This seems to be the summer that the problem of plastic in the ocean goes big, breaks into the mainstream and reaches a tipping point in public awareness.  Let’s hope so.

As I write, several deep water ocean expeditions with missions related to plastic in the ocean have returned, are launching or are planning their launch.

Take a look at Plastic Ocean, Algalita, Project Kaisei and Plastiki to get a feel for the ocean plastic feeding frenzy.  More power and smooth sailing to all of these Ecodaredevils!

They’ve all found (or will find) plastic out there, that’s for sure. Mostly little bits floating along in places one would image would be plastic-free.

As for me, I’ve been working the edges.  And I’ll tell you what, that’s where the plastic action is.

Before getting into the details I’ll just say that what I’m finding on turtle beaches all around the world is stunning, disturbing, heartbreaking and infuriating.  It feels overwhelming.

In our drive for profits and convenience, what have we done?  What have we done?

How can we continue to look past this disaster and rationalize it with statements like “plastic falls from our hands, not the sky”?  Those with the loudest voices and the biggest megaphones need to use them skillfully and thoughtfully and immediately to turn this plastic ship we’re on.

We are hyperexporting plastic to every community on the planet with no exit plan for it.  No surprise, the results are horrific.

Piles and piles of plastic washes in from the sea, on the beaches of Central America, clogging in the insides of sea turtle living along the coast.  After big rains, it’s especially bad, as the rivers wash everything downstream.  Sea turtle have to climb over and dig through dunes of plastic to get to the sand where they lay their eggs.  They dig up plastic in the sand as they dig down 18 inches to make the egg chamber.

One day we cleaned the beach entirely and found stunning amounts of plastic at the high tide line along just a 50 m stretch of beach.  Four days later we cleaned the same strip of beach and found ten times more NEW plastic than the first time.  Syringes, plastic bottles, plastic bags, plastic caps, plastic straws...

From Central America I head back to California, then on to Indonesia, where piles of burning plastic slide down the hills into the blue sea. 

From Indo, I’m headed to Washington, DC to meet with some of the people working on this plastic problem. 

Of course, some of this plastic waste makes it way out to the middle of the ocean, places known as “plastic gyres”, places like the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch”.  And that has captured our imagination and struck a nerve among those who love the ocean.  But what I want people to realize is that the problem is much worse IN HERE, where we live, where most of the life in the ocean hangs out.

I’ll post images and video from Indo that will make the point as well or better than those from Central America.

We’ve got a big plastic problem in our ocean.  Now, let’s find the solutions, try out the best solutions and start the long hard work of cleaning up the mess and evolving our culture.