by David K.
Member since:
April 29, 2007

Our Floating Plastics Legacy - We Have a New Continent (and it might be leaking toxics)

September 03, 2009 03:38 PM EDT
views: 430 | rating: 9/10 (17 votes) | comments: 104

At a recent meeting of the American Chemical Society, the worlds largest professional scientific society, a researcher from Japan presented a paper demonstrating that plastics floating in the ocean break down faster than expected. Previously it was thought that plastics broke down very slowly (hundreds of years) and at very high temperatures.

Normally we like chemicals that break down, that is, degrade into smaller chemicals and eventually (hopefully) into carbon dioxide and water. But the study by Dr. Katsuhiko Saido of Nihon University suggests that when the plastics break down they release contaminants - some of them potentially very toxic.

The problem is more urgent because the oceans are now filled with plastic, which the New York Times called in a recent editorial, "...an amorphous, floating mass of waste plastic trapped in a gyre of currents..." Dr. Saido reports that these floating masses of plastic are releasing similar contaminants in seawater samples collected near Malaysia and the Pacific Northwest in addition to the northern Pacific between Hawaii and Japan. The northern Pacific patch is estimated to be on the order of twice the size of the state of Texas and may contain as much as 100 million tons of plastic debris.

Since plastic waste has long been known to trap up to a million seabirds every year and some 100,000 marine mammals, the discovery that degradation of the plastic releases contaminants is an added concern.

A video of the north Pacific gyre and plastic can be seen here.

[Note: Photograph by René Ehrhardt: attribution license]
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Comments: 104

Peter Joseph Swanson Sep 3, 2009, 3:45pm EDT
Eeeekkk !!!
David K. Sep 3, 2009, 3:49pm EDT
That's for the insightful comment, Peter. :)

How's the book doing?
Peter Joseph Swanson Sep 3, 2009, 4:50pm EDT
The book is doing great - new review today on Gather.

And ... I saw a bit on this new continent of junk on PBS News and it was some horrible footage. It's amazing - a 50s sci fi movie could come from it, like how Lost Continent was about people living on the moss on the Sargasso Sea (it was crazy).
David K. Sep 3, 2009, 5:03pm EDT
Yes, it's enlightening to actually see it. I haven't seen the Pacific gyre but have seen mini-versions elsewhere.

Good luck with the book! It's quite an achievement.
scott .. Sep 3, 2009, 3:48pm EDT
It's no biggie. Mr Obama can just add a new break down tax.
Angel sent from God Secret Sisters Sep 3, 2009, 5:57pm EDT
Hey we all know Obama has his flaws....
scott .. Sep 3, 2009, 7:04pm EDT
yes flaw number 842
Ali Hussein Lopez Sep 4, 2009, 12:12pm EDT
Why don't you just pray that it goes away, scott?
Jack E. Sep 3, 2009, 3:49pm EDT
Its really hard to believe that people are not concerned with the way we are polluting the earth and its oceans. I posted this pic of the Pacific garbage floating aimlessly around but it seems not to touch very many people, its like let someone else deal with it.
David K. Sep 3, 2009, 3:52pm EDT
Yes, Jack. It's amazing that we don't seem to connect to the idea that plastics take a long time to break down. Which means they float along in the currents and get collect in the eddies. And according to this particular researcher's work, the plastics might in fact be leaching contaminants into the sea water faster than expected. More work will need to be done to see if this finding is repeatable, but it certainly emphasizes the problem.
Morgan W. Sep 3, 2009, 3:54pm EDT
This is absolutely heartbreaking.....
Richard Frisbie Sep 3, 2009, 3:56pm EDT
There were just 2 boats built of recycled garbage launched to shine attention on these floating dumps in the oceans. Obviously they are doing a good job, this is the 3rd article I've seen this week. Thank you David - for the outrage - and for spreading the word.
David K. Sep 3, 2009, 4:10pm EDT
Yes, the ACS fall meeting was just a couple of weeks ago in Washington DC and the event usually gets some press coverage. The press tends to focus on the controversial, but in this case it points out a pretty major problem that doesn't seem to garner much public attention.
kathleen w. Sep 3, 2009, 3:57pm EDT
this ticks me off! how hard is it to find a garbage bag! thenthey complain about weather chagne?!
David K. Sep 4, 2009, 12:05pm EDT
Unfortunately, much of this is from landfills that don't control the waste being transported very well. And a lot of what "flies off the truck" (or the barge or blows away before being covered) ends up in the sea. Once that happens the currents take it for a ride, and like a swirling WC, it all ends up collecting in the calm center of the vortex (but without the suction to bring it elsewhere).
Morgan W. Sep 3, 2009, 4:03pm EDT
It's impossible to get away from throwing plastic into the garbage. It's in almost everything we consume - Up to and including the garbage bags we use in the kitchen that get thrown into the gallon size plastic bags that line the garbage can in.
David K. Sep 3, 2009, 4:13pm EDT
Exactly. Plastic is, as the American Chemistry Council advertising goes, "Essential to life." It's in everything. Mainly because it has properties that fit so many uses and it's durable. But it is also derived from petroleum and doesn't break down very quickly, and lately there has been much discussion about chemicals leaching out of it.
Johnice R. Sep 3, 2009, 4:20pm EDT
I have never been able to drink(or eat for that matter) from plastic vessels and utensils. There is a funny aftertaste which in 1945 I was just silly and in 2009 I am one with a very sensitive taste.

