Comments on: Plastic Ocean

By: Eric Lindstrom

Eric Lindstrom — Sat, 22 Sep 2012 14:41:01 +0000

Dear Saeed,
Thanks for the info! Indeed, I am no expert and just a lay witness to the seas passing by as far as plastics go. I had read in a magazine that research was progressing on “biodegradable” and “photodegradable” plastics. Certainly, we have to worry about the chemistry of such “solutions” to the plastics problem in the environment. Trading permanence for toxicity in the ocean may be no bargain at all! From an oceanographer’s perspective more research on the fate and lifecycle of plastics in the ocean sounds quite reasonable.
Eric

By: saeed sadri

saeed sadri — Sat, 22 Sep 2012 10:57:07 +0000

Hi Eric,
Thanks for the nice article yet another reminder of the extent of problem we are globally facing. I am not sure what material you refer to as “biodegradable” here but if it is plastic then I would be a bit more apprehensive about its disposal in marine environment. This is fairly new to me too as I have come to learn more about the magnitude but also subtlety of the plastic problem only recently through my PhD studies and it appears that “While degradable polymers offer waste management solutions, there are limitations to their effectiveness in reducing hazards associated with plastic debris.” this is from a recent paper by Tim O’Brine, Richard C. Thompson (2010) titled: “Degradation of plastic carrier bags in the marine environment”.

Richard broken plastic or “microplastics” is indeed an emerging issue and is getting worse as there are many unknown about their fate in oceans but even if we knew where by collecting them you also remove planktonic lives a one off guess won’t be too bad but in large scale and too often perhaps not what would benefit the marine life in long term!

By: Eric Lindstrom

Eric Lindstrom — Sat, 22 Sep 2012 08:59:26 +0000

Richard,
Thanks for the update on the Pacific.
There certainly is mounting evidence for the build-up of microscopic plastic bits in the ocean (e.g. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/05/0506_040506_oceanplastic.html ). Given the vast expanse of ocean it is hard for me to imagine how it will ever be economically viable to collect the small pieces of plastic for recycling (even if one could do it without harming marine life). As they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!
Eric

By: Richard Swann

Richard Swann — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 20:02:09 +0000

In the garbage patch north of Hawaii, I’ve read that the plastic that has been broken up into small particles has even more mass than the stuff visible on the surface. Maybe someday it will be worthwhile to collect that small stuff concentrated by the gyre and recycle it.

By the way, a large floating dock has been spotted of Molokai island, the first of the Japanese tsunami debris to reach Hawaii.

By: Eric Lindstrom

Eric Lindstrom — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 10:40:52 +0000

Peter,
Thanks for the comment. That is a question of social and economic policy outside my expertise.

There has been considerable progress in controlling the dumping of plastics from ships directly into the sea. (There is still the problem of accidents at sea where shipping containers are washed overboard in bad weather contributing their contents to the sea). However, it is thought that 80% of the plastics in the ocean are from land-based sources, not from any activity at sea. Therefore it is an important step for our stewardship of the ocean that those ashore “secure” their plastics, just like we do at sea.

Eric

By: Peter Curia

Peter Curia — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 00:22:28 +0000

I believe it is way past the time to start charging extra for ANYTHING that has plastic associated with it. Then with this money, pay to have the oceans cleaned up. Seems simple to me.