Plastic pollution problem.

no-one in particular · Oct 22, 2017

TV the other night, Skokholm Island where a big colony of Gannets nest every year. The bird wardens go on it at the end of the nesting period to rescue about 100 to 200 young birds trapped in the fishing line the adults use to build the nest. Not all fishing line, bin liners, plastic bottles etc but a lot of it fishing stuff, mainly commercial to be fair; netting and such like. Its just the scale of it that is shocking, they estimate its several tons interwoven in these nests. You see this sort of thing all the time now all round the world and that's apart from it building up in fish and much more.
I don't know, its just the scale of it now that gets to me; its everywhere you look and tons of it.

If its not already, is this heading towards the most damaging pollution event in human history?

thecrow · Oct 22, 2017

I know of no other species that fouls its living space as humans do, we live in a throw away society where out of sight out of mind rules, I am convinced that the human race will eventually destroy themselves or the earth.

rich66 · Oct 22, 2017

Yes & I think it has so many far reaching implications that we are only just realising how bad it is. In the food chain, starvation of sea animals that ingest it etc etc.
Thinking about plastic pollution I was looking for hair rig stops the other day and couldn't find a biodegradable one. I normally use a bit of vegetation and think I'll continue that way.

mikench · Oct 22, 2017

thecrow said:
I know of no other species that fouls its living space as humans do, we live in a throw away society where out of sight out of mind rules, I am convinced that the human race will eventually destroy themselves or the earth.

Both sadly! Fly tipping is getting worse and not helped by the lack of tips! Britain is a filthy place imo!

no-one in particular · Oct 23, 2017

mikench said:
Both sadly! Fly tipping is getting worse and not helped by the lack of tips! Britain is a filthy place imo!

You don't have to look far Mike, a walk down to to the local supermarket yesterday, about 15 bits of plastic thrown behind a railing, mainly bottles, bi liners etc; about 5 plastic bottles just laying around in the gutter. And that was over and beyond all the other stuff. Shocking really, the laziness of people or its just the freewheeling lifestyle/attitude people seem to adopt these days.

no-one in particular · Oct 23, 2017

thecrow said:
I know of no other species that fouls its living space as humans do, we live in a throw away society where out of sight out of mind rules, I am convinced that the human race will eventually destroy themselves or the earth.

I think we are already looking for another earth to ruin next. We will probably just fire off a voyager type thing with a bit of our DNA on it to land in its sea and start the whole process off again.

tonya · Oct 23, 2017

Isn't there a floating raft of plastic the size of Wales in the central Pacific Ocean?

rich66 · Oct 23, 2017

As big as Mexico now !
Plastic Garbage Patch Bigger Than Mexico Found in Pacific

steve2 · Oct 23, 2017

There is a major problem and everyone on this website like it or not is adding to it everyday. Just look in your basket next time you shop just how much plastic there is. The same goes for your fishing tackle plastic is everywhere.

trotter2 · Oct 23, 2017

There is definitely too much plastic used in the food industry. As a boy shopping with my parents in the 60s and 70s in the co-op. Averything was weighted out and put in a paper bag that's what we need to get back too . And reusable glass jars and bottles instead of plastic milk bottles.

no-one in particular · Oct 24, 2017

rich66 said:
As big as Mexico now !
Plastic Garbage Patch Bigger Than Mexico Found in Pacific

Well pointed out Rich, this is the point, any statistic you can read about the plastic problem are always staggering, just that TV program I opened with, the statistics were frightening and that was just around a nesting colony of Gannets.
And we are not really doing anything about it, plastic bag consumption is down, good but its a drop in the proverbial. Clean up campaigns on beaches are helping but still a drop in the proverbial given the scale of it. Got to get this stuff out of the system all together from source or just stopping it ending up in the general rubbish.
I was just reading about scientists have discovered a wax worm that eats plastic and a fungus that might work. And there are some naturally occurring bacteria that eat plastic I mentioned elsewhere. So its not all a forlorn hope but these things could take a very long time to get going, that is if they do ever get established so Governments need to do some something now.

steve2 · Oct 24, 2017

We now live in a convenience world where everything is packed and stacked for convenience. So unless we can find some way to turn the clock back 50 years our children’s children will have to live with a world these past few generations have created.
How many of us want to go back to those days, we now all live for today and few care about the future. We might think about it but who really cares?
How many on here run their own companies or work for companies that would be prepared to turn the clock back. None I would suggest not if it gets in the way of profit.

no-one in particular · Oct 24, 2017

steve2 said:
We now live in a convenience world where everything is packed and stacked for convenience. So unless we can find some way to turn the clock back 50 years our children’s children will have to live with a world these past few generations have created.
How many of us want to go back to those days, we now all live for today and few care about the future. We might think about it but who really cares?
How many on here run their own companies or work for companies that would be prepared to turn the clock back. None I would suggest not if it gets in the way of profit.

Progress is great when the advantages outweigh any disadvantages if they exist, no point in turning the clock back but when this is not the case we have to rethink. Not easy with plastic because its so far reaching and into our systems but it has the potential to be very harmful to so much on top of the harm its already doing, is it the progress we want.

steve2 · Oct 24, 2017

Some have mentioned a plastic eating virus.
Does anyone else remember a 1970 programme called Doomwatch? There was one where a man made plastic eating virus escaped can you imagine what would happen now if it were to become true. Virus and plastic eating insect are fine but only if they can be controlled or you end up having to create something to kill the virus.

tonya · Oct 24, 2017

There is a small island in the Indian Ocean where the locals make tourist souvenirs from the large number of flip-flops that was up on their beacher.

tonya · Oct 24, 2017

Kenya turns flip-flops into art - in pictures | World news | The Guardian

no-one in particular · Oct 24, 2017

steve2 said:
Some have mentioned a plastic eating virus.
Does anyone else remember a 1970 programme called Doomwatch? There was one where a man made plastic eating virus escaped can you imagine what would happen now if it were to become true. Virus and plastic eating insect are fine but only if they can be controlled or you end up having to create something to kill the virus.

You do have a point, I don't suppose all will be happy when their plastic windows or plastic lip rings start falling out.

Plastic pollution problem.

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