I call it a high level of self-survival.
David K. Sep 3, 2009, 4:43pm EDT
I'm with you, Johnice. I can't drink from plastic (and can't drink beer from a can either). Always pour into a glass or a stainless steel sealable mug to drink. Now I need to rethink how many plastic bottles I go through and make some adjustments.
Holly C. Sep 3, 2009, 5:09pm EDT
I can't drink from plastic bottles or use plastic utensils either. I just thought it was gross even before I had any knowledge of the chemicals. I'll be making adjustments to my plastic bottle usage too. We try to recycle what we can but there are still a lot of plastics that can't be recycled.
David K. Sep 3, 2009, 5:29pm EDT
One huge use of plastic is bottled water bottles. We use them once and toss them (or hopefully recycle them). And much of the bottled water is just filtered tap water anyway, so there really isn't a good reason to create so much plastic, even if we do recycle some of it.
Lisa C. Sep 3, 2009, 4:16pm EDT
That's awful. I watched the video. The poor animals! Imagine trying to survive like that? The photo of the turtle was horrible.
David K. Sep 3, 2009, 4:45pm EDT
That particular photo is quite dramatic. In my former life I saw a lot of fish caught in plastic rings and turtles that ate plastic bags thinking they were their favorite food - jellyfish (which are actually quite yummy, if you like salt).
Johnice R. Sep 3, 2009, 4:46pm EDT
So many are blind to how this planet and its habitat are sustained and even worst they also have no regard for creatures other than themselves.
Johnice R. Sep 3, 2009, 4:16pm EDT
Dead fish and the amount of plastic in the oceans are causing our fish to be less of a health benefit--remember brain food? Now the fish are eating plastic, oil spills and who knows what. This is not an issue to blow off like a leaf on the windshield this is a huge issue.

My M.I.T. friends are scrambling to find ways to collect the ocean plastic and revitalize the reefs. It is a delicate balancing act and not easy to do when so many folk are all to willing to dismiss the necessity of a CLEAN Earth. So sad--I would rather my grandchildren have healthy foods than no taxes!
David K. Sep 3, 2009, 5:18pm EDT
One of the things about some plastics is that it pelletizes, i.e., it initially breaks down into small pellet sized particles of plastic, which get eaten by fish, turtles, whales, birds, etc. and can block their digestive tracks.

