HERE’S THE PROBLEM…

Due to the short-term cost effectiveness of goods like grocery bags, drinking straws, water bottles and cheap product packaging, disposable plastic products are as pervasive in our world as just about any other man-made substance on Earth. The problem is that although in the present and immediate future these products provide cheap solutions, in the long-term they will prove to be indeterminately expensive. As a diver, ocean-lover, and seafood eater, I encounter the evidence of this everyday. It is increasingly rare to walk along a beach, or dive at my favorite sites without seeing plastic pollution, and despite it seeming a mere nuisance, the trash actually does have a real impact.

Studies show that in large mammal beachings, like the most recent stranding of hundreds of pilot whales near New Zealand, many of the animals are found to have insane amounts of plastic trash in their guts (2). Although the link between the strandings and the gut content of these animals has not been proven, it is a safe assumption that a link exists. Pelagic (open-ocean inhabiting) animals like whales, porpoises, sea turtles and others most likely ingest the floating plastic confusing it for one of their favorite meals… jellyfish and squid (think clear plastic grocery bags) and subsequently suffer from malnutrition. Our ecosystems depend on these keystone species to keep the oceans healthy. Though you may not think about it, we rely on the ocean to help maintain our planet’s overall health and our own well-being. The ocean ecosystem provides more of the oxygen we breathe than all of the terrestrial plants combined, and also absorbs more carbon dioxide than any other system on Earth (3). And with the amount of plastic waste entering our environment, we will be dealing with its effects worldwide very soon.

Evidence of the sheer amount of trash can been seen in the well-known Pacific Trash Vortex, a monstrous floating island of plastic waste found in the gyre of major ocean currents between California and Japan. This floating trash dump contains many miles of trash, ranging in size from enormous abandoned life rafts down to the more microscopic and ominous multitude of plastic debris like the microbeads found in hand sanitizers and facial scrubs. (On a side note, the use of these microbeads is currently under debate, and many places have already banned them.) The evidence exists not only in the conspicuous form of the floating island of plastic the size of Texas, but as well in the nearly unreachable depths of the Mariana Trench, the deepest spot in our oceans at more than 6 miles deep.

The point is, plastic is everywhere, and it shouldn’t be. Whether through active littering, or by passive means like runoff from rivers and landfills, plastic continues to fill the environment. And what makes plastic so useful is also its most dangerous quality…it is incredibly durable and will not biodegrade.

SOLUTIONS IN THE WORKS

Recently, a push to raise awareness about the issue through mass media coverage has spurred the innovation of many solutions to start battling plastic pollution. A young man recently published his intention and ideas to start removing trash from the oceans in this inspiring video (4). Many cities across the US and other countries worldwide, most recently India, have begun to implement bans on plastic grocery bags, plastic water bottles and other disposable products (5). Some places with internal waterways, like Baltimore, MD, have implemented automated trash collectors (like a Roomba for canals), and a concept called SeaBin designed for marinas is a pollutant vacuum, and sucks up any trash and oil that floats its way. Adidas has even come out with a shoe made entirely from recycled plastic collected from the ocean (although I know I can’t afford a $220 pair of shoes made from trash). All of these grand and large-scale solutions are great, but how can you, the lone warrior, have an impact on the war against plastic?