 According to an article published today in WorldCrunch, plastic pollution has contaminated our oceans to the point where scientists have now termed the waste as the “Plastisphere.” Plastic inherently contains toxins. Plastic pollution in the ocean acts like a sponge, collecting all kinds of different bacterium, and according to scientists, that includes bacteria of the genus Vibrio, the bacterium responsible for cholera. Bacteria colonizing on plastic pollution in the ocean are “as antibiotic-resistant as the toughest bacteria present in urban environments.”
worldcrunch.com/world-affairs/the-plastisphere-ocean-pollution-may-trigger-next-pandemic  Plastic is light, easy to store and transport comes in an endless variety of textures and shapes, and can hold almost anything. Those properties make it attractive to manufacturers and packagers, who use it for everything from ketchup bottles to disposable utensils. Unfortunately, plastic is much more difficult to recycle than materials like glass, aluminum, or paper. Most plastic soon ends up in a landfill. Despite the promotion of plastic recycling, plastic production has outpaced recycling more than 5x over the past decade.
Learn more about us at www.opdera.org #plasticwaste #zerowaste #recycle #environment #ecofriendly #beachcleanup #reuse #plasticfreeoceans #singleuseplastic #pollution #climatechange #plasticfreeliving #oceanconservation #recycling #sustainableliving #breakfreefromplastic #plasticpollutes #savetheocean #nomoreplastic  Plastic is cheap and incredibly versatile. However, these qualities have also resulted in it becoming an environmental issue. We have developed a “disposable” lifestyle and estimates are that around 50% of plastic is used just once and thrown away. On average, plastic bags only have a working life of 15 minutes worldwide.
Learn more about us at www.opdera.org #plasticwaste #zerowaste #recycle #environment #ecofriendly #beachcleanup #reuse #plasticfreeoceans #singleuseplastic #pollution #climatechange #plasticfreeliving #oceanconservation #recycling #sustainableliving #breakfreefromplastic #plasticpollutes #savetheocean #nomoreplastic  Plastic waste already posed a challenge to the departments working to recycle and reduce pollution as it is not biodegradable. This problem only doubled when major programs' waste collection was too inefficient to have a noticeable impact. It was reported that about 90% of all plastic waste was never recycled at all.
Learn more about us at www.opdera.org #plasticwaste #zerowaste #recycle #environment #ecofriendly #beachcleanup #reuse #plasticfreeoceans #singleuseplastic #pollution #climatechange #plasticfreeliving #oceanconservation #recycling #sustainableliving #breakfreefromplastic #plasticpollutes #savetheocean #nomoreplastic  Research has shown that more than 1 in 3 fish for human consumption contains plastic. It's estimated seafood lovers eat 11,000 pieces of toxic plastic every year. Microplastic can be found in tap water, beer and salt.
Learn more about us at www.opdera.org #plasticwaste #zerowaste #recycle #environment #ecofriendly #beachcleanup #reuse #plasticfreeoceans #singleuseplastic #pollution #climatechange #plasticfreeliving #oceanconservation #recycling #sustainableliving #breakfreefromplastic #plasticpollutes #savetheocean #nomoreplastic  With the amount of plastic bags dumped every year, it is futile to think of recycling right now. Even when disposed of properly, plastic bags are so lightweight and flimsy, they are easily picked up and carried by the wind. They escape from bins and landfills and end up littering the countryside, blowing down the street, flapping from trees, clogging drains, and making their way out to sea. Unfortunately, they may stay in the environment for hundreds of years, thereby causing harm for a very long time. Big oil and big soda industries must introduce alternative and biodegradable packaging methods for their products.
Learn more about us at www.opdera.org #plasticwaste #zerowaste #recycle #environment #ecofriendly #beachcleanup #reuse #plasticfreeoceans #singleuseplastic #pollution #climatechange #plasticfreeliving #oceanconservation #recycling #sustainableliving #breakfreefromplastic #plasticpollutes #savetheocean #nomoreplastic More than 1 million seabirds and 100,000 marine animals die from plastic pollution every year.12/23/2020
 Marine litter is a vicious killer of marine mammals, seabirds, and many other life forms in the marine and coastal environment. It also entails substantial economic costs and losses to, e.g., fishermen, coastal communities, farmers, power stations, and individuals.
Read more about Marine Pollution in the report published by the United Nations Environment Programme here: https://www.unenvironment.org/resources/report/marine-litter-trash-kills #plasticwaste #zerowaste #recycle #environment #ecofriendly #beachcleanup #reuse #plasticfreeoceans #singleuseplastic #pollution #climatechange #plasticfreeliving #oceanconservation #recycling #sustainableliving #breakfreefromplastic #plasticpollutes #savetheocean #nomoreplastic
On November 30, 2020, The Ocean Network Express's ("ONE") Apus, a 14,000 TEU containership built-in 2019 measuring 364-meters in length and sailing under the Japanese flag, lost thousands of containers overboard in one of the worst container ship disasters. Where will the shipping containers end up as they move with the ocean's currents and the Great Pacific Garbage Patch Gyre?
According to Dr. Jan Hafner, Ph.D., a climate modeling specialist with the International Pacific Research Center from the University of Hawaii, the containers were dumped "in an area with prevailing currents from west to east. However, the wind's effect is a little tricky to estimate, as we do not know the windage of submerged containers very well. Generally, the winds are coming from the west sector but are quite variable in the winter season. Given all this, most containers may slowly move to the east along about 30 degrees north. As to the timing based on our experience with the Japanese tsunami, it may take a couple of months (4-6) for the containers to reach the general area of the garbage patch (30N, 140W)." Here is a photo from the disaster site: https://twitter.com/wonder_poat2140/status/1337744799017754627 The containers are drifting in the largest marine preserve in the world, which is USA waters. Just 350 miles south of the incident. Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument Map: https://nmspapahanaumokuakea.blob.core.windows.net/papahanaumokuakea-prod/media/archive/new-images/pmnm-map-exp-1.jpg More information about this vital preserve can be found HERE: https://www.papahanaumokuakea.gov/welcome.html Here is a map showing the estimated location of the ship at the time of the incident, and the location of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument Written by Janell C. Clark, OPDERA Photo credits to T E Janigan (S/B) @ wonder_poat2140 on Twitter 
 More than 88% of the sea's surface is polluted by plastic waste A study recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) found that at least 88% of the Earth’s ocean surface is polluted with plastic debris.
What can we do? The amount of waste each one of us produces can only be controlled by us. Think a little deeper about what you are buying and whether you need it. There are products that you can buy with less waste. Use reusable bags or find other uses for plastic bags you already have to keep them out of landfills and oceans. As consumers, we vote with our dollars. You can, make more eco-friendly choices. Learn more about us at www.opdera.org Read the full article here: https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/early/2014/06/25/1314705111.full.pdf recycle, #environment, #ecofriendly, #beachcleanup, #reuse, #plasticfreeoceans, #singleuseplastic, #pollution, #climatechange, #plasticfreeliving, #oceanconservation, #recycling, #sustainableliving, #breakfreefromplastic, #plasticpollutes, #savetheocean, #nomoreplastic  The volume of plastic entering oceans can be hard to comprehend Roughly 8 billion kilograms of plastics enter the world’s waters every year. The problem is most acute in emerging coastal economies. The volume of plastic entering oceans can be hard to comprehend, admits Jenna Jambeck, an engineering professor at the University of Georgia who has published pathbreaking science that quantifies plastic “leakage” to the oceans.
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