It's good that there are people looking for solutions. As you say, too many people are focused on their own paranoias to notice what more than 6 billion people can do to the earth.
Jack E. Sep 3, 2009, 4:18pm EDT
I am no scientist but I believe when the plastics do break down they all go back to their original form and its not hard to see that the effects of these chemicals will have the same detrimental effect on the environment, the same effect as if the chemicals were poured into the water in their pure form weather they break down fast or slow.
Johnice R. Sep 3, 2009, 4:43pm EDT
Jack E. I am a Chemist ( 25 years) and plastics breakdown in time--how much time. Plastics 1,000 years in the landfills. They do NOT return to petroleum any more than you return to a fetus.
David K. Sep 3, 2009, 4:51pm EDT
Plastics, while derived from petroleum (hydrocarbons) are highly refined, not to mention usually with additives (softeners, hardeners, colorants, etc.), so they won't go back to petroleum. They are also quite complex so don't break down evenly...that is, some components break down faster than others. I think that is what the researcher is getting at, that in salt water there is faster degradation of selective components, which results in some release of potentially problematic chemicals.
Johnice R. Sep 3, 2009, 5:24pm EDT
Yes exactly! Jack is who I was answering and those selective components are being ingested by our world's fish supply.

Good night--I will re connect in the morning! God willing.
David K. Sep 3, 2009, 4:46pm EDT
People should definitely click on the link to see the short video of the Pacific gyre. It's very eye opening.
Bob Cronley Sep 3, 2009, 4:52pm EDT
I don't understand why we make disposable items out of plastic that can last a thousand years, but we make houses out of wood, which doesn't last long unless it is repeatedly preserved.
David K. Sep 3, 2009, 5:13pm EDT
Good point. So are you suggesting plastic houses? I suppose to some extent we have vinyl siding and plastic in the roof shingles, etc. I wonder if there are actual houses made from plastic?
Holly C. Sep 3, 2009, 5:11pm EDT
This is sick. We can't be healthy if the earth isn't healthy. When will people get that through their thick skulls?
David K. Sep 3, 2009, 5:14pm EDT
Apparently not yet. Probably because it's hard to see the big picture.
scott .. Sep 3, 2009, 7:07pm EDT
43 million Abortions is sick. Just think of all the little baby body parts they dump in the USA.
Angel sent from God Secret Sisters Sep 3, 2009, 5:54pm EDT
Thats why we need to go back to GLASS BOTTLES.
Angel sent from God Secret Sisters Sep 3, 2009, 5:56pm EDT
Big business found it cheaper to do plastic, and we the people got lazy would rather have throw away then reusable .
David K. Sep 4, 2009, 12:07pm EDT
In all fairness, business found a market in us, who liked the convenience of plastic. So yes, we choose the products and business ramps up production to suit our desires.

Which means we need to rethink what we desire. And consider it's entire life cycle of production, use, and disposal.
Angel sent from God Secret Sisters Sep 4, 2009, 4:26pm EDT
So true David!!!
Angel sent from God Secret Sisters Sep 3, 2009, 5:56pm EDT
Great Article!! :D :D
This is horrible. Now what can I do to help?
Cara D. Sep 3, 2009, 10:42pm EDT
Hmm... bring your own utensils with you when you eat out or away from home to avoid using plastic utensils, bring along your own re-usable water bottle, buy a Soda Stream home soda maker if you love soda so that you can enjoy it without buying plastic bottles or cans of soda, buy food in bulk using your own reusable containers so that you buy & bring home less plastic packaging, reuse your Ziploc bags so that you have to buy less of them... the possibilities are endless! :)
I guess I mean...how can we clean up the mess that is already there.
David K. Sep 4, 2009, 12:41am EDT
Unfortunately, the only way to clean up the mess already there is to 1) spend millions (billions?) physically collecting the plastic, and 2) stop adding to it. The first is unlikely since it is in international waters and we can't even agree on doing even the simple things domestically, never mind with international agreement. The second requires us to find an alternative to plastic and/or development of a biodegradable plastic. There are some alternatives already and some biobased plastics being worked on, but in the end it comes down to us not just tossing our trash on the roadside every single day.
Morgan W. Sep 4, 2009, 12:32pm EDT
The trouble with cleaning it up is where to put it...?? It's the size of Texas - The planet has less land mass than ocean mass.....We need to find a way to recycle ALL of it - not just move it from point A to point B.
David K. Sep 4, 2009, 1:19pm EDT
Good point, Morgan. The best way is not to create it in the first place. That's what we should be working on.
Ed Da Head Toker Sep 3, 2009, 8:37pm EDT
Oh boy!! SO the fish we eat can be full of plastic. This is not good.
David K. Sep 4, 2009, 12:46am EDT
Technically we eat the muscle of fish, so we probably aren't consuming significant plastic directly in that way. But if this researcher's study is accurate, the plastic may release other chemicals that would be absorbed into the fish muscle. And thus that is what we would eat.

