Just watched a show on the garbage patch in the Pacific. If this continues , i predict fish stocks world wide will collapse . Looks like there are multiple plastic patches around the globe ,just sad ! They estimate 5 trillion pieces of plastic in the ocean now .
Until I heard of the plastic patches in the ocean, I was never really all that concerned about plastic. I mean, how is it really any different than glass?
I think the biggest issue is the threat to our own health. Microscopic pieces of this crap is getting into everything and will cause widespread health issues like cancer. I think people underestimate how big a deal this really is.
You are right there saying the micro plastic is in a lot of products we are ingesting everyday .Not good !
Do you all use reusable grocery bags? I am still trying to get into the habit. I forgot more often than not.
Aren’t most plastics burnable? Where is most of the trash coming from? Do some states or countries still dump garbage in the ocean?
Someone will figure out how to profit from them and clean it up. Hopefully….
Take a good look at all the trash in the road ditches and freeways, a good portion of that trash finds its way into the storm sewer systems during heavy rains. That sewer system is a direct connection to the river system, look along the shore lines next time your on the river. High waters take everything down stream.
That system is in pace for most Modern Industrialized countries. Then you have governments around the world that have no concern over the pollution that they
create. Third world countries that the only sewer systems they have are the river Systems.
Sorry but That is my Al Gore moment for the day.
This report from the World Economic Forum predicts that by the year 2050, pound-for-pound, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish. This possibility is mind-blowing to me, as my son will be just 43 years old at that time. This isn’t something we can continue to kick down the road.
Someone will figure out how to profit from them and clean it up. Hopefully….
So far the best they’ve come up with is $175 shirts woven from fabric created from ocean plastics. I’m not holding my breath.
Good subject to bring forward. My biggest pet peeve is all those 8-10 0unce plastic water bottles sold in bulk. I will not buy water in a bottle from the first day I saw a similar report a few years ago. Not being judgemental because I still buy refreshments in those one liter bottles and on occasion 20 0uncers. Were living in a world of throw away convenience state of mind..
I found this interesting…
By Bekah Barlow
Did you know that it’s legal to dump trash in the ocean? Yes, there are limitations for what you can and cannot dump. But it is perfectly acceptable to dump your raw sewage, paper, rags, glass, metal, bottles, or similar refuse, as long as you are at least 12 miles away from the nearest shoreline. It is not permissible to dump plastics anywhere.
*An average cruise ship will produce seven tons of garbage and solid waste every day! In a year, approximately 15 billion pounds of garbage is dumped into the oceans
Did some reading on this and one place said the plastic patch was the size of the USA. I always question when there are broad statements like that.. So, is the plastic one continuous floating chunk or could it be as little as 4 pieces floating in an area the size of the US. Obviously there are more than that but nobody mentioned the density of the plastic patch.. That’s what I want to know. Until then, it’s propaganda to me and nothing more.
With that said, I 100% agree we need to get this fixed a lot sooner than later.
If I recall correctly, the biggest one they know of is somewhere between Hawaii and California and was estimated twice the size of Texas.
There was a mind blowing documentary on this not long ago.
Very scary stuff the human race has gotten into!!!
This was a pretty gross video I saw recently showing plastic in the water at a dive site near Bali: https://youtu.be/ArYLGNe-jCA
If yeti used that plastic to make coolers they could justify their high prices again and solve a huge problem while bringing back lost customers!
There isn’t 1/10th the trash in the ditches today as in the 60’s
Did some reading on this and one place said the plastic patch was the size of the USA. I always question when there are broad statements like that.. So, is the plastic one continuous floating chunk or could it be as little as 4 pieces floating in an area the size of the US. Obviously there are more than that but nobody mentioned the density of the plastic patch.. That’s what I want to know. Until then, it’s propaganda to me and nothing more.
With that said, I 100% agree we need to get this fixed a lot sooner than later.
I had the same questions so I did some quick reading and the most recent/credible report I came across had estimates for the Great Pacific Garbage Patch at 80,000 metric tons of garbage in an area of 1.6 million square KM.
That converts to a little over 7 ounces of floating trash per acre if my math is correct.
There isn’t 1/10th the trash in the ditches today as in the 60’s
I was thinking the same thing. It is much cleaner than it used to be.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Dutchboy wrote:</div>
There isn’t 1/10th the trash in the ditches today as in the 60’sI was thinking the same thing. It is much cleaner than it used to be.
The difference is back then it was a lot of bottles & cans. Today is almost all plastic. Saw a pig toss a cigarette butt out the window at a stop light the other day. I really don’t care if they wanna kill themselves, but wish they would use their ashtrays.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Dutchboy wrote:</div>
There isn’t 1/10th the trash in the ditches today as in the 60’sI was thinking the same thing. It is much cleaner than it used to be.
Simple fact, if you read a little further you might be able comprehend the total amount of free floating trash in the river Sytem.
There isn’t 1/10th the trash in the ditches today as in the 60’s
I agree , it doesn’t change the facts though.
