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Let’s Talk Trash: An ocean of plastic

You probably have to be living under a rock, next to a piece of Styrofoam, not to have heard of ocean plastic pollution.

You probably have to be living under a rock, next to a piece of Styrofoam, not to have heard of ocean plastic pollution.

Who would have predicted that the wonderfully pliable, strong, inexpensive material that entered mass production in the 1950s would be killing fish, adsorbing chemicals and leaching into our drinking water and food supply? Plastic in the wrong context is not all that fantastic.

Until recently, there had been no limits on its production or use, which is why 9.2 billion tonnes of it has been created. Despite having the capacity to persist (not breaking down for hundreds of years), most of what has been made (seven billion tonnes to be more precise) is no longer in use. Where is it? Landfills, incinerator smoke and the hardest of all places to clean up: the world’s oceans.

Despite the challenges of cleanup, many initiatives across the globe aim to put a dent in the problem, as well as policies and bans coming down the pipe to turn off the deluge.

The Ocean Cleanup project is one to watch for as it is developing a passive system for capturing all sizes of plastic debris that could prove capable of removing 90 per cent of ocean plastic within five years of a full rollout. Using a combination of a sea anchor and plastic capturing system, along with knowledge of ocean currents and “hot spot” locations of plastic accumulation, debris is extracted in large volumes.

While these are exciting possibilities, there are already teams of volunteers and nonprofit organizations addressing marine plastic head on. If you’ve ever strolled beaches or sailed along coastlines, you’ve likely seen washed-up floats, rope, water bottles and even boats. The Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup conservation program is a hub for shoreline cleanups across the nation that is also focused on data collection.

Ocean Legacy Foundation (OLF) is perhaps a familiar name to locals as it is the nonprofit that qathet Regional District (qRD) is working alongside in its cleanups. Canadian based, OLF is international in scope and has moved beyond mere cleanups to address policy changes and develop infrastructure needed to manage marine debris. An exciting local development has been the opening of BC’s first ocean plastic depot.

Targeting materials collected from cleanup efforts, the depot provides a place to properly contain materials until transportation for recycling, which is strongly favoured, or disposal. This program is made possible through a partnership between OLF and qRD with funding from Fisheries and Oceans Canada, with Augusta Recyclers providing the location to house two OLF shipping containers. The depot is available by appointment and trained volunteers orient cleanup coordinators and volunteers with proper sorting for optimum recyclability.

Many hands make lighter work of this seemingly insurmountable contamination of our oceans. Register for access to the depot through Let’s Talk Trash.

Let’s Talk Trash is qathet Regional District’s waste-reduction education program. For more information, email info@LetsTalkTrash.ca or go to LetsTalkTrash.ca.