But everyone already has these chemicals in our blood, etc. even if we don't eat fish, from other sources since plastics are used in everything. The amounts of these chemicals found in us are very very small, and so ar there hasn't been shown that the presence of them causes any problems. But obviously the fact that they are there causes many people some concern.
Ed Da Head Toker Sep 4, 2009, 5:40pm EDT
That could be the cause of many things, like asthma, etc
JOHN BECK Sep 3, 2009, 8:42pm EDT
Small wonder in our consume and dispose society.
David K. Sep 4, 2009, 2:31pm EDT
Unfortunately so, John.
Larry M. Sep 3, 2009, 9:09pm EDT
There ought to be some way to process all that plastic in such a way as to make a profit. Perhaps if we converted it to oil.
David K. Sep 4, 2009, 1:21pm EDT
Or at least have a good collection and reuse program that allows it to be reprocessed into other plastic items. Some manufacturers are using recycled bottles to make winter vests, and park benches, etc.
Larry M. Sep 4, 2009, 1:40pm EDT
One would think that the hydrocarbons in almost any form would be capable of being processed into other useful materials. Perhaps there are "additives" in the plastic which make it difficult to process. I know there is at least one process that can convert plastic back to oil at a 15% energy cost. I think we just haven't put our minds to solving the problem yet.
David K. Sep 4, 2009, 2:34pm EDT
I'm game, Larry. I know there are many additives and many kinds of plastic (soft kinds, hard kinds, flexible kinds, solid kinds, etc.) and there must be some limits on what can be done with them (both functionally and cost-effectively).

But I agree - if we put a little of our "American ingenuity" into this effort (rather than simply denying or ignoring it), we can probably come up with a solution that makes good business sense.
Larry M. Sep 4, 2009, 3:49pm EDT
Whatever it is I hope it makes it worth our while to "harvest" those floating islands of plastic in the ocean.
necee t. Sep 3, 2009, 9:10pm EDT
ooh dear, this is awful... thanks for opening my eyes to this... Blessings to all...
David K. Sep 4, 2009, 3:33pm EDT
You're welcome
Chris W. Sep 3, 2009, 10:13pm EDT
Thank you David for this educational material. One lesson that we can all take away from it is that we all need to use LESS plastic. Much of the plastic we use is not necessary. Bottled water, stop it. If you must carry water around with you, get a Brita water filter and then carry the purified tap water in a re-usable container.
David K. Sep 4, 2009, 1:02am EDT
Yes, we have such a throw away society. Our relative national affluence led us to use something like 25% percent of the world's resources even though our population is a much lower percentage. It's more convenient to simple pick up bottled water and toss it in the trash (even much of what we toss in "recycle bins" in some locations ends up in the land fill without actually being recycled.

