Avoiding Plastics and Single-Use Items (packaging)

[Blakeyboy1]

As you may know my partner and I are deep in planning for a future move to the big island of Hawai'i. As such I became aware of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch - said to be larger than the state of Texas - perhaps double the size or more. And this is just one such giant garbage patch in our oceans. I have done some research on this and gathered a great deal of information which I posted on my Malama 'aina Blog the other day (link below). It is quite eye-opening and disturbing to read about.

http://protecttheland.blogspot.com/2009/...patch.html

The reason for my post here is that we have been making a concerted effort to avoid single-use items, particularly plastics. It is a lot harder than you might think! Just packaging itself is overdone and difficult to avoid. We are often shocked when we get home that we can fill half a garbage can just with packaging that we have removed from food and household items. We will continue in our effort to avoid these items but are curious to hear from others who have been down this road. If you have not, just try to go to the store acutely aware of the packaging and try to avoid buying items packaged in plastics or otherwise excessively or unnecessarily over packaged.

-Blake
http://www.theboysgreatescape.blogspot.com/

[JWFITZ]

It is a shocking thing, having been on the outskirts of it. Unimaginable, really.

[PaulW]

Blake, have you been able to find any photos that give an idea of the size? Why is it said to be invisible to satellites - is it just below the surface?

[Blakeyboy1]

It's not that it is invisible per se, it is just not a solid mass - more of a giant soup of small bits (not that there are not large pieces floating among the soup). Check out the images and diagram (included at the bottom of the post). The depth is said to be from the surface to 100' or so below not including the pieces that sink to the bottom.

-Blake
http://www.theboysgreatescape.blogspot.com/

[PaulW]

I can't find a good photo, I clicked on just about every link.
I really wonder about the size, some sources compare it to Texas, France, 2x Texas and even 2x USA! A monstrosity.

[Blakeyboy1]

Yeah man I have seen references to all kinds of sizes as well. I imagine it is always changing shape so some extent and is hard to measure. Also since it is not really tangible it is difficult for people to grasp and get an accurate measure. I understand there are missions in progress or happening soon to gather more "solid" data on size and so forth.

Me and Lynn have been recycling for years, recharge batteries and used cloth bags before they were cool. We use Sigg stainless steel water bottles and buy biodegradable single-use items when we have to use them but still are finding there is so much that we use that is disposable (razors and electric toothbrush heads). Unless all you buy are fruits and vegetables (and we buy our share) it is so hard to avoid packaging. Then there is milk which comes in plastic jugs (we go through several gallons a week), mouthwash and shampoo come in plastic with plastic lids. How does one buy consumer good without contributing to this mess?

-Blake
http://www.theboysgreatescape.blogspot.com/

[Carey]

There is a boat load of info on the North Pacific Gyre, Capt. Moore of the Algalita did this excellent forum talk this year:
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/capt_...astic.html

Over 5 years ago CBS covered the plastic gyre in this report:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/01/0...1770.shtml

Google images:
http://images.google.com/images?client=safari&rls=en&q=%22pacific+gyre%22&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=ehINSqqxF4X2tAOBkIz8Ag&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&resnum=5&ct=title

Much of the problem is that most of the plastic is in near microscopic size. Seine nets catch the dust sized particles while towed behind research vessels. The impact of this load of plastic in the Pacific waters is incredible. As Capt. Moore puts it, it is impossible to have a wild caught 'organic' marine fish today, all have a plastic load within. What this load of plastic (estimated at 150 truck loads per person) will do to the future of the wildlife in the Pacific is unknown. Our mark may be a very long term scar on the oceans.

Forgot to add the Algalita website:
http://www.algalita.org/

[Blakeyboy1]

Excellent information Carey. I will add that plastics repel water and attract toxins and are indeed finding their way into our food supply. Very scary stuff.

So I would like to propose to readers and contributors... this is everyones problem and everyone must contribute to alleviating this mess... what are YOU doing?

-Blake
http://www.theboysgreatescape.blogspot.com/

[PaulW]

My contribution is to ridicule friends who I see walking around with bottles of water in urban areas.

Is any of the plastic floating around out there really from me? I try to avoid packaging (eg by buying fruit from the Makuu market) but I do go through a lot of plastic bags and I use toothbrushes and wear slippahs, but they all end up in the landfill, not in the ocean.

[Cali Hi]

I have tried to avoid all that plastic packaging and, I too, am amazed by the volume of it in my trash can. I think a lot of it started with anti-theft packaging. Making things bigger so they wouldn't fit in a pocket, all those useless clam shell packages. Some things are easier than others. I don't buy individual packages of anything if I can avoid it. It helps me to put things back on the shelf when I think of that big floating island of trash, part of it washing up on south point. Still, there are unavoidable things that I still feel I need.