Plastic in Pacific Ocean Gyre

[GordMay]

[GordMay]

If you've bought sturdy, reusable bags from your supermarket, it's likely they're made from non-woven polypropylene - and they are less damaging, but only if you use them at least 52 times.
That's according to a report* by the Danish government, which weighed up the varied environmental impacts of producing and disposing of different kinds of bag.
And if your reusable bag is organic cotton, don't feel smug - the researchers reckon they need 20,000 uses to justify themselves. That's a shopping trip every day for over half a century.
“Life Cycle Assessment of grocery carrier bags”
* ➥ https://www2.mst.dk/Udgiv/publicatio...93614-73-4.pdf

[Steve_C]

https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2...g-bans-garbage

This is an interesting article, and it does highlight that just banning the plastic grocery bags is not just a straightforward solution. As with most things its more complicated and requires more than just one thing to make things "Better".

It also really makes you stop and think before just changing your habits before you really understand the issues.

[Skipper Kenny]

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

Plastic bags are very thin and disintegrate quickly in the sunlight, so I have never seen them floating in the Pacific Gyre.

With all the talk of this giant island of plastic, I have never once seen a picture of it.

With the amount of utterly ridiculous pictures I do see.....................

[Skipper Kenny]

Originally Posted by SailBender

Per capita, Americans account for a hell of a lot more pollution than any country in Asia could even remotely dream about.

Speak for yourself. My household produces less than five gallons of garbage a week, with a majority of that recycled in my red worm compost pile, including junk mail.

My energy bill reports that I am 45% more efficient than the modern so called high efficiency homes.

Guess that proves that most of this big 'my new stuff is more efficient than your well maintained old stuff' is BS.

There oughta be a LAW!!!!

[TravelinLight]

We try to reduce the number of single use plastic bags in my household. We have the re-useable ones that I use almost every single time I go to a store. I sometimes leave them at home as I need to restock my supply to pick up after my dog when we go on walks.

Recently CA had an outbreak of Hepatitis which they could trace back to the lack of sanitation for the homeless. The homeless used to use a plastic bag in many cases from the grocery store instead of it being left on the ground or street. The lack of access to plastic bags helped to increase and speed at which the disease spread. One of the unintended consequences of the plastic bag bans.

[Puddleduck]

http://https://www.nature.com/articl...67-019-09506-1

Published today. Its limited to macro plastics, although there’s 60 years worth of plankton samples to look through for microplastics if anyone’s interested?


And of coarse worms will break it down to make it more bioavailability....



http://https://www.nowscience.co.uk/...stic-Pollution

[Alan Mighty]

Originally Posted by Puddleduck

http://https://www.nature.com/articl...67-019-09506-1

Published today. Its limited to macro plastics, although there’s 60 years worth of plankton samples to look through for microplastics if anyone’s interested?

That URL did not work for me. But this one - to the open publication of Ostle et al., The rise in ocean plastics evidenced from a 60-year time series, should work:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-09506-1

Only the Atlantic Ocean, mind.

[Vincent La Rue]

I wonder why they don't build boats out of plastic bags? Sounds to me, like they are the one thing the ocean can't destroy. 500 years? I'll take one.

[Wells]

My thought is that humans as a whole have a very narcissistic view of life. If change inconveniences them in some way there’s this huge debate and struggle to make steps in the right direction. Plastic vs reusable vs paper bags isn’t that hard of a choice to me personally. All I need is something to get my damn groceries home. Whoever has a love affair with plastic bags to the point that they’d be offended or hurt if they weren’t in use really needs to ask themselves what exactly they’re fighting for. Plastic bags suck. You pretty much have to double them up for most things if you want to put more than three things in one.

Some people don’t want to think about how shitty humans are to this earth, but if we don’t make some major changes soon then our actions are going to come back to bite us (or future generations) in the ass.

[GordMay]

Seagull fights eagle, while entangled in a plastic bag.
More ➥ https://www.michaelwinsor.ca/blog

[smbdyiam2]

Originally Posted by Vincent La Rue

I wonder why they don't build boats out of plastic bags? Sounds to me, like they are the one thing the ocean can't destroy. 500 years? I'll take one.

I think I remember reading that Ford made some of his first cars out of plastic. Might have used fuel from plants too. Then came end of probation and the laws against marijuana. Some of the #7 was made from marijuana. But oil won out.

[RaymondR]

Originally Posted by StuM

> Australia? Plenty ...but once again rarely shopping bags - disposable lighters, toothbrushes (??) and jandles... never in pairs..always just single jandles.. seem to top the list.

Aussie walking along the beach sees his mate coming towards him wearing one thong (aka jandal (sp!) or flip flop) and says:

"G'day mate! Lost a thong?"

Mate answer: "Nah, just found one".

Before you blokes put too much crap on the beach stranded flip flop just remember that they are the world's greatest source for the piston seal on yabby pumps.