World Premiere: "Plastic Beaches" - A Documentary

Very good to get some feed-back from intelligent people on this issue. We are working to identify the " sinks" where this debris concentrates at high volume on the beach near wildlife foraging areas. We can remove the landfall easily from these critical habitats and have a big impact on the health of the wildlife that is directly exposed to the debris while foraging. It may be overwhelming to consider " cleaning the debris at sea" --- but truely, we landed on the moon right? Where there is a political will there is a way?

Actually the tubing is not " net -bouyancy compensators" --- sorry, these sections of tubing have been connected to the Oyster Industry. I am learning as we go because this is a new science so I will be more careful before making any further assumtions psuedo/public. Things move fast when you are trying to keep up with environmental challenges and identifying source of release is necessary for real change, we are all a " source" of this mess and should all take a closer look at our consumption and disposal of plastics.

The other thing about that collection day that really sticks with me was Dr. Micheal Bunch's comment at the end of Part 1. About how our US Coast Guard throws their waste overboard in Antarctica, as a protocol. How can we fight this kind of irresponsible behavior? We first have to become aware of the situation and then take some kind of action that could correct the problem, or just work toward that goal. Maybe we need to start with writting a letter to the US Coast Guard? The Navy most likely has the same protocol? Does anyone know what the Navy does with waste, or cruise liners?

The film is a bit funny in one respect -- " Thank God that in America we care about our environment" ---- well, I had to laugh on that one after watching it a couple of times, I guess I had an emotional moment seeing all those people coming to help get our sample and spend thier time collecting MMPD. The fact is that we have really messed our environment up -- oh we do care about our environment but .... sometimes, when it is convenient.

I realize that it is not just America that has caused the current issue--- but we are the largest producers of polymer pellets in the world at about a billion pounds per year. Where does a billion pounds a year end up, your guess is as good as mine on that one, but as the wealthiest country on earth , we should take more responsibility preportionately for the mess we are in than we are presently owning up to. You are absolutely right in my veiw however in that it is a global responsibility and a global problem ----- the state of our ocean, our marine food chain. The other industrialized nation are just as responsible, maybe not as able to respond, but our team is responding to the debris in State Parks -- that are large scale bird rookeries. No-matter who is responsible we just have to take action.

My place is just to raise awareness and do my own little part to remove as much of the debris as I can with what few resources there are to work with. Part of that is identifying the material, it's source, and makeing some responsible adjustments to our behavior. We can all make that happen by getting involved and doing some investigation and take action when possible, and just use less plastic. And when we do use it (everyday) make sure it goes in the re-cycle bin when you are done eh?

PVC sections --- look like they are coming from the Oyster industry? I still have to do more investigation but that is where it has led me so far, but if that is the source then we just have to get them to alter their behavior and we have made progress in the right direction --- and we go to the next item we identify in our samples and do the same thing -- trace it to the source and make adjustments.

I will identify the source of those PVC sections, one way or the other.

No blame, and shame game-- that is a waste of time and energy,

This is so sad . Great post !

I tell volunteers to look at it like that -- " a nice day at the beach", it was a nice beach. I find that we can have fun in the fact that we are coming together to try something new and take a tiny step in some direction other than idle. Sure the issue is larger than we are, but David slew Goliath right? I am not suprised when people are cynical and mad about this whole issue that comes down to our irresponsible stewardship of our marine food chain. Maybe becasue we did not have the internet to rally peole against ocean dumping and other issue in the past and so had no network for change.

Landfills " fill" pretty fast and so we need alternatives, all those years of taking the easy way out by our forfathers dumping barges of debris dayly into two oceans ( along with all the rest of the world) is now coming back to haunt us, we may want to think about that too, what legacy we leave our own children through our actions.

I am for sure going to be part of the solution no matter how humble my effort. And I love nice days at the beach so I am going to be sifting more foraging areas next summer no matter what, everyone is invited to join in.

