>> THE GREAT PACIFIC GARBAGE PATCH.
IT'S A TRASH-FILLED AREA IN THE OCEAN THAT'S MORE THAN TWICE THE
SIZE OF TEXAS.
MUCH OF THAT TRASH IS SINGLE-USE PLASTIC THAT HAS PROVEN HARD TO
CLEAN-UP.
RECENTLY, A NETHERLANDS-BASED NON-PROFIT CALLED THE OCEAN
CLEAN-UP HAS MADE STRIDES IN DOING JUST THAT.
AND I SPOKE ABOUT THE DEVELOPMENTS WITH DR.
ADRIAN JORDAAN, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF
FISH POPULATION ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION AT THE UNIVERSITY
OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST.
>> MOST OF THE PLASTIC THAT ISNDING UP EVENTUALLY IN THESE
GARBAGE PATCHES THAT ARE FLOATING AROUND THE OCEAN IS
STARTING FROM RIVERS, WHICH OBVIOUSLY CONNECT THE OCEAN TO
INLAND, AS THE CONNECTICUT RIVER DOES HERE.
AND SO IT'S PART OF TRYING TO MAKE THE SOLUTIONS ACTUALLY
WORK, IF YOU WAIT UNTIL ALL OF THE TRASH IN THE CENTER OF THE
OCEAN IS BEING COLLECTED, YOU HAVEN'T SOLVED THE PROBLEM IN
THE MEANTIME.
SO IT'S TRYING TO TACKLE IT A LITTLE BIT OF THE SOURCE.
>> IT WAS REALLY INTERESTING THE PRESS RELEASE FROM OCEAN CLEAN
UP ABOUT THIS INTERCEPTOR DEVICE IT CAN CLEAN UP TO 50,000
KILOGRAMS OF PLASTICS A DAY.
I DID THE QUICK GOOGLE MATH THAT IS 110,000 POUNDS OF TRASH?
IS THERE THAT MUCH PLASTIC IN THESE RIVER WAYS, THAT'S A HUGE
CAPACITY?
>> YEAH.
SO IT OBVIOUSLY VARIES BY LOCATION.
AND UNFORTUNATELY IN PLACES LIKE CHINA AND SOUTHEAST ASIA THERE
ARE -- THERE IS THAT MUCH PLASTIC IN THOSE RIVER WAYS.
THAT IS GETTING INTO THE OCEAN.
UNFORTUNATELY AS YOU MENTIONED EARLIER, SOME OF THAT TRASH IS
COMING FROM US TO START WITH THEN PART OF THE RECYCLING THAT
IS ENDING UP IN THESE COUNTRIES THAT DON'T HAVE THE WASTE
MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS THAT WE DO.
>> BECAUSE THE PLASTIC, PEOPLE MIGHT THINK YOU'RE ON A BOAT
TOSSING IT OUT -- OVER THE SIDE OF A BOAT THAT'S NOT WHERE THE
MAJORITY OF THIS IS COMING FROM.
IT'S EITHER BEEN DIVERTED VIA WIND OR MAYBE BEING RECYCLED BUT
IT'S NOT.
DO WE HAVE ANY SENSE OF HOW MUCH OF THIS IS DELIBERATE WASTE
THAT'S BEING DUMPED IRRESPONSIBLY AND HOW MUCH OF
THIS IS INDIRECTLY ENDING UP THERE BY ACCIDENT?
>> I DON'T THINK THERE'S MUCH INFORMATION ON THAT.
I THINK THAT IT'S PROBABLY A COMBINATION OF THE TWO.
I MEAN THE PLASTIC ENDS UP IN A COUPLE OF PLACES, EITHER ENDS UP
IN A LANDFILL, GETS INCINERATED THEN RECYCLING COMPONENT.
SINCE MOST OF THE PLASTIC IS PRODUCED IN THESE COUNTRIES, IT
DOES MAKE SENSE THAT WE SEND IT THERE BECAUSE THEN YOU WOULD
HOPE THAT IT WOULD END UP BACK IN THE -- AS A PRODUCT BUT
UNFORTUNATELY SOME OF IT IS NOT.
>> LAST MONTH OCEAN CLEAN UP, THIS NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION
BASED IN NETHERLANDS MADE BIG NEWS BECAUSE OF THE WORK IT HAS
BEEN TRYING TO DO IN THE GREAT PACIFIC GARBAGE PATCH.
THE WORK STARTED BACK IN 2013 AS I UNDERSTAND IT WITH THIS
MASSIVE DEVICE, IT'S BEEN USING TO TRY TO CAPTURE A LOT OF THE
PLASTIC THAT WE KNOW IS OUT THERE.
YOU LOOK AT THE GOOGLE EARTH IMAGES, OF THE MASSIVE WAD OF
DISGUSTING PLASTIC THAT'S LARGER THAN TEXAS.
BUT RECENTLY IN THE NEWS WAS BROKEN THAT IT'S WORKING, THAT
IT'S ABLE TO CAPTURE SOME OF THIS MATERIAL.
WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION WHEN YOU HEARD THAT THIS WAS WORKING?
>> WELL, IT'S AN AMAZING, SIMPLE IDEA.
