#plasticsouptrip

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a plastic bottle with bite marks from fish and birds, a common thing to find on littered beaches. #plasticsouptrip #plasticsoup #hawaii

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Fishings Nets are the Tumbleweeds of the Ocean

Kyle from NOAA

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Plastic Soup Trip in de Pers [DUTCH ALERT]

Dit weekend veel aandacht voor de plastic soep in de Nederlandse kranten. Lees alles over de plastic soep in het Nederlands Dagblad op Blendle

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A fisherman's toolbox found on a Hawaiian beach. Little rusty on the inside, but everything still worked perfectly.

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This is a plastic rock found at Kailua Beach: Plastic molten together with rock or coral. Recently scientists found these plastic rocks on Kamilo Beach on the Big Island. The consequences of our highly industrialized world molten together with Mother Nature.

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The Trail of Colored Specks

Blue sky, clear water, white sand and a little breeze. No wonder Obama stays here during wintertime. Kailua (Oahu) truly is paradise.

After having a small chat with a couple with two (VERY happy) dogs, I noticed a trail of little colored specks. Like someone wanted to leave a trail to find their way back home. But as I got closer, I recognized it. 

Where the water couldn't reach any further inland, it left a colorful line of micro-plastics. The beach was filled with it. Some pieces were so brittle, just squeezing them was enough to create a pile of colored dust. These little particles once were part of a larger product. A bottle cap, toothbrush, toy, who knows? 

Someone told me that if you look really close, you can see bite marks on microplastics. Probably the way for fish to "inspect" this alien object. I didn't have to look far to find these marks. A piece of plastic with a Japanese looking sign on it, had bite marks all along the edges. Reminded me of my scissor-skills during elementary school: not good. Instead of cutting out perfect circles, I created different continents (from unknown planets). 

I wonder if the fish enjoyed their meal? Would they get sick and throw up? Do they die because of toxins in the plastics? Or is it just like swallowing a tiny bone: just a bit unpleasant? A lot of questions, but no answers... yet. I will try to find them during my upcoming meetings with scientists on the islands of Hawaii. As I walked further down the beach, following the green-blue-yellow brick road, I had to think about Obama. He probably walked here too with his family and two dogs. Would he have noticed the specks? I hope so.

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The power of sharing stories

After having a somewhat claustrophobic experience in an elevator without any buttons, I finally set foot on Dutch soil. Welcomed by a wooden bike, I couldn't feel more at home.

We sat down in the executive room. "This room has the best chairs" Hugo said with a smile. He reminded me of my physics teacher: funny, relaxed and very smart. 

"So it all started with a presentation of Charles Moore." Among a lot of stories and figures, he described a disturbing picture of a fish filled with small plastic particles. It got stuck in his head. It's that same picture that has been stuck in my head since the first time I heard about the plastic soup. 

Their eyes were opened. Looking around, the amount of plastics used couldn't be ignored anymore. "We started thinking: Why should a single item have so much moments of packaging? Arriving at a supermarket it gets unpacked by the driver, the supermarket has to unpack the products  and after that the customer unpacks the product at home." This insight was the start of new policy to reduce the plastic soup.

The Netherlands did a lot. From setting up a plastic recycling for citizens to introducing heavy-duty bags in supermarkets. But one country can only do so little. The more countries who would adopt these ideas, the greater the impact. Jacqueline Cramer and her team successfully made all the EU-members aware of the plastic soup. The word spread all the way up to the UNEP. 

"Then the Americans came...". Hugo laughed. When it comes to fighting environmental problems, the Americans never want to join. "And if the biggest country doesn't want to join in, a lot of other countries say no." Although policies to reduce plastic marine debris were created and implemented, the impact could have been far greater.

Hearing the story, I realized the importance of awareness & education. Starting off as a presentation in The Hague it eventually reached leaders all over the world. Sharing pictures / videos / articles with your colleagues and friends really can make a difference.  ...that was hint ;-)

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Today I found refill-paradise: Rainbow Grocery. It's a supermarket with a HUGE refill department. Spices, tea, olives, pasta, you name it, they have it. Just bring your glass jars or tupperware from home and start refilling!