A different mindset is needed. Plastics have allowed us to have so many products, protective devices, etc., but we need to rethink the entire life cycle (cradle to grave, or even cradle to cradle). Ditto for other non-plastic products and habits.
Chris W. Sep 3, 2009, 10:31pm EDT
not to mention one would save a ton of money that way.
Sharon K. Sep 3, 2009, 10:47pm EDT
It's horrifying to know of all the pollution. I don't think that enough people are taking it seriously.
David K. Sep 4, 2009, 2:07pm EDT
Clearly there aren't (enough people taking it seriously). This actually isn't new - we've known about the Pacific gyre plastic problem and others for quite some time. But we seem incapable of doing anything about it. And now this study suggests that the plastic might be breaking down enough to create potentially hazardous chemicals in addition to the hazards the plastic itself creates for marine animals.
Paul M. Sep 4, 2009, 9:03am EDT
We should just find a way to shoot our garbage into space. Plenty of room there!
scott .. Sep 5, 2009, 3:08am EDT
You really mean that?
Paul M. Sep 5, 2009, 9:25pm EDT
Hey, it works for Superman. Bomb in the Eiffel Tower? Chuck it into space. Rogue continent? Hurl it into space. Also worked for the Japanese army to defeat Gamera.
David K. Sep 6, 2009, 1:58am EDT
I think you'll find that we already are shooting a lot of garbage into space, Paul. Not directly, but all the space missions have left lots of refuse floating around out there, including most stages of the old Saturn V rockets (the one that carried Apollo), space shuttle parts, LEM's on the moon, lots of crawlers on the moon, Mars and a few other moons/planets, hundreds of satellites, and ditto for all the space activity of other nations. Periodically some of it spins back down to earth.
El Toro Bravo de Amor Sep 4, 2009, 11:01am EDT
That would tick off some advanced and angry civilzation who would come for vengeance.

I forsee a fleet of specialized collection skimmer ships that are floating recycling factories. They would "mow" the plastic "continent" musch like combines harvest wheat in tandem and eject bales. Incoming plastics would be restored to fleece vests, 2 liter bottles, surgical tubing, one use syringes, toothbrushes and computers like the ones we are viewing this on.

Plastic has saved a lot of lives. The medical business would collapse without it. It saves a lot of fuel to. Delivering truck loads of glass bottles would be much more costly. Aircraft that use metals instead of plastic would be cumbersome and heavy.

We're clever and crafty. Some cagey private enterprise is going to turn this problem into gold. ANd they will use plastic to do it. :)
David K. Sep 4, 2009, 12:32pm EDT
I forsee a fleet of specialized collection skimmer ships that are floating recycling factories. They would "mow" the plastic "continent" musch like combines harvest wheat in tandem and eject bales. Incoming plastics would be restored to fleece vests, 2 liter bottles, surgical tubing, one use syringes, toothbrushes and computers like the ones we are viewing this on.

Now that seems like an opportunity waiting for someone to rake in the profits! Come on all you free enterprise folks...let's come up with a way to make cleaning up the gyre's a money maker.

And I also agree with your comments, El Toro, that plastic has saved a lot of lives and has many many uses that we are not about to abandon. So we need to find the right balance, and also to make sure that we aren't trashing the planet or leaching toxic chemicals into the environment (or us).

Great comment!
Chris W. Sep 4, 2009, 10:01pm EDT
I do think that it is so much more cost effective for humans to sort their waste. Take aluminum for example. It's very cost effective for people to round up their aluminum cans and drop them into a receptacle. Compare to that concept the concept of mining landfills for aluminum. that's not practical. You would spend more money on that than the aluminum is worth.
But just try getting people who do not care and do not understand to actually recycle things. I look up and down my street on recycle pickup morning and the houses with a green bin out front are less than half. the other houses, if they still have the bin it's in the attic full of christmas decorations.
David K. Sep 6, 2009, 1:54am EDT
Some places (and people) clearly do a better job of recycling than others. But recycling only deals with the plastics after they are disposed. And there is some energy cost also to recycling (collection, washing, melting, separating, reprocessing, etc.), so life cycle analyses of recycling plastic versus virgin manufacture aren't as clear cut as they would appear.

There are also a lot of different types of plastic and lots of additives, and as the researcher mentioned in this article notes, some of the components of plastics might not be so good to let out into the environment and/or into our bodies. Of course, the same is true for many alternatives.

