Drowning in Plastic - BBC 1

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lancashire lass
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Drowning in Plastic - BBC 1

Post by lancashire lass »

I'm surprised no-one hasn't already posted about the documentary about plastics in our oceans and the horrific damage it is doing to the wildlife in all 4 corners of the world. It was shocking and sad to watch animals dying from injuries sustained from discarded plastics but hopefully highlight the problem and demand a change in attitudes to the use of plastics in our everyday life particular the one-use type. If you haven't already watched it, I'd highly recommend you watch the iPlayer but be prepared to have a box of tissues at hand {cry} {cry} {cry}
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Re: Drowning in Plastic - BBC 1

Post by Gwenoakes »

Have not watched it, but caught snippets of it and got to say what I saw was not very nice.
I did see a program, sorry cannot remember when/where, but not long ago about a manufacturer of black plastic plant pots who were on their way to being able to recycle. Also heard on same program that one of the problems with growing plants was that the black pots were needed to germinate seeds/plants, but they were trying out lighter coloured pots and from what I remember they could be recycled and it was working, so fingers crossed. Apparently the garden centres do not have much say in the colour of the potted plants that they buy in to resell. In fact I was quite shocked to hear that garden centres buy in the majority of their bedding plants etc from nurseries.
I am using lollipop sticks as markers for seeds and also have hundreds of cardboard toilet rolls to make into seed pots for next year, so trying to do my bit, but do realise it will take a lot more than what I am doing to make a difference to the wildlife and environment. I have also noticed that some bedding plants this year have come in what looks to be like t bags. I know used t bags are good for plants, so that may be another way to go in the future.
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Re: Drowning in Plastic - BBC 1

Post by fabindia »

Haven't watched the programme yet as we haven't got broadband yet but will do next week.

I wrote a blog with a very similar title back in August 2017:
https://gone4goodnow.wordpress.com/2017/08/22/drowning-in-a-sea-of-plastic/

I worry that there is no solution to this problem. Here is in Asia, no one seems to care, and the bottom line is that each year just more and more waste ends up in our seas. I fear eventually, we end up with no turtles, dolphins, or whales, oceans just full of poisonous algae. I can't see any light at the end of the tunnel other than an ecological Armageddon train hurtling towards us.
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Meanqueen
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Re: Drowning in Plastic - BBC 1

Post by Meanqueen »

I haven't watched it, can't because I don't have a tele or a TV licence, but I have seen some pictures. If everyone in the UK did a little bit towards cutting back on plastic, it will make hardly any difference to what ends up in the sea, because the rest of the world will not make the same effort.

I bought a heather in a pot yesterday, it had a plastic spike in it and a plastic coated label hanging off the spike. No need for it at all. I am going to send it to Aldiddly head office and ask them to get in touch with their suppliers, in Germany, and tell them to stop using the spikes, just stick a label on the pot. Not that it will do any good, but I will at least bring it to their attention.

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lancashire lass
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Re: Drowning in Plastic - BBC 1

Post by lancashire lass »

Meanqueen wrote:I bought a heather in a pot yesterday, it had a plastic spike in it and a plastic coated label hanging off the spike. No need for it at all


something similar at work - I ordered some chemicals we use a lot of in the lab and I was gobsmacked when they arrived. We used to order silica gel (used in filtration systems) in 25 kg drums but there are multiple risks and hazards (manual handling of heavy loads, dust hazard including long term lung disease silicosis, disposal of large quantities of mixed unidentifiable chemical waste) so I switched to the 1 kg pots and bulk buy 10-20 kg at a time. These are in standard durable plastic containers with a secure screw lid which are perfect for individuals to take a pot at a time rather than scoop out of a drum, easier to store until needed and the waste silica gel can then go into the empty pot for safer handling and identifiable waste from a single end user can send it via our hazard waste disposal route for incineration. The latest batch I got - every single pot was encased in a plastic bag ... why? It's already contained. It's a bit like when you buy raw meat in a sealed plastic tray and at the check out they put it in a flimsy one use plastic bag when there is no risk of meat juices escaping in the first place ... people need to be educated.

I have just recently finished an online FutureLearn course called "Exploring our Oceans" and this documentary about plastics coincided with some of the course content and the multiple problems facing the integrity of our oceans and its wildlife from human impact (some of it is quite horrifying once you realize the scale and seriousness of them all, such as plans for deep ocean mining for minerals which will impact delicate environmental systems we still know so little about that are quite possibly an absolute essential for all life on this planet, and not just as food) I've never been an "environmentalist" (although I don't see myself as excessively exploiting our natural world either), but since taking it upon myself to try and understand the causes of climate change which led me to explore other similar courses, I am genuinely worried that our planet is on the brink of dying and the extinction level event will be all man made (not from some huge asteroid or some other catastrophe but unsustainable pollution levels in the air, soil, rivers and seas) I feel compelled to tell people to stop being so selfish and start acting responsibly as this is not science fiction anymore!
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Re: Drowning in Plastic - BBC 1

Post by Mo »

I think someone was talking about this on DTL years ago - he doesn't post on here any more as I don't think we were 'green' enough for him. It has been known, but it's suddenly fashionable (among some)
But nothing is simple -
e.g. plastic wrappings versus food waste
e.g. our choir uses disposable cups (and even the paper ones have a layer of plastic so can't be recycled) to facilitate serving everyone in a short break.

I suppose all we can hope is that when something becomes fashionable there is pressure on manufacturers and shops - just like it was hard to buy free range eggs 20 years ago, and then campaigners started pressing for free range eggs as ingredients in cakes, etc. Back in the early DTL years.
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Sunny Clucker enjoyed Folk music and song in mid-Cheshire
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lancashire lass
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Re: Drowning in Plastic - BBC 1

Post by lancashire lass »

Far more plastic found in the oceans than previously estimated link to BBC news

There are 12-21 million tonnes of tiny plastic fragments floating in the Atlantic Ocean, scientists have found.

A study, led by the UK's National Oceanography Centre, scooped through layers of the upper 200m (650ft) of the ocean during a research expedition through the middle of the Atlantic.

Such an amount of plastic - 21 million tonnes - would be enough to fully load almost 1,000 container ships.


the findings confirm earlier studies that the microplastic load in the oceans is "much higher than [we had] estimated".


Amid the coronavirus pandemic, some environmental groups have reported the disposable face mask is now one of the most common items of plastic litter.
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