I know this may not be the perfect place to put this but it is somewhat related to diving so here goes.

Is there anyone here that has not heard of the "Pacific trash vortex"? This image is not particularly accurate the second pic shows the actual Gyre circulation.

Here is a more accurate representation of the Gyres.

The first pic does graphically if not faithfully represent it better..

There is a very good discussion of it here, http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/hawaii-ohana/268139-pacific-trash-vortex-wow-i-had-no-idea-bad.html

I know some may see it all as yet another thing that we are being told to feel bad about but if you do think that, ask yourself whether it is more likely that the reason for this is:

A, There are groups and organisations out there with unknowable motivations that want us to feel bad cos that's just what they do, they wanna take away our right to consume without responsibility, they wanna make everything inconvenient....

B, We are lazy and ill informed as a collective (I don't mean this pejoratively it's just the way we are really, if it doesn't directly impact and impact immediately on us then we tend to ignore) and as such require frequent prompting and guiding as to our impacts on our environment.

Well option A might seem a little weird but that's the general impression I get from folk who bitch and whine about all the doom and gloom that is being presented with regards our environment.

So do ya give a damn? Do you feel there is anything we as individuals do about it? Do you think it's something that has to be tackled at a governmental level for effectiveness?[/img]

Be a tidy kiwi and put it in the bin.

If only everyone did that we wouldn't have this problem (except foreigners would have to be a tidy foreigner and not a kiw obviously).

In a way I say suck eggs to those in the Northern Hemisphere.
Overall I think it is a disgrace that we as humans are nearly living in our own shit.
Maybe they are hoping to dump all that rubbish and call it an 'Artificial Reef'?

Of course we can - with one caveat...
in order for us to have any impact as individuals, the majority have to act.
It will in the final analysis come down to an 'individual's" choice/decision, but it won't be if you or I make that decision that matters, it will be "us" as a whole.

Maybe I shouldn't post after I've had a few...

Putting it in the bin is not going to solve the problem. Its just creates more mess for the tip.
Recycling sounds good. But how much of what you put in the recycling bin actually gets recycled here as opposed to being shipped off to another country?

The saying is Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Only doing the 3'rd will have minimal impact.
The amount of waste we produce is mind boggling.
Looks at a weeks shopping. Not only the plastic bags it comes home in but all the packaging. Let alone the waste food that does not get eaten.

Putting it in the bin is not going to solve the problem. Its just creates more mess for the tip.
Recycling sounds good. But how much of what you put in the recycling bin actually gets recycled here as opposed to being shipped off to another country?

The saying is Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Only doing the 3'rd will have minimal impact.
The amount of waste we produce is mind boggling.
Looks at a weeks shopping. Not only the plastic bags it comes home in but all the packaging. Let alone the waste food that does not get eaten.

Having worked in the Recycle Industry (where cockroaches crawl up your arms, syringes poke into your thick gloves and dirty nappies add fragrance to the otherwise deathly smell) ...because I always get shit jobs.
I got an ok agency rate of pay and saw huge blocks of recycled tin pumped out per minute to earn $500+ a pop amongst other materials that made VISY quite rich. That was a while ago, and nowadays it costs a fortune to take my rubbish to the tip. In other words, Recycling is a boom industry that sells raw materials back to the nations that made the rubbish in the first place, at a high cost.
If you wanna cigarette or burn some petrol in your V8 to pollute the world - well you might as well pay for it in regards to price rises of both products.

All very valid points. For me one of the biggest questions is this.

Why do we need to wrap and transport food in single use containers that outlast expiry date of the food it contains by, in most cases, up to 450 years? (something of a rhetorical question I guess as I well know the answer).

It's very easy to just throw up your hands at the moment I guess and run around with a "the end is nigh" sandwich board...

I run along the south coast of Welly 5-6 times a week and pick up any non organic rubbish I see when I can, sometimes I have 3 or 4 two litre drink bottles by the time I get back to the car and get some strange stares from folk who must think they've just seen the thirstiest runner in history There is always more the next week and not all of it shows signs of time at sea so it's 50%, at least, from tourists dumping there shit they don't want to carry. I am gonna give seven shades of shit to the next person I see littering there!

So back to this food wrapping problem, It's effing madness! The chances of the packaging from tonights dinner ending up in the ocean must be very high (especially here in windy Welly as alot of stuff must get directly wind transported).

I think we need to have some sort of legislative change to help the situation, something like a need for all food produced for domestic market to be in short (less than a year) lifespan wrappings.

I'm gonna try and not purchase stuff in plastic anymore, it's gonna be bloody hard as soo much is, but glass and cardboard (whilst still being a C02 intensive product) is a much better option as once used if it's not recycled it is at least biologically inert (in the case of glass and less toxic in the case of cardboard depending on inks and liners) and will not enter the food chain.

Pretty shameful stuff for us is the fact that China has banned the production of plastic bags.

Bloody glad beer comes in glass bottles!

So can anyone tell me if this bird choked to death on

A, An artificial reef.

B, A wreck.

C, A plastic bag.

Oceans Are Sick and Getting Sicker
A Tidal Wave of Trash Is Destroying Marine Habitats
http://marine-conservation.suite101.com ... ing_sicker

Wow...



This albatross chick was fed this plastic by it's parents..

You're damn right there!

So what can you do... It strikes me that if you manage to cut out the most of the waste from your shopping habits, which is shamefully easy as I have discovered, you then have two options. Strive for puritanical perfection of lifestyle by eradicating every last little bit of waste (massive energy and motivation for little gain.. Think "straight edge" vegan ) or alternatively put some of that energy into tackling the problem at a community/National level.

I've joined an action group out to get plastic bags withdrawn from sale and distribution by retailers (China did it beginning of last year), I think that's a reasonable first goal assuming it can come about quickly, if you are made to be aware of one type of excessive plastic use the others will seem as wasteful, I hope it's not a hobby group for wealthy bored housewives and actually has a bit of spark.. Time will tell!

We need to start taking the situation personally I think, It's certainly less comfortable to do that and I wish like hell that I was as blissfully ignorant as I was 20 years ago but we've well and truly passed the point of hand wringing over it.

I think as divers we naturally have a better understanding of what is "down there" and so we really should try to do a bit more than the average joe who only sees what is in effect the "outside of the circus tent".

Don't ya think?

I think getting placcy bags withdrawn is an excellent idea and would possibly make people a lot more aware of what damage they are causing. Imagine going to the supermarket and finding that they no longer bag up your plastic wrapped supplies in plastic bags. When you ask why a few well positioned posters like the baby albatros should be enough explanation. If not then the person at the till should be able to explain why or give you a leaflet explaining why. It may force people to think a bit more about disguarding plastic willy nilly all over the place.

Couldn't SODS do some beach clean ups and try to raise awareness a bit more? It could have a twofold result here-less F-ing plastic about and a good profile for divers.

Yeah I'm gonna print up some later this week and see where I can put em.. The big problem with getting the supermarkets on board will be the tendency for them to be worried that not all supermarkets will do it at the same time thereby making for possible "convenience competition" if you know what I mean.. (folk going to a different store cos that store doesn't have nasty pics of the suffering birds and isn't taking my god given right to a plastic tote bag!!! ).

Bloody great idea! Minimal effort and cost for supporting businesses too, cept for some homebrew of course!

Great idea. Who wants to organise it?