Comments on: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

By: Mark Bragg

Mark Bragg — Sun, 27 Apr 2014 14:02:09 +0000

We are all in agreement that plastic polution is a disgrace. How about turning the gyra’s into a resource? Or a half profitable resource sponsored by international effort. Mining of our old rubbish land fill sites is only a 10 years away to extract minerals once thrown away. Perhaps heat is the answer. Plastic comes from oil and oil is money. Buy an old Oil/Gas tanker with plenty of space, convert it to a recycling plant, sail it out to the gyra usng conventional fuel. Once on location, scoup up the garbage, dry it out on deck, roast the plastic in an oxygen depleted reactor vessel to produce a “syn-gas” (which then becomes the ships self generating fuel). Compact what cannot be recycled or turned into syn-gas.

By: Nisa

Nisa — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 09:59:15 +0000

Hi Tommi!
Thanks for your comment! Yes, plastic is causing a lot of environmental issues … but unfortunately, it’s everywhere and there’s no escape from it. Governments really need to re-think this issue and invest in new inventions, technologies, etc. to get rid of all the plastic garbage we produce.
We were actually in Bangladesh last summer and plastic bags are banned there! I wrote an article about this right here, maybe it’s of interest for you: http://www.cookiesound.com/2012/11/plastic-bags-a-worldwide-pollution-problem/
I think each and every one of us can just start with small steps. For example to stop buying a plastic bag with each shopping our, but rather bring your own bags. Might be a small step, but if everyone does this, plastic bag production would reduce itself a lot…
Take care!
Best, Nisa

By: Tommi

Tommi — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 20:27:25 +0000

I just recently learned about the environmental effects plastic is causing us. I am partly responsible, which is disturbing to me. What can I do in my life to change the effects I have on the crisis? Plastic is everywhere which makes it difficult to not use. Can we ban plastic?

By: Nisa

Nisa — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 10:02:25 +0000

Thanks for your insight Nick!
Good to hear that other countries are trying to do something against the plastic pollution!
Here in Austria, we’ve always had to pay for plastic bags when shopping (supermarket). Still, I feel like more can be done and should be done. Paper bags cost 3 € cents more, so I think supermarkets should just ban plastic bag all together…
Best, Nisa

By: Nick

Nick — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 05:22:11 +0000

To those saying nothing can be done;

In South Australia, light weight plastic shopping bags are outlawed. Supermarkets use heavier duty plastic bags that customers pay a nominal fee for, so tend to bring re-usable bags.

And this, from a recent survey of Australia’s coast: “Observationally we do not find full plastic bottles or cans or glass bottles in South Australia and I would likely attribute that to the, to the container deposit scheme that they have there.” Dr. Britta Denise Hardesty

see: http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/3583576.htm

By: Nisa

Nisa — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 14:54:04 +0000

Thanks for your comment Sarah!
Sure, boycotting plastic would be great but since it has become such a big part of our life, it’s not easy to live without it (at least for most people). Our generation is so used to plastic (bottles, bags, etc.) that it would take “baby-steps” (which is better than nothing of course) to get things going …
I think the most important part for now is to get people to KNOW what’s happening out there. After reading about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch for the first time, I was really shocked and it changed my view completely. Today I try to stay away from plastic as much as I can … and this is how to get the ball running.

By: sarah

sarah — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 21:15:05 +0000

maybe we should stop buying plastic? Boycott plastic. Hard to do but really we survived without it for so long.

By: dyllan

dyllan — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 14:58:43 +0000

go green