nope! the problem is far more complex than that and this oversimplification isn’t helping anyone. we don’t know how much money it would cost to clean up the garbage patch, but it will be definitely be more than a few billion.
in order to truly clean it up, we would need to do the following:
remove the central mass of trash and find a way to dispose of it safely, which in itself will cost a massive amount of money. right now, the Dutch nonprofit Ocean Cleanup has tried to implement new tech to do so, but there have been several failures, since it’s pretty new territory. luckily, they’ve said they’re making progress and hope to be back to at least containing the garbage this summer.
track and remove patches of garbage that break off from the main mass.
clear up microplastics. plastics do not completely breakdown so much as they just fragment into smaller and smaller pieces, which is devastating for a great deal of ocean life, including algae. Green Peace (which has a five star rating on Charity Navigator!) is currently studying microplastics in order to find a way clean them up.
clean up microfibers. microfibers are microscopic pieces of plastic shed by a great deal of clothing. Green Peace is currently studying these, as well.
find a way to clean the bottom of the ocean, where a massive amount of garbage settles.
again, much of the technology needed for clean up is in its early stages. research alone will require a ton of funding.
and the thing is, this clean up will be a temporary solution to a much greater problem: the continued pollution of our oceans by corporations.
as much as 80 percent of the debris in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch comes from North American and Asian land activities, the majority of that being the result of corporations devastating the environment with their noxious means of production and environmentally unfriendly products (particularly styrofoam and single use plastics).
until our politicians stop enabling corporations’ destructive habits, we cannot permanently solve this problem. we need laws that restrict pollution by corporations and are actually enforced, and laws to force companies to transition away from single-use plastics and other environmentally harmful materials. and we–particularly in America–need a society that acknowledges things like climate change and educates its people on just how bad things really are in order to further put pressure on corporations.
so what can the average person do?
first and foremost, elect officials who aren’t capitalists and who are adamantly pro-environment with comprehensive policies on addressing corporate pollution. this is the biggest thing we can do to take corporations to task and force change.
share information with others about what’s happening and inspire them to want to make a change, too.
if you can, donate to and/or volunteer for legitimate organizations like Green Peace, Ocean Conservancy, Oceana, and Coral Reef Alliance, which are all dedicated to cleaning up the ocean.
help with brand auditing.
i know this isn’t always possible for people for a wide variety of reasons–from economic to accessibility–but, if you can, try to be more mindful of your own choices. use backpacks and reusable bags instead of plastic bags at the grocery store. avoid supporting corporations like Coca Cola who are devastating the environment. don’t litter, especially at the beach. recycle.
passing around memes like this does nothing at all. it’s not like it’s going to shame billionaires into not being greedy bastards.