Which is why we need honest evaluations of these issues.
John S. (arizona) Sep 4, 2009, 12:13pm EDT
How about making ocean trash dumping illegal? Not just with us, but around the world... including shipping. I don't care if it is plastic or "whatnot", just knock it off....
El Toro Bravo de Amor Sep 4, 2009, 12:49pm EDT
[Magic wand] There. Wish granted. Let's say it is now globally illegal. Who would enforce it? France? Canada? Maybe the UN? Ha ha. Suppose China doesn't want to play along?
John S. (arizona) Sep 4, 2009, 1:29pm EDT
"What's with the negative waves"...LOL
I hear you... but we should start somewhere. As much as I lack faith in the UN etc., it does sound like something up their alley to start. There are ways to put pressure on nations through trade laws etc. I dunno'....
Later...
I've seen and read a few news reports about this. It's amazing. A plastic Sargasso Sea. In retrospect it stands to reason. Plastic floats and a lot of it doesn't break down very readily.
David K. Sep 4, 2009, 2:48pm EDT
Unfortunately so, Nippy. And the currents swirl and dump the plastic into the center (which is a pretty big center). From there the plastic can't get out because the circulation acts like walls to keep it in, like a stainless steel ball spinning in the middle of a roulette wheel.
David K. Sep 4, 2009, 1:23pm EDT
El Toro points out the biggest problem with this (other than the creation of it in the first place). These oceanic collection points are in international waters. Who has jurisdiction? Or more importantly, who assumes responsibility.

I still like your idea of encouraging some private enterprise to go out there and make a financial haul collecting and recycling it all.
Amber C. Sep 4, 2009, 2:10pm EDT
I read an article on this last week, and saw a piece about it on CNN. This was shocking to me. Obviously I knew this stuff was out there, but for so much of it to end up in one place....We know where it is, I just wish more people would do something about. It's actually a mess we can clean up! (for the most part)

I'm not a brilliant person, nor can I state statistics on the matter, but I believe even the most simple person realizes what we are doing to our world, and that we really can make a difference.
David K. Sep 4, 2009, 3:17pm EDT
We definitely have known it was there (and other places), and haven't done much about it. First step would be to stop adding to it. Which is what we can all do to make a difference (remember the "tell two people, and they tell two people, and they tell two people...").
Candace * Sep 4, 2009, 2:22pm EDT
I read this yesterday. Great post. Informative. There is no recycling where I live and Coca Cola is the preferred bev. It is consumed after every meal. That's a lot of Coke bottles. I can't throw them out (guilt) so I've been stock piling them. This morning I awoke and thought about this problem. I'm going to figure out a way to reuse these bottles. Creatively. A small dent, I know. But makes me sleep better at night.
David K. Sep 4, 2009, 2:41pm EDT
Check with your town/city/county/parrish/principality/etc. Most states have some sort of plastic recycling program, though they aren't always well used.
Don (are we Marxist yet?) H. Sep 4, 2009, 4:32pm EDT
The only way this is going to change is by legislation. People can make that happen by calling and writing their representatives. Companies will not stop producing it until it's made illegal or costly by regulation.
David K. Sep 4, 2009, 4:41pm EDT
I'm wondering exactly what to legislate, Don? The Pacific gyre, e.g., is in international waters, so reducing the amount of plastic being dumped into the environment and eventually ending up there would require legislation from every country that borders the Pacific. Ditto for the other gyres that collect plastic.

Also, companies won't stop producing plastic products until we stop buying them. Which requires there to be alternatives. That just isn't going to be the case for most things. At least at the moment.

Bottom line is that it's a tough problem for which not enough people are looking for solutions.
El Toro Bravo de Amor Sep 4, 2009, 7:38pm EDT
Aiiiee. The UN. What's their track record of enforcing a board room decision like? There seems to be some kind of unstated assumption the US is doing this to the world. We are one of the most regulated and responsible nations in existence. I've seen insane examples of dumping in Latin America. Things that would not be allowed to exist in the US are simply ignored there.

Other nations are likely far bigger contributors to this plastic island than the US

Make it illegal? Stop producing it? What? Plastic? Why would we want to get rid of plastic? It's a freaking miracle product. We wouldnt' even be able to have this discussion without the existence of plastic. Don, do you think its a little odd to advocate the elimination of plastic while you caress the little plastic letters on your amazing little comm device?

As for us using more resources than other nations, of course we do. We are in a position to do, so they are not. If you decide to go without a new phone or jacket it doesn't make one become availible to a citizen of rural Mexico. We are able to use resources. Our use of these resources provides jobs for less developed nations. Its a win/win.

