|
January 5, 2009: Three and a half million square kilometers of rubbish! |
|
Tuesday, 06 January 2009 07:37 |
|
A new continent is being formed in the Pacific Ocean, a continent of plastic!*
Yes, a continent with an insatiable appetite whose size has already reached 3.5 million sq. km, one third the size of Europe. A continent consisting of waste from a variety of sources; waste floating around for years and accumulating, under the influence of winds and currents, in 2 large areas known as the “west Pacific waste patch” (between California and Hawaii) and the “east Pacific waste patch” (between Hawaii and Japan). Here the lack of winds immobilize these 2 patches and they are constantly growing. Patches which have tripled in size since 1990, a continent of waste estimated to consist of more than 3.3 million pieces of waste per square kilometer, a continent which weigh nearly 3.5 million tons, the bulk of it plastic. Of 100 million tons of plastic products made each year nearly 10% finish up in the sea, with 70% of then sinking to the bottom.
May these continents of plastic have consequences for flora and fauna?
Yes, because plastic waste decomposes slowly. It breaks into small pieces that are ingested by marine animals. Starting with the turtles that suffocate on plastic bags they mistake for jellyfish. With such a concentration of plastic, the whole food chain is affected because the smaller pieces are ingested by small fish which are in turn eaten by larger fish. Greenpeace estimates that across the world, about 1 million birds and 100,000 marine mammals die each year from ingesting plastic. A situation that requires us to do everything possible to ensure that our plastics are not inconsiderately released into nature.
*Source: Europe1.fr
More on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLrVCI4N67M (watch the glove passing by!)
EcoGlove’s solution to disposable glove supply, use and disposal ensures that none of them finish up in the sea – or in landfill or in producing noxious gases through incineration. |
Company News 