IT'S JUST BAKESLY A GIANT PARACHUTE NET THAT SLOWLY
COLLECTS MATERIAL BECAUSE IT'S GOT SOMETHING THAT'S HOLDING IT
BACK A LITTLE BIT SO THE PLASTIC COLLECTS.
IT'S BRILLIANT.
IT'S OBVIOUSLY, BECAUSE OF THE SCALE OF THE PROBLEM YOU CAN'T
JUST GO OUT TO PICK IT UP WITH HANDS AND DIP NETS, JUST TOO
BIG.
SO I THINK THAT YOU JUST HAVE TO ADMIRE WHEN A SIMPLE, LOGICAL
IDEA ACTUALLY WORKS AND I THINK THAT THEY SHOULD BE COMMENDED
FOR THE EFFORT THAT THEY'RE TRYING.
>> IT'S A YOUNG GENTLEMAN HE WAS 19 AT THE TIME WHEN HE STARTED
THIS BACK IN 20134 HE WAS PERSISTENT, TOO, THERE WERE
SOME HICCUPS ALONG THE WAY, WASN'T WORKING AS IN TINNED
INTENTION NALLY STICK STEWTIVENESS IS THE IMPORTANT
MESSAGE THERE.
L. BUT THE DEVICE THAT THEY'RE
USING NOT ONLY IS IT CATCHING BIG ITEMS THAT YOU MIGHT THINK
IT WOULD CATCH BUT MY UNDERSTANDING SMALL ITEMS UP TO
A MILLIMETER?
WHAT IS THE PROBLEM WITH THAT SIZE PLASTIC.
YOU STUDY FISH, BUT A MILLIMETER OF PLASTIC, WHAT IS THE PROBLEM
WITH THAT IN THE WATERWAYS?
>> WELL FIRST OF ALL, A MILLIMETER OF PLASTIC IS
ACTUALLY FAIRLY LARGE PIECE OF PLASTIC, UNEFFORTALITILY GETS
EVEN SMALLER THAN THAT, SO THE THE PROBLEM IS THAT IN FACT ONE
OF THE SPECIES OF FISH THAT I WORK ON, RIVER HERRING, BLUE
BACK HERRING WHICH ARE IN THE CONNECTICUT RIVER, THEY HAVE
SPECIALLY ADAPTED FEATURES ON THEIR GILLS THAT ALLOW THEM TO
FILTER OUT MATERIALS FROM THE WATER.
SO THIS IS ALL THE HERRINGS AND ALL SORT OF MIDDLE ORGANISMS
THAT THEN FEED FOR THE LARGER ORGANISMS THAT WE LIKE NO EITHER
FISH RECREATIONALLY OR EAT, EXODE AND THOSE KINDS OF FISH.
UNFORTUNATELY THEY FILTER OUT PLASTIC.
DURING THE TIME THAT THEY'RE FEEDING BECAUSE THEY ARE
BASICALLY JUST FILTERING OUT THE WATER.
SO THE PROBLEM IS THAT IT'S ENDING UP IN THOSE FISH, SOME OF
THOSE FISH ARE HARVESTED BOTH DIRECTLY FOR USE IN AGRICULTURAL
OR LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION.
BUT ALSO THEY GET EATEN.
AS IT TURNS OUT THAT STUFF IS NOW COMING BACK TO OUR DINNER
PLATES AND INTO OUR FOOD.
>> ANOTHER AREA OF RESEARCH THAT YOU'RE FOCUSED ON IS
UNDERSTANDING THE INFLUENCE OF ENVIRONMENT AM VARIABLES ON
GROWTH AND SURVIVAL OF INDIVIDUAL POPULATIONS.
SO, ASIDE FROM THE ACCUMULATION PIECE, ARE THERE OTHER WAYS THAT
THESE PLASTICS ARE IMPACTING WILDLIFE THAT WE SHOULD BE
TALKING ABOUT?
>> I THINK JUST WE HAVE SHIFTED OVER MY LIFETIME, I'M IN MY MID
40s FROM A SOCIETY THAT WAS SORT OF WASTE NOT, WANT NOT
SOCIETY.
WE'VE WATCHED EMERGENCE OF MANY DIFFERENT PRODUCTS THAT ARE
PLASTIC AND I THINK THAT THERE'S JUST THIS LARGE AMOUNT OF
MATERIAL THAT IS GETTING INTO OUR WATERWAYS.
AND THAT'S UNFORTUNATELY ALSO PHARMACEUTICALS AND OF COURSE
THE OPIOID EPIDEMIC IS ALSO RESULTING IN SOME OF THESE
MATERIALS GETTING IN THE WATER.
SO WE'VE THANKFULLY CLEANED UP A LOT OF OUR RIVERS FROM BEING --
>> WE TALK ABOUT WAS HIGHLY INDUSTRIALIZED AREAS WHERE IT
WAS MILLS OR FACTORIES, PCBs THAT HAS GONE ON.
SOME AREAS IT'S STILL GOING ON NOW THIS NEW CHALLENGE WE'RE
FACING.
>> RIGHT.
A LOT OF STUFF THAT WE DON'T SEE.
AND I THINK THAT UNFORTUNATELY IT'S TOUGH FOR PEOPLE TO SORT OF
REALLY UNDERSTAND THAT THERE'S THIS PROBLEM BECAUSE IT'S UNSEEN
PROBLEM.