Have you ever wondered where all our waste goes?
Well, there are two major options: they are either incinerated or thrown away in huge waste dumps in open fields, usually in the vicinity of large cities. Now if our waste in incinerated, smoke and toxic gases are set free into our atmosphere, raining down on us when the weather goes bad. If it is left in open fields they poison the lands. Sure, recycling can do a lot of good in these matters, but we still have a long way to go.
An article written by Ed Fitzgerald on Ecology Global Network brings a whole new perspective to the notion of waste dumping. Sure, we were all aware of the pollution of rivers, lake and oceans, but raise your hand if this is how you imagined it.
Apparently the size of the plastic waste dump in the Pacific ocean is twice the aria of the continental United States. The process is simple; 10 percent of the world’s plastic waste is dumped in the seas all over the globe, slowly finding its way in the Pacific Ocean.
Due to water currents in the water, the plastic is broken down into millions of small pieces that are eaten by the fish and other marine forms of life.
The UN Environmental Program makes a sad, but true assessment: over a million seabirds, as well as more than 100 thousand marine mammals, die every year from ingesting plastic waste. This is a startling fact. So who’s fault is it again?
Let’s take a global approach. What really happens here is this: millions of people throw their garbage away, not taking into consideration the simple plastic/paper recycling rule. The garbage is disposed of into the sea, finally being a part the planetary ocean. The marine life mistakes waste dump for food. Some of the fish die, some of it ends up on our tables. Let’s call this “revange”.
Throwing plastic overboard is against the law. However, since you’re going to throw your trash anyway, here are a few ground rules offered by eHow:
Separate your trash: food items, paper, rags, metal, crockery and plastic.
If operating within three miles of shore, the only trash a boater can toss overboard is fresh fish or fish parts, dishwater or graywater. Dishwater is the water left over after cleaning dished, provided it does not have food suspended in the water. Graywater is water left over water from bathing but does not include toilet water.
Put all other garbage into plastic bags and stow them below. Dispose of when returning to dock.
From 3 to 12 miles offshore, boaters must grind their trash to less than one inch, including food, crockery, rags, glass, metal and paper. This can go overboard. However, plastic and packing materials remain forbidden.
From 12 to 25 miles offshore, packing materials and plastic is forbidden.
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