Nothing should be dumped in the sea. Come up with a non plastic plastic substitute and that's what we'll be trying to deal with next.
David K. Sep 5, 2009, 8:31am EDT
I agree with most of your comment, El Toro, except perhaps the part about "other nations are likely far bigger contributors to this plastic island than the US." I'm not going to say that it isn't true on its face since I don't know the relative contributions (and I doubt anyone else does either). It does seem likely, however, that the US is the biggest per capita contributor given that we are much more of a "throw away" society than other countries. And as you say we definitely use more resources than everyone else.

The trick is to find a way to make money off of cleaning it up, or better yet, not putting it there in the first place.
scott .. Sep 5, 2009, 3:11am EDT
Just put deposits on everything
Morgan W. Sep 5, 2009, 5:38pm EDT
Is there a way to be able to recycle it all into something that we use that needs to be around forever...... power poles, houses, fencing - stuff that wouldn't need to be replaced for hundreds of years. And when/if it does....melt it down and turn it into something else...... remodel your home.. lol
David K. Sep 6, 2009, 1:49am EDT
There is quite a bit of recycling of plastic, though erratic as some locations are good about it and others just collect it and then dump it in the same place as the non-recyclable trash.

The trick is getting it out of a thousands of square mile area in the middle of the ocean. Though of course if we manage not to let it get into the ocean in the first place that would be better.

But I agree. We should be recycling and reusing our plastic.
Morgan W. Sep 6, 2009, 1:44pm EDT
Not getting it in the ocean is impossible. Even IF people stopped doing it - the wind would do it.
Maybe the fishing boats with their nets could do a "sail-by" and scoop up a net full. Granted, it would takes years to get the bulk of it - but after that it just becomes maintenance. The trouble is what to do with the net fulls. We can't just bring it to shore and bury it - the same problem would still exist
John S. (arizona) Sep 6, 2009, 1:57pm EDT
I vote for Morgan to be Obama's "Green Czar" going forward... ;-)
Morgan W. Sep 6, 2009, 3:06pm EDT
LOL - thanks John.
David K. Sep 6, 2009, 3:12pm EDT
Yes, it appears the "Green Czar" position is available, and you have the right color car for it, Morgan.
David K. Sep 6, 2009, 3:14pm EDT
The trouble with simply scooping it up is that much of it has broken down into smaller pieces that would go through nets. And these smaller pieces are the ones most easily ingested by small organisms, which are eaten by bigger organisms, which are eaten by still bigger organisms, which are eaten by humans.
John S. (arizona) Sep 6, 2009, 3:22pm EDT
Morgan would kick butt on the job... just what we need, A fresh face that doesn't take "no" for an answer!
Morgan W. Sep 6, 2009, 3:22pm EDT
There's that word again.....impossible. It's impossible to save ourselves from our own destruction.
John S. (arizona) Sep 6, 2009, 3:24pm EDT
See what I mean... she doesn't buy it... ha!
David K. Sep 6, 2009, 3:33pm EDT
I say go for it,
Morgan W. Sep 6, 2009, 3:52pm EDT
OK- had a momentary lapse of optimism there...that's not what a good czar would do..... Ha!

Seriously tho - there has to be a way to solve it. It NEEDS to be cleaned up and kept that way. ASAP!
John S. (arizona) Sep 6, 2009, 4:01pm EDT
That's it!
I'm writing the Prez. right now and nominating Morgan. Obama hasn't seen anything yet.... Ha!
David K. Sep 6, 2009, 4:16pm EDT
I'm sure Morgan's positive attitude will be just what is needed right now. Let's create some green jobs cleaning up plastic in the Pacific gyre. Think of the boom to recycling we would get from just this one area!
John S. (arizona) Sep 6, 2009, 4:18pm EDT
Agreed!
Leo Lemmer Sep 6, 2009, 3:17pm EDT
I take green bags to the grocery, etc. I avoid plastics when possible.
David K. Sep 6, 2009, 3:35pm EDT
I have been doing the same for the last year and a half. Something about having to pay 10 cents per bag each time I bought groceries was enough to stimulate me to start bringing canvas bags, which I use every single time (and I got for free at the local library).

A tiny bit of incentive goes a long way.

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