In January 1992, a cargo ship sailing from Hong Kong to Washington hit a storm, and twelve
containers tumbled overboard, releasing a fleet of blue turtles, green frogs, red beavers,
and yellow ducks.
28,800 animals, destined for bathtubs, now a lonely plastic navy, drifting in the Pacific
Ocean.
Then they started to float ashore.
Along the Alaska coast, Washington State, some even traveled as far as the British Isles.
But a few ended up here, in a swirling spiral of floating junk: the Great Pacific Garbage
Patch.
There’s five, or maybe six spots on Earth where rotating currents gather masses of plastic
debris.
But go there and you won’t see mountains of yellow ducks, red beavers, and novelty
sunglasses.
Not alarming as Garbage Island, but a lot more dangerous.
The high-density plastics we use to make consumables (think water bottles, straws, and Frappuccino
cups) are broken down by sun, waves, and curious critters until what’s left is less like
garbage rafts and more like tiny bits of confetti, floating in soup.
That soup is is bad news for what lives there, which is ironic, since plastic was invented
to save animals.
During the 19th century, the demand for ivory billiard balls decimated elephant populations,
forcing chemists to look for a synthetic alternative.
They found it 1907.
Bakelite, the first synthetic plastic.
Of course the real boom didn’t come until the mid 20th century.
“I just want to say one word to you.
Just one word.”
“Yes sir?”
“Are you listening?”
“Yes I am.”
“Plastics.”
Modern plastics are so strong that a 60 gram jug can carry 4 kg of milk.
But despite being so durable, plastic is also cheap.
So cheap that much of it’s designed to be used just once.
And even when it ends up in the trash can, or better yet, the recycling bin, every year
more than 8 million tons of plastic waste leak into the ocean.
That’s about 15 plastic shopping bags worth for every meter of coastline on Earth.
Because that plastic is broken down into nearly invisible bits, it makes it hard to figure
out just how large those polluted patches are.
Is it one Texas?
Two, or four Texases?
Or is it Texii?
Whatever.
That puny plastic potpourri also means most of those ocean-skimming cleanup ideas you
hear about won’t work, and truth is, while we might hear a lot about these flotillas
of flotsam, we find plastic in everywhere we find ocean, and at every depth, even the
deepest.
Birds and younger sea animals that can’t dive deep to find their dinner end up feeding
near the surface where they encounter more plastic.
Larger debris can certainly tangle these animals up, but many end up eating plastic too - sometimes
by accident.
To a sea turtle?
Floating trash looks a lot like dinner.
And smaller debris, when ingested by young fish, can interfere with growth and development.
On the small scale, the tiny organisms who recycle whale poop, driftwood, and old ships
can’t break down microscopic plastic debris, and those tiny bits can absorb toxins which
are concentrated as they move up the food chain, even to our plates.
CU/WIDE: But that plate?
Is somewhere we can make a difference.
When it comes to plastic pollution, just remember the 6 R’s
Reduce!
Choose to buy fewer things that are packaged in non-recyclable plastic.
Did you know that stores like Amazon often let you choose “hassle-free” packaging?
Reuse!
Think reusable.
Certainly works for Hollywood.
Recycle!
Most cities have recycling programs these days, but a lot of recyclable stuff still
gets thrown away.
Stuff like clothes and shoes, full of plastic fibers.
So why not donate them?
Rethink!
If you build or make things, ask if there’s another way to do it without using disposable
plastics.
I hear the next iPhone might be made of wood!
And if you own something plastic and it breaks, try to repair it rather than throw it away.
Finally, Refuse!
Just say no to disposable plastics.
Turn your plastic fork into metal.
Did you know that Americans use 500 million drinking straws every single day?
Did you know that you can drink with your mouth, and not use a straw?
Try it!
It doesn’t suck.
We’ll never get rid of plastic, and that’s ok.
It’s still a pretty great invention, and there’s a lot of places where it makes sense.
But there’s a lot of places where it doesn’t.
Just ask the turtles, and the birds.
Stay curious.
I just want to say one word to you.
One word.
Subscribe!
And if you want to learn more about plastic pollution, ocean currents, garbage patches,
plus what you can do to reduce plastic waste in your own life, we put a bunch of links
down in the description.