Plastic is on the Menu

[Fester]

Plastic is on the menu was a phrase used by HRH Prince Charles last week.
It was in reference to the countless pieces of micro plastics which are turning our seas into a plastic broth.
I watched a documentary about the subject on Sky Atlantic over the weekend, and I was in shock.
I had no idea it had got so bad.
Everything from a little village on a tidal Loch in Scotland, which on a daily basis receives a beachful of plastic debris from around the world, to a CT scan of a mussel, showing the extent of micro plastics in the seafood we eat.
I couldn't get it out of my mind.
So, earlier today I set off to West Shore in Llandudno armed with a black sack, and I even forgot my gloves!
In only 30 minutes, this is what I picked up from a tiny area along the waterfront as the tide was ebbing, and the high tide watermark where the seaweed lies.
It's absolutely sickening and frightening in equal measure. 

[Hugo]

Well done for doing that Fester, good on you and I wish that others would do the same.   Those white plastic bags that go into the sea look like jellyfish to the Turtles and as jellyfish are a staple diet for Turtles it has resulted in the deaths of many of these marine creatures.

A programme I saw, highlighted a bay in Sweden which because of its location with the Gulf Stream became a dumping ground for drifting plastic.     Around one square metre of plastic rubbish arrived in the bay every HOUR.   

[Fester]

I'm so aware of it now, it could become an obsession.
No matter where the seafood I eat comes from, it's tissues are infused with micro plastic elements, which I then ingest.
Later, I was on Beaumaris Pier, and as I walked off, I looked down onto the little stony beach ... I was blown away by how many plastic bottles were bobbing about down there.

[DaveR]

Well done, mate! 

[Nemesis]

Good for you Fester. I just wish people would be more careful where they deposit any of their unwanted things. We have now been informed that another property in the road has been left with needles and other debris outside. People walk along at night eating their takeaway and the remains and packaging tend to either land where they are dropped or be lobbed over the nearest hedge.

[Ian]

So where are the Kingdom security who, apparently, pounce on the unsuspecting at every opportunity? Perhaps they should be directed to the trouble spots.

Good job, F, and you join a short line of folks who do similar things. One lady walks around the Orme every day with a black bin bag, which is often full by the end.

[Hugo]

It's fortunate that we have public spirited volunteers like Fester to collect rubbish left by a minority of selfish people and I've just seen this article on volunteers cleaning up the rubbish discarded on Snowdon.

Apparently among the rubbish was 2Kg of cigarette butts, I wonder if the culprits who discarded these butts had the puff left in them to reach the summit?   

Now that would be quite profitable for Kingdom Securities Ian

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-41568137

[SteveH]

I'm so aware of it now, it could become an obsession.
No matter where the seafood I eat comes from, it's tissues are infused with micro plastic elements, which I then ingest.
Later, I was on Beaumaris Pier, and as I walked off, I looked down onto the little stony beach ... I was blown away by how many plastic bottles were bobbing about down there.

Respect Fester, this has been an obsession of mine for many years, that and recycling, I have put a couple of links on for you, the good, the bad and the ugly.

Recycling, if we can educate, the problem will improve...https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=plastic+recycling

This is the scary one, there are other links on this page....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qT-rOXB6NI

[Fester]

Rather than attract any plaudits, I was really just hoping to open a discussion on the subject, because I'm at a loss about what can be done.   30 minutes work by me is unworthy of your kind remarks, but awareness might lead to greater thought and effort.
It seems that the extent of the plastic in the oceans is so severe and ingrained that it's going to circulate forever.
Moreover, its increasing daily at a frightening rate, as many of the Asian countries throw all their litter in to rivers as they believe it's the best way to dispose.

[SteveH]

There is a system used in some countries .....Deposit return schemes for plastic bottles have been shown to cut litter and increase recycling in many countries – but not everyone agrees they’re a good idea, some think a good kerbside collection is sufficient, and use Wales as the best example (75% recycled plastic), I think anything that encourages recycling is worth a try.

More than 4m plastic bottles a week could be prevented from littering streets and marine environments in Britain if authorities adopted the kind of deposit-return schemes that operate in at least a dozen other countries, according to new evidence.

A report for the last parliament that was never published suggests there could be a dramatic reduction in the number of bottles littered if people paid a deposit that would be refunded if they returned used bottles.

Dominic Hogg, chairman of the environmental consultants Eunomia, who produced the report for the environmental audit committee, said: “We need to address the significant impact of litter in the UK and to cut down on the sources of plastic entering the marine environment.

Full article... https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jun/29/could-a-money-back-scheme-clean-up-the-uks-plastic-bottle-plague

[mull]

It has been a problem for years and it seems people are only now waking up to it.
Here in the Hebridies you expect the sea and shorelines to be sparkling clean.
They are NOT. Every beach and shoreline is littered with mountains of rubbish. Most of it originates on the eastern seaboard of USA and western Atlantic countries.
How long before these countries tackle the problem ?
All very depressing .

[born2run]

When I saw the title for this I assumed it would be about the food in Wetherspoons  Z**

[Fester]

When I saw the title for this I assumed it would be about the food in Wetherspoons  Z**

No mate, its slightly more important than that.
Mull, thank you for your insight, and yes, it's thoroughly depressing.

[Fester]

Apparently we were exporting 500,000 tons of plastic waste each year to China, and that ‘trade’ has now been abruptly ended.
One wonders what they did with it,  chuck it in the sea?

Now, the UK Government minister in charge, Michael Gove, is admitting that we are in a mess and they don’t know how to deal with this.
They are looking at incineration (with all the toxic residue that entails), and LAND FILL!
It seems we’ve been wasting our time recycling all this plastic after all!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42455378 

[SteveH]

I read that this morning,  seems we are going backwards, hopefully the Chinese are just trying to get the price down, but it does strengthen the arguement over reducing packageing in general.

There is hope, a product that sea life can eat......

https://phys.org/news/2017-02-cassava-carrier-bags-indonesian-entrepreneur.html