Plastic update
There is now an estimated 250 million tonnes of waste plastic floating around in the oceans which is starting to wash up on the beaches around the world. Here in the UK we have seen, in the past four years, an increase of plastic, mainly litre size mineral water bottles, washing up at an astounding rate. Surveys done by the Marine Conservation Society have concluded that there is a 50% increase of plastic being washed up year on year since the survey began in 1993. Much of the waste originates from the vessels hugging our coastline including a large number of plastic sticks from cotton buds. One of the most disturbing facts is the amount of plastic beads that are washing up on our coastline. The beads number trillions so at first glance look like sand, at sea the beads look like shrimp and small fish causing the decline of many sea birds. The birds pick them up thinking they are food and, like the Albatross, feed them to their young. The toxins in the beads and the fact that the young are not eating means they eventually starve.
So if you have chance to join in a beach clean up please go along, it is a great day out and meet new friends. If the beach is too far away, look out for local events arranged by the National Trust, Environmental Agency and local councils. Every thing we can do to clean up the environment, no matter how small, will help enormously.
February 19th, 2008 at 9:44 pm
Thanks so much for this post. It was the story of albatross chicks with bellies full of plastic that woke me up to the problems of plastic last year. Since then, I’ve been working steadily to reduce my plastic waste and plastic consumption and have compiled an ongoing list of changes I’ve made in order to do just that:
http://www.fakeplasticfish.com/thelist
Cleaning up the plastic mess is important, but reducing our reliance on plastic in the first place is where we need to start.
February 20th, 2008 at 6:47 am
Thank you Beth, and if a few more people took your lead we would be on the way to a plastic reduced life. I would like to add a link to your site please. You have some great ideas and when I think back they are things as children I would expect like taking our own cutlery, picnic sets and so on. Yet you have even more so thank you for sharing.