Paper or Plastic?

As Courtney reported in an earlier blog, the garbage patch that is in the North Pacific Ocean is twice the size of the state of Texas. It is known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the Eastern Garbage Patch, and the Pacific Trash Vortex. It covers more than 15,000,000 square kilometers of space, and it is composed of over 100,000,00 tons of debris. Most of the debris is plastic. About eighty percent of the garbage comes from land while only 20 percent comes from the ships at sea. (http://www.kidzworld.com/article/19102-pacific-oceans-plastic-island) The most important thing to understand is that plastic can only become smaller in size over time when its in the ocean, but it will always be plastic. The patch is also made up of When the plastic becomes very small, organisms that live in water mistake it for zooplankton, and eat it. This also means that when the animals in the water eat it, it will later end up in our food when we eat those animals. This is not only important for the sake of the animals, but also for us. The different types of plastic are: Low Density PolyEthylene, High Density PolyEthylene, and a few more. Low Density PolyEthylene is used for vegetables, toys, and clothes, while High Density PolyEthylene is the supermarket bag. (http://plasticisrubbish.wordpress.com/2008/03/28/what-are-plastic-bags-made-from/) Plastic is very durable, made from natural gas, and because their molecular bonds are so strong, it therefore resists degradation. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic) Since they are so hard and cost a lot to recycle, plastic ends up in landfills. They can break down into toxic particles, and contaminate the soil. Every bag that goes down the drain, ends up in the ocean. (http://www.googobits.com/articles/1604-plastic-bag-pollution.html) In 2007, San Francisco was the first city in the U.S. to ban plastic bags in grocery stores and pharmacies. Most importantly, people think that plastic bags are free, but in San Francisco, they spent 8.5 million to deal with plastic bag litter. Bangladesh, and some African nations are thinking about banning them because they clog sewerage systems. China will also stop handing out free bags. Also, in order for us to use paper bags, deforestation has to occur, "take four times more energy to manufacture, and ten times more energy to recycle" (http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/07/ebg072909.html). In Ireland, the PlasTax (taxes on plastic bags, 33 cents per bag) cut 90 percent of bag use in a couple of weeks. Later, people carrying a plastic bag were looked upon the same way a person smoking on the plane would be looked at.

A couple of weeks ago I saw a commercial on television while I was watching the news, that interviewed different people about why they use reusable bags when they go grocery shopping. Some people said that they use them because it looks good for their clothes, while another man said that he wants to help the environment. One couple said that they use reusable bags from Trader Joes and after they are done unpacking the food, they leave the bags on their front porch until the next time. One woman said while laughing that the reusable ones don't rip, and her food does not fall out. After all of the people spoke about why they don't use plastic bags, a person said that we should use reusable bags to help the environment. This commercial was very important to me because I started to think about myself when I heard the diverse group of people talk. I realized that I am not doing something that is so easy, that could help the organisms in the ocean, and our planet. I have one of these bags from Safeway, but I always forget to use it, because I am so busy thinking about other things. I feel a little guilty that I am not doing something that is so easy. I feel that I should make it a routine to use that bag every time I go shopping, and maybe reward myself when I do. This ad was aimed towards the people that don't really think about these sorts of things because they are not directly affected by it. They don't live in the ocean, and they don't mistake plastic for food. If they did, then they would make sure they don't use the plastic. It was a very effective ad because we got the opinions of many different many that were different ages, so most people could relate to their stories.

There are people that are helping to clean the area of debris in the ocean. For example, one man named Richard Owen, a contractor and scuba diving teacher, created the Environmental Cleanup Coalition. The plan that he and this group has is to get ships to clean the area of all of the trash. He also wants to make a restoration and recycling laboratory called Gyre Island. (http://www.kidzworld.com/article/19102-pacific-oceans-plastic-island)