Swimming in an Ocean of Plastic

From Orillia, Ontario, Canada comes this piece wherein the author reveals a revelation he's had regarding plastics.

A few statistics from the piece, courtesy of Algalita Marine Research Foundation via Time Magazine:

• 46,000 pieces of plastic are floating per every square mile of ocean.
• The North Central Pacific Gyre (that floating patch of debris) contains an estimated 100 million tons of trash.
• The gyre area is now said to be maybe twice the size of the Continental United States.

These stats and the realization that he was making a difference has turned the author. What can they do to turn that skeptical friend or relative of yours? Any decent person who learns of the research of Algalita and others can't help but want to make a difference. Read the entire article here.

Haven & Havoc

Ocean Debris: Habitat for Some, Havoc for Environment, Experts Say

John Roach - National Geographic News

Look under a chunk of plastic afloat in the ocean and you're likely to spot a fish or two. But look inside the stomach of a dead albatross or sea turtle and you're likely to find chunks of plastic. So goes the paradoxical legacy of plastic debris in the ocean.

Carl Safina is a marine conservationist who has traveled the world's oceans and documented the effects of plastic on marine life. This past fall, on a research cruise in the remote Pacific Ocean off the coast of Central America, he and his colleagues encountered floating trash serving as habitat for small fish and other marine organisms.

Read the rest of it here.

Frankenplastic? New Enzyme Coated Plastics: How Will They Affect Our Oceans?

Don't look now, but scientists are working on a plastic that is coated with enzymes to kill bacteria with the idea that eventually this will lead to self-cleaning fabrics. I wonder if the scientist proponents have considered the effects that this material could have once it enters the waste stream and our oceans. In case they haven't, I asked them. Read the article here.

Keeping the Ocean Clean

From one Surfrider Member, helping keep the ocean clean:

I went to Home Depot and bought some strips of velcro. I put the
velcro around my upper calf and when I see a bag I grab it, roll it
up and put it between my leg and the velcro. I can still surf and
when I come in I just through it in the trash. It's my little part
to keep the ocean clean.

Malibu Bans Plastic

Malibu proved to be a leader in local ordinances by banning both regular and biodegradable bags in all retail stores. Ordinance 323 was passed unanimously by the Malibu City Council members after a presentation by the local Boys and Girls Club and Heal the Bay. Malibu EC Member Andrea Boccaletti presented testimony on behalf of the Chapter describing the prevalence of plastic bags at the beach clean up in Zuma Beach last weekend. Angela Howe spoke on behalf of Surfrider to tell about our Rise Above Plastics campaign efforts and the need for local leadership on a municipal level, especially in Malibu where Surfrider began in 1984.


This is an important win in the fight against plastics. Several members of the West LA Malibu Chapter of Surfrider were on hand to support the plastic bag ban, and residents thanked Surfrider for our testimony.

For more information, see http://www.malibutimes.com/articles/2008/05/09/news/news3.txt

Plastics and Packaging Concerns By and For All

Proving that concerns for our environment crosses party lines and oceans, Conservative Member of Parliament John Hayes has come out against over packaging.

Mr Hayes, MP for South Holland and The Deepings, raised the issue during a House of Commons debate last week and is urging the Government to take action sooner rather than later to help save the environment.

He said: "When my young children have their toys they come packaged in paper, metal, plastic, wood and every other kind of thing that one can imagine.

"When we bought toys or when they were bought for us as children, they came very simply packaged."

Mr Hayes added that there are many other examples of ways that excess packaging is getting "out of control"....He added: "Not too long ago fish and chips used to be wrapped in paper, not polystyrene boxes, and milk and pop came in returnable glass bottles.

"We need to look again at the benefits that returnable glass bottles and other forms of packaging can deliver compared to their plastic and polystyrene alternatives."

Read the entire article here. Right on, MP Hayes. Rock the UK!

Recycling Can Fix This, Right? Wrong.

(from Reusablebags.com)

Recycling Can Fix This, Right? Wrong.

Recycling has its place -- in fact, we offer bags made of recycled PET because we support sustainable paths for the world's overabundance of plastic.

However, it's not the complete solution.

Recycling rates for plastic bags are extremely low. Only 1 to 3% of plastic bags end up getting recycled.

In addition, economics of recycling plastic bags are not appealing. From the process of sorting, to the contamination of inks and the overall low quality of the plastic used in plastics bags, recyclers would much rather focus on recycling the vast quantities of more viable materials such as soda and milk bottles that can be recycled far more efficiently. If the economics don't work, recycling efforts don't work. more

Image: www.inhabitat.com

Nalgene faces Lawsuit over BPA

A California mother is suing the parent company and producer of Nalgene plastic water bottles for downplaying health risks of inclusion of BPA in their bottles. As reported in these pages, Nalgene recently said it would stop using BPA in its bottles.