If you want to see it for yourself contact your Local Municipality after a large rain event and ask to look into the nearest Storm Sewer lift stations.
Next time your boating down the river look for a large pile of dead head debris, and then look at the amount of trash stuck in dead-falls.
If anybody wanted to slow the problem, demand they go back to glass returnable bottles with a deposit and get rid of the plastic water and soda bottles. That won’t happen because that will inconvenience the talkers to much.
That converts to a little over 7 ounces of floating trash per acre if my math is correct.
I do not believe each acre is only supporting 7 ounces of plastic I would think some areas would be thicker than other areas. But, you right that’s a lot of area with the estimate of the 80,000 there is another estimate of that 80,000 comes out to be 6.1 trillion pieces. And its not the only one in the pacific as NOAA also recognizes another debris laden area off the coast of japan and another north and central of those 2. As this debris laden areas maybe spread out and unseen from the sky it does not mean its not there but in fact growing.
Most trash in the oceans are not from the United States. The amount floating down the Mississippi is nothing compared to what gets actually DUMPED in every minute. There isn’t much WE can do to stop it, all we can do is lessen it.
It turns out that five countries are the leading contributors to this crisis. And all are in Asia.
In a recent report, Ocean Conservancy claims that China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam are spewing out as much as 60 percent of the plastic waste that enters the world’s seas.
In the five Asian countries listed above, only about 40 percent of garbage is properly collected. Across Asia, trash is often piled up in communal dumps where stray bits are swept up by the wind and cast into the ocean.
Even sanctioned garbage dump sites are sometimes intentionally set up near rivers that flow into the sea. The reason, according to Ocean Conservancy: “Waste will intermittently be carried away by heavy rains or current, refreshing the capacity of the dump to receive more waste.”
In countries where the law is flimsy, garbage truck drivers will often save time and fuel by simply dumping trash by the roadside. These illegal dump sites are having devastating consequences for the seas.
In the Philippines, an island nation where sanitation trucks often flout the law, research suggests that up to 90 percent of the plastic dumped illegally ends up in the ocean. In the five Asian nations profiled by Ocean Conservancy, estimates suggest this practice adds nearly 1 million metric tons of plastic trash to the seas each year.
http://www.pri.org/stories/2016-01-13/5-countries-dump-more-plastic-oceans-rest-world-combined
Don’t forget all the trash that gets swept into the oceans from natural disasters like tsunamis and hurricanes.
Don’t get me wrong, we can always do better at keeping the environment clean. It’s just we aren’t the major contributors like some here are pointing to.
Most trash in the oceans are not from the United States. The amount floating down the Mississippi is nothing compared to what gets actually DUMPED in every minute.
Funny how people are looking so narowly at this and getting defensive.
Is the mississippi the only river that empties into the ocean?
Just simply saying that rivers are the sewage system of the world.
We should also be very concerned about plastics we can’t see, plastic microfibers. When we was synthetic clothes like fleece these plastic fibers are released and get into our water. Water treatment plants can’t filter them out. These are harmful to all of our waters including drinking.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/06/plastic-fibres-found-tap-water-around-world-study-reveals
https://www.earthday.org/2018/03/23/the-invisible-plastic-particles-in-our-drinking-water/
Wonder what future generations will be facing with this very monumental problem ? Just damn sad it has escalated to this !
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Munchy wrote:</div>
Most trash in the oceans are not from the United States. The amount floating down the Mississippi is nothing compared to what gets actually DUMPED in every minute.
Funny how people are looking so narowly at this and getting defensive.
Is the mississippi the only river that empties into the ocean?
Just simply saying that rivers are the sewage system of the world.
Funny how stating facts is being defensive. We as Americans have been subjected to some of the most stringent pollution laws in the world, and for the most part have complied. I never said we cant do better. But we need to start holding other countries accountable for their actions, not just create more laws here that won’t make a dent in the problem.
We all live downstream from someone !
How do you hold another country accountable?
Same way the United States makes everything work. You right a check.
You form a multi nation task force, pass agreements and get started the same way all issues around the world get handles. It can get done it just needs the major players to agree to start.
Saw a pig toss a cigarette butt out the window at a stop light the other day. I really don’t care if they wanna kill themselves, but wish they would use their ashtrays.
A pig smoking a cigarette? Now that’s not something you see everyday. Doah… 
Could it have been me? 
*I’ll post serious from now on. 
pig-smoking-cigarette-17050981.jpg
How do you hold another country accountable?
By firing Tomahawk missiles and other forms of carpet bombing.
Munchy, you are correct…at least in all that I have researched. Those Asian countries certainly, and there was a recent article in the Strib about a local company sourcing tons of plastic refuse being dumped into the ocean from the Philippines. Making another version of plastic furniture or something like that.
The revelation for many of us not knowing, is that many in that region dump all their garbage on the beaches at low tide. When high tide comes in, it washes or pulls it back off the beaches and into the ocean when the tide rolls out. Only to be repeated the next day, day after day.
garbage.jpg
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