Pacific Plastic Dump Far Larger Than Feared Study
I first became aware of the build up of plastics in the Pacific Ocean back in 2007 after watching some YouTube videos from Captain Charles Moore documenting his trip to the Pacific Gyre (video) .
At the time there was a lot of surface plastic, but the more worrisome issue was the micro plastic that was invading the marine food chain. It was shocking to revisit news of this area and see how much larger the region was compared to 10 years ago.
We all need to do our part to help. On a previous posting I talked about ensuring I did not throw out ANY plastic. I am proud to say that I am still about 95% compliant with this commitment. All plastic I generate at home and even on the construction site is separated and taken to recycling. I also try to use re-usable bags for the vast majority of my shopping. The one area I do occasionally fall short is when dining out at fast food locations. I do not always bag up the plastic to bring home and recycle. I will try harder!
The medical and science community are now finding micro plastics embedded in us! This article covers research performed in Belgium that shows these micro plastics consumed are becoming embedded in our flesh.
We all need to do our part and do better. From reducing the volume of single use plastics to ensuring the plastics we do use are properly recycled at the end of their life span.
