A SEA OF PLASTIC
Shocking images show how rubbish is choking oceans
‘It’s a global problem’
THESE pictures are unlikely to make it into the glossy tourist brochures that sell the Caribbean as a paradise destination.
For they show the much grimmer reality of clear blue seas increasingly choked by a tide of discarded plastic.
In one photograph taken near Roatan, an island off the coast of Honduras, a diver grimaces as he prepares to enter the water almost completely covered by waste.
Another, taken from below the waterline, shows plastic bottles, bags and other rubbish on the surface blocking out sunlight.
Meanwhile, a close-up image of the ocean reveals dozens of disposable knives and forks floating among seaweed. It is thought the rubbish was washed into the sea from nearby Guatemala, carried on rivers swollen by the recent rainy season flowing through towns and villages.
The sight disgusted photographer Caroline Power, who shared the images online to raise awareness of the problem. She wrote: ‘This has to stop – think about [the plastic you use in] your daily lives.’
She added: ‘Chances are it was [takeaway food packaged in] Styrofoam and served with a plastic fork and then put into a plastic bag. Do you still use plastic garbage bags? Plastic soda bottles?
‘I challenge every person and every business to keep your trash for one week. Separate your organic and recyclables and keep everything else for one week.
‘You will be disgusted by how many single use items you use.’
John Hourston, of the Blue Planet Society, which campaigns to protect the oceans, said it was the worst example of plastic pollution he has seen. He pointed out that plastic gets broken down into microscopic particles, or beads, that enter the food chain when plankton and fish eat them.
He added: ‘It is thought that 90% of sea birds have ingested some sort of plastic, and there are many examples of turtles and whales mistaking plastic for food.’
Explaining how the waste affects marine life, he said: ‘Plastic floats on top of the sea and a combination of wave action and sunlight breaks it down into microscopic pieces. Plankton then mistake these for food and eat it, and the plankton are then eaten by fish.
‘Some of these particles are so microscopic that they are absorbed into the fish’s gut and then end up in the food chain.’
He added: ‘We all have a part to play in reducing plastic waste but manufacturers and government need to take the lead. It’s a global problem which needs a global solution.’ In Ireland, the plastic bag environmental levy – introduced in 2002 – is estimated to have reduced the use of plastic shopping bags here by a massive 90%. However, use has crept back up in recent years and the levy was increased from 15c to 22c.
Earlier this year, Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Denis Naughten said that Ireland would be going ahead with its own ban on plastic microbeads – manufactured particles of less than 1mm.
Speaking at meeting of EU environment ministers in Malta in April, he said: ‘While we fully support a coordinated approach across the EU in banning microplastics which end up in our rivers and seas, the Irish Government has decided to proceed on its own plan to reduce the amount of plastic which ends up in our waters.’
Meanwhile in Britain, after a ‘ban the beads’ campaign by the Daily Mail, ministers there pledged to outlaw the toxic microbeads.
Environmental Protection Agency data for 2013 shows an estimated 870,109 tonnes of packaging waste was generated in Ireland. The total amount of plastic waste generated is not known as the EPA is only obliged to report on plastic packaging waste.