starting to feel i may end up being the only individual which cared about this, at the least at present i find out im not nuts :) i’ll be sure to see a couple of different articles immediately after i get a little caffeine in me, it can be challenging to read with out my coffee, I was until the wee hours of the morning last night grinding myspace poker and after having a few beers i ended up giving up all my facebook poker chips cheers :)
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Thank You
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May 13th, 2010 at 3:10 pm
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Thank You
Property For Sale Ireland
June 13th, 2010 at 8:23 pm
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June 14th, 2010 at 9:42 am
My close friends and I have been just talking about this the other day. What a coincidence!
June 17th, 2010 at 3:59 am
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June 22nd, 2010 at 8:46 pm
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July 27th, 2010 at 4:40 am
Keep up the hard work keeping the environment eco friendly clean
July 30th, 2010 at 11:49 am
Great blog post. Makes me wonder about what they’re going to do with this crazy oil spill here in my hometown of Pensacola. Cleaning this thing up is a nightmare.
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August 26th, 2010 at 1:38 pm
People has made such a bid deal about the BP Oil Spill but tons of garbage is dumped into the ocean every day and no one says a thing.
September 5th, 2010 at 7:55 pm
As an active business person in the waste management and recycling industry, learning about things like this absolutely disgust me. These days there are so many earth friendly ways to dispose of junk and garbage in responsible and Earth friendly ways that seeing what’s actually taking place is absolutely appalling.
Of course the problem doesn’t stem directly from America. The whole world needs to participate, and that’s the problem. We lead the game in terms of recycling and waste management and even we do a terrible job!
As a country, the U.S. needs to step up it’s recycling game and become a true world leader and example for the rest of the world.
September 15th, 2010 at 5:37 am
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September 28th, 2010 at 9:54 am
Another thing we can help alleviate this problem is to get involved with ocean cleanup programs and advocates such as Heal the Bay, Clean Ocean Action, and Ocean Conservancy which allows you to find cleanups in your area.
October 7th, 2010 at 12:14 pm
totally agree with that, i will come back later and follow up on this post
November 27th, 2010 at 2:40 am
This is quite alarming. With tons and tons of plastic produced each year, and only a small fraction of such is recycled - where else would it reside than the mighty ocean. And lets not forget, plastics tend to float. In simple terms, the plastic you threw into the ocean would be the same plastic that will “float” back to your home. Let us be responsible with our own wastes.
November 27th, 2010 at 2:44 am
Unfortunately, the vast majority of plastics manufactured are not biodegradable. - Well there is a solution to this its called Recycle. Its just sad how people still don’t practice this on their homes. We should start small — everybody — start in your OWN backyard and INside your homes.
December 1st, 2010 at 4:49 am
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October 22nd, 2011 at 10:02 pm
We’re getting married Sep. 25th, 2010.. and we’re actually having a little difficulty trying to combine all the things we love into one theme. We’re both HUGE fans of the 70s with all of the owls, mushrooms and Fall colors but also want to include a Peter Pan feel with acorns and thimbles. Most of the wedding will be hand made by my family and I and I couldn’t be happier about that because I love being crafty! We’re getting married in an art gallery in downtown Charleston and our colors are going to be a burnt orange, olive green, tiffany blue, mustard yellow, grey and black. You’re help would be SO appreciated!!
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