Pacific Trash Vortex! Wow! I had no idea it was this bad!

[Jim Ernst]

Hey guys I am a freak about plastic bags ever sense micboucher (Michelle) Sent me a page on what plastic bags are doing to our ocean and planet, I had no idea the problem was so serious, I don't use them at all anymore and neither does any of my family members as I also sent them the page she sent me.

Now here is my question...I am sorry if this was answered already, But Taco bell, Subway and so many other places put your stuff into plastic bags...

So now how do we dispose of these properly so they don't just end up in a refuse station blowing around and end up in the street , the rain gutters and down the road on into our ocean?

I don't know of any recycle places that take plastic bags here in my area...

Any ideas?

 

[Plumb bob]

Hey guys I am a freak about plastic bags ever sense micboucher (Michelle) Sent me a page on what plastic bags are doing to our ocean and planet, I had no idea the problem was so serious, I don't use them at all anymore and neither does any of my family members as I also sent them the page she sent me.

Now here is my question...I am sorry if this was answered already, But Taco bell, Subway and so many other places put your stuff into plastic bags...

Eat elsewhere, if you don't like their packaging ask them to change it or vote with your wallet.

So now how do we dispose of these properly so they don't just end up in a refuse station blowing around and end up in the street , the rain gutters and down the road on into our ocean?

I don't know of any recycle places that take plastic bags here in my area...

Any ideas?

Sorry to repeat but I think an approach of refusing to use them in the first place is really the best way to reduce the problem.

 

[Shaka Doug]

What Plumb Bob said.


Hey Drew, saw your video, part 6. Nice work. Maybe you should contact KGMB or other local TV stations to get them to do a story about you and your efforts. It would certainly help to raise some funds, don't you think? Want me to call them?

Got a question. Here we now have Hagfish traps and lobster traps made from plastic. Who approved this? Lobster traps used to be made from biodegradeable wood and cotton netting. It's a known fact that some of them get lost at sea and in the past they would decay and disappear. What legislators approved plastic traps and when?? How do we turn this around? Is this a Hawaii thing or a Federal thing? It seems to me that as long as you're fishing, it's OK to lose plastic in the ocean. Other than that, it is illegal to dispose of ANY plastic in the sea. That's messed up!

By the way, what do you think of my "find a camera" idea??

 

[scubadrewvideo]

What Plumb Bob said.


Hey Drew, saw your video, part 6. Nice work. Maybe you should contact KGMB or other local TV stations to get them to do a story about you and your efforts. It would certainly help to raise some funds, don't you think? Want me to call them?

Got a question. Here we now have Hagfish traps and lobster traps made from plastic. Who approved this? Lobster traps used to be made from biodegradeable wood and cotton netting. It's a known fact that some of them get lost at sea and in the past they would decay and disappear. What legislators approved plastic traps and when?? How do we turn this around? Is this a Hawaii thing or a Federal thing? It seems to me that as long as you're fishing, it's OK to lose plastic in the ocean. Other than that, it is illegal to dispose of ANY plastic in the sea. That's messed up!

By the way, what do you think of my "find a camera" idea??

I actually mentioned the camera idea in the 40 minutes of raw footage I shot for the last video, but it ended up on the cutting room floor.
I have not contacted KGMB...still need to contact all the news channels.
Mahalo,
Drew

 

[Byte Me]

There is a group in Facebook that follows this matter.
Algalita Marine Research Foundation - Marine Research, Education and Restoration

What's the facebook group? I couldn't find it on the Algalita site and facebooks search turned up nothing, as usual...

 

[Shaka Doug]

I just searched Pacific Trash Vortex in Facebook and a bunch of things came up. 17 results is what it says but I haven't checked them out yet. That's good for the cause!!

 

[rgbmatt]

Got a question. Here we now have Hagfish traps and lobster traps made from plastic. Who approved this? Lobster traps used to be made from biodegradeable wood and cotton netting. It's a known fact that some of them get lost at sea and in the past they would decay and disappear.

As a matter of fact, plastic lobster traps make very good artificial reef when they're lost. Coralline algae grows all over them, and they're the perfect shape & size for fish to hide once this happens. Traps that have been sitting for a while usually have a big school of anthias or pennant butterflies living in them, often in flat sandy areas where they'd otherwise have nowhere to hide. Since the traps are weighted to sink, they tend to stay put and will probably never join the trash vortex.

So, there's a bit of a bright side here...

 

[drbill]

What's the facebook group? I couldn't find it on the Algalita site and facebooks search turned up nothing, as usual...

I had no trouble finding it there by searching on "Algalita"

 

[scubadrewvideo]

Here is the link to the Algalita FB cause page.

Causes on Facebook | Alguita '09 Pacific Exploration

Drew

 

[scubadrewvideo]