It is wild to think about the amount of plastic waste we create in this country and around the world. We’ve discussed how we produce about 380 million tons of plastic and a sizable chunk of that is dumped into the ocean each year and how as human beings we inadvertently eat a surprisingly high amount of plastic as a result. Microplastics are pervasive and small enough that they are consumed in our food, found in our drinking water and even in the air. We’ve talked about this before but did you know about the garbage island?
The garbage island, known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch located in the pacific ocean between California and Hawaii and spans an area about three times the size of texas. You can only imagine how many marine creatures are impacted by a mass of plastic waste that large. Even more eye opening is that while the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is the largest plastic waste site in the ocean, it is not the only one. It’s actually one of 5 very large sites of plastic waste contamination. It is estimated that in this one patch alone there are more than 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic waste weighing over 80,000 tonnes.
Recently, groups like The Ocean Cleanup have begun trying to clean up this disastrous by-product of consumerism. Many are of the opinion that unless we turn plastic waste off at the source, there is little hope that we will be able to catch up with production and waste. One researcher speculated that if we stay on our current trajectory, in about 25 years, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish. While that may seem crazy, think again about how much waste is in this one garbage patch and how we are adding to it everyday. It’s thought that the patches are created by a vortex of currents that collects and holds the garbage together. As the bigger pieces break down, they create millions of smaller pieces that are consumed and often kill the wildlife around the patch. The wildlife that doesn’t die often becomes food for larger sea creatures, spreading the overall effect of this floating trash heap.
We know that plastic waste is a problem. We know that we have a finite amount of water on this planet. We know that plastic in our blood, lungs and air is not sustainable. We know that we are now passing these problems one directly to babies just born and the cycle is getting more and more dire. We also know that we have a small window of time in which to implement changes that will have a real impact. We are perched on the edge of a point of no return. It’s time to act and protect our resources before we run out.
Resources:
https://theoceancleanup.com/great-pacific-garbage-patch/
https://plasticoceans.org/the-facts/