After witnessing the impact of plastic pollution on a beautiful Jamaican beach , Becky Hitchin asks if the problem is too big to resolve
BECKYHITCHIN
Trash , trash and more trash ?
After witnessing the impact of plastic pollution on a beautiful Jamaican beach , Becky Hitchin asks if the problem is too big to resolve
Yesterday , I was lucky enough to go swimming in Jamaica . The sea water was gorgeously warm , the waves big enough to jump over and swim under and enjoy . What was not so good was the amount of plastic debris in the water , becoming part of the sandy seafloor and washed up on the beach . That ’ s not a new story for many people , but it was a new story for some of the people I was swimming with , and it made me think a bit more about plastic pollution in our shallow waters and on the beaches .
While most models have suggested that the majority of plastics end up in mid-ocean gyres ( such as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch ), a new study from Germany suggests that actually most of the plastic does not end up in these far offshore places , and that about 80 % of floating plastic waste drifts no more than 10km from the coast . They also suggest that between one third and virtually all the plastic washed into the sea will become stranded on our beaches and shores .
This can be seen by divers in so many places around the world . One study by the University of Tasmania showed that beaches in the Cocos ( Keeling ) Islands contain an estimated 414 million pieces of plastic debris . This equates to 238 tons of plastic , which included 373,000 toothbrushes and 977,000 shoes . In the Caribbean , clean-ups over 2006-2012 removed 3,990,120 pieces of plastic debris from coastal and underwater sites .
In the Galapagos , at San Cristobal , more than 400 plastic particles were found per square metre of beach , including within marine invertebrates such as barnacles and sea urchins . On the south-west coast of Ascension Island , 7,000 pieces of plastic were removed during a recent expedition , with origins as far afield as China , Japan and South Africa .
The worst , however , is the small and remote Henderson Island ( part of the Pitcairn Islands group ) in the Pacific Ocean , where researchers have discovered 37.7 million pieces of plastic waste on the beaches . That is about 671 pieces of litter per square metre . Henderson Island is more than
“ Divers can simply act sustainably themselves "
5,000km ( 3,106 miles ) from any major centre of population . The researchers undertaking the survey sadly noted that their figures were probably even an underestimate , as they did not collect any plastics smaller than 2mm and only collected from beaches , not the whole coastline .
So ... there ’ s no shortage of doom and gloom . But there is some hope . In 2022 , the United Nations Environment Assembly adopted a new resolution to end plastic pollution through the development of an international legally binding instrument . The treaty is aiming to address several issues : limiting or eliminating the production of new plastic ; developing a recycling industry to address the seven billion tonnes of waste plastic already in circulation , and creating a sustainable circular economy for plastic .
These are weighty tasks for the committee established to deal with such issues . There will be many challenges balancing the interests of all countries involved – from those for whom plastic production is a major economic source , to those who want strong obligations against dumping of plastic waste .
Solving the plastic issue is going to be a worldwide problem , and divers will have a voice . They can choose resorts that are engaged in the process , that understand the issues and promote the importance of sustainability to their customers . Divers can bring trash out of the water , as so many do who will be reading this , to make sure that is it disposed of correctly . And equally importantly , divers can simply act sustainably themselves , choosing not to use single use plastics and showing leadership to the marine communities about their choices . �
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