Judith Stegeman
Introduction
Normally, my boyfriend is not interested in sustainability at all. As I am interested in it I do not want to bother him with sustainability and stuff. Until now! He is following an Honours course in Groningen called Delfsail, which investigates the massive garbage islands in the ocean.
While I have been a vegetarian since 10 years and he loves to eat meat; he is now turning into a somewhat part-time vegetarian, all by himself. As this course has changed his mind-set so much, I am really curious what this garbage island is about and what we can possibly do about it.
Garbage islands
Garbage islands are islands formed by debris in the North Pacific Ocean, from the West coast of North-America to Japan. These island are also called Great Pacific Garbage Patch and Pacific Trash Vortex[i]. This marine debris is caused by all the waste that ends up in the waters. There are two main parts: the Western Garbage Patch near Japan and the Eastern Garbage Patch between California and Hawaii[ii].
The movement of the garbage producing these islands, is caused by the North Pacific Subtropical Convergence Zone. In this zone the cold water of the Arctic and the warm water of the South Pacific meet. This process of movement is reinforced by the wind patterns and the rotation of the earth. In the centre of such an area the water is really calm and stable and this is the place where the garbage will be dropped[ii].
These garbage islands occur because the litter is all not biodegradable, which causes the litter to be accumulated. Plastics are not broken down and therefore end up in small pieces[ii]. This is the reason why the garbage islands are also called plastic soups. It is not an island that can be seen with the visible eye and not even with satellites as it consists of micro plastics, combined with bigger pieces of waste. That this garbage patchwork is not visible doesn’t make it less important. 70% of the waste even sinks to the bottom of the ocean, where it destroys the environment[ii].
Effects
The garbage island has many harmful effects. The garbage is mistaken for food by the animals. Animals can become entangled in the waste. The waste prevents the sunlight coming through in the water, which is important for algae and plankton, the basic food of the food chain. Moreover, the waste can leach out dangerous elements and the water becomes polluted[ii].
The garbage island is so far away from us, but we are all responsible for this. And still we do not hear much about what we cause on the other part of the world. Even no nation feels responsible for this worldwide effect.
This is a typical case for the sustainability definition of Commission Brundtland: "Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs".[iii] So, as we are fulfilling our own needs we should not negatively affect the needs of people (and environment) living around the garbage soup now and in the future.
What should we do about it?
This plastic soup is detrimental to the animals and the environment. So what can we do about it?
We should firstly feel responsible for what happens at the other side of the world. 80% of the waste comes from land based activities, mainly in North America and Asia. The other 20% comes from the ships in the ocean itself. It is important to focus on reducing the waste from the main land. The most important aspect in reducing this waste is to quit with using non-biodegradable plastics as they form the biggest part of the garbage patchwork and do not break down.
A worldwide business transition needs to take place in two pathways.
Firstly, all plastics have to be replaced by biodegradable plastics as the waste of plastics will be broken down instead of falling into small pieces.
Secondly, we should go to a service based economy. Manufacturers become then responsible for their products and their waste, so that they want to reduce the waste and make it usable again. The ‘Cradle to Cradle’ theory of Michael Braungart and William McDonough is therefore useful. This theory describes that the waste does not exist anymore. Waste becomes food as the waste of one product can be used in the next product without losing its quality. This is upgrading instead of downgrading. All the elements and products will be used all over again[iv].
In this way the amount of waste will be reduced. The waste that ends up in the ocean, seas and waters will be reduced in such a way that no more garbage islands will occur.
[i] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pacific_garbage_patch
[ii] http://education.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/great-pacific-garbage-patch/
[iii] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brundtland_Commission
[iv] Braungart, M. & McDonough, W. (2002). Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things. New York: North Point Press.