The " mnet bouancy compensators are actually Oyster Farm gear ..... I finally figured out where all those damn PVC sections are coming from!!!

..why?!, concentrating effort into a landfill, just jump in, grab a bag, infact_better start by re-concentrating business trash, I can point you out to some gross waste, plastics and bio. regular dumpers, regularly lost, materials lost...

anyways looks like they all had a nice day on the beach.

Working for twelve years in Costa Rica on marine turtle conservation and research/ plastics removal and research --- I have noticed that although we remove tons of material there is MORE coming every year. This material has been out there for decades in some cases cruiseing the equatorial current --- check our web-site for data from the " Lance Ferris Challenge" for a detailed look at what all that MPD you saw on the Costa Rican walkabout is made up of. We are doing ongoing surveying and research of the issue.

Also check out " A Piece of the Gyre" -- on youtube. We ( not me thank god)are sorting and anylizing the sample from " Plastic Beaches " in the bio-lab right now and will have a clip of those results after the process is completed.

Although many say we cannot remove the plastics from our oceans -- that is not the way I see it and not the attitude it will take to save our wildlife from the effects of this extremely complicated issue. We really need to remove as much as possible while we attempt to stop or slow the continueing practice of dumping millions of tons of plastic in the ocean annually. We have to attack from two fronts and never let up -- an we can make a difference.

I have heard varying reports of the physical make-up of the Gyre, some scientists tell me yes it is a " soup" that extends up to 300 feet below the surface and is spread out over thousands of miles not aways visible from the surface. Then I have heard reports of large " rafts" of debris in the convergence zone that you can actually walk out on several feet off the oceans surface. We certainly need more reserch but how about removing material while we research it -- and focusing on both aspects at once? Our method of " sweeping" the debris off the beach may seem rediculous to some but it works -- we collect large amounts with low tech protocols and a few people and could collect huge amounts if properly resourced for a larger operation. Focusing on areas that are bird rookeries and other highly active wildlife foraging sites along the coast.

Sometmes you just have to take the leap and build your wings on the way down --- Kobi Yamada.

was once on a surf trip in central america (oct. 08). wanted to get away from the crowds to surf a secret spot that was about a six mile hike up the coast. the amount of plastic in the tide line and on the shore was absolutely mind blowing. the entire coastline was covered for at least 5 miles. it was so disconcerting. been conscious of the plastic crap since.

Because the fact is whether it is dumping toxic waste, having a monopoly enterprise, or downsizing the workforce; the motive is the same - Profit. They are all different degreesof the same self-preserving mechanism, which always puts the well being of people second to monetary gain. Therefore, corruption is not some byproduct of monetary-ism, it is the very foundation. And while most people acknowledge this tendency on one level or another, the majority remains naive as to the broad ramifications of having such a selfish mechanism as the guiding mentality in society.

If a company dumps toxic waste into the ocean to save money, most people recognize
this as corrupt behavior. On a more subtle level, when Walmart moves into a small town
and forces small businesses to shut down for they are unable to compete, a grey area
emerges. For what exactly is Walmart doing wrong? Why should they care about the
Mom and Pop organizations they destroy? Yet even more subtly, when a person gets
fired from their job because a new machine has been created which can do the work for
less money, people tend to just accept that as 'the way it is,' not seeing the inherent
corrupt inhumanity of such an action.

This is so horrible...we are destroying every corner of this planet.

F'n Litterbugs piss me off!

nice video! however, i believe there is a bit of misinformation. the north pacific garbage patch is not a "raft of used plastic materials the size of texas" that is "several feet thick." if this were the case, plans to clean the junk would be far more feasible. The reality of the situation is much worse; a synthetic soup that is spread over thousands of miles both across the sea surface and stratified through the water column. it penetrates deep into the ocean ecosystem and is impossible to clean up. the best action you can take against this is to cut single use plastic out of your life, and spread the word.

Thank you for your work.

...great post, darlin'...

good summation, nice video.

Great Post!!