The disturbing journey to the island of plastic

ISABEL IBÁÑEZ

In Hawaii, the Kilauea volcano has just erupted, one of the most active on the planet. This archipelago integrated as a state in the US in 1959 is a paradise for many reasons, a place of pilgrimage for those in search of their wave on beaches such as Makaha, Waimea Bay... It also has forests rich in biodiversity where you can get lost. In the midst of all this wild beauty, it is difficult to imagine that another island exists very close, rather lurks, this time insidious, since no one can stand on it; they call it the Great Garbage Patch, scientifically known as the North Pacific Subtropical Convergence Zone. A 1.6 million square kilometer spot, equivalent to three times the size of France according to the 'Scientific Reports' publication, actually made up of two groups, one that moves between California and the surfing mecca and the other further to the west towards Japan. 80,000 tons of waste trapped in a vortex of currents that attract and push them to the tranquility of its inner zone, where it has accumulated since before 1997. It was then that the American oceanographer Charles Moore, who was participating in a cruise between Los Angeles and and Hawaii through an area that sailors usually avoid due to the low presence of winds.

Nearly half of this floating abomination of plastic waste are 'ghost nets', so called because they continue to kill after completing their useful life; Thousands of animals are hooked on them to death. Like the turtle whose skeleton can be seen entangled in one of the photos in this report, one of the many 'captures' made by Hawaiian navigator Mary Crowley, founder in 1979 and director of the Ocean Voyages Institute (www.oceanvoyagesinstitute.org), an organization ecologist who in June broke the record for cleaning garbage in the open sea, by 'fishing' 93 tons precisely in this spot that threatens the oceanic life of his country: "Sometimes it is closer to California and, often, it is a little Closer to Hawaii. All plastics negatively affect certain areas on the islands, reefs, beaches and bays of my country. This debris is particularly harmful to all marine life: whales, dolphins, turtles, and really all kinds of fish and ocean life." Without forgetting that the seabed under this gigantic and dirty 'raft' is also contaminated, since up to 70% of the waste ends up sinking.

Ocean Voyage Institute

Here there are also deniers who cling to the fact that they cannot see this 'patch' in satellite images, unaware that it is more like a 'soup' made up largely of microplastics that in some areas are mixed with more waste big, like flip flops, detergent bottles, the dreaded drift fishing gear, which rolls and grows in the waves picking up other nets and more plastic... Tell that to Crowley, who has followed the threatening evolution of the stain, a 'destination' to which he has traveled on several occasions: «The first time I was really worried was on an excursion in a sailboat without a motor at the end of the 70s. That region is usually very calm and sunny, we stopped for five days and we enjoy the marine nature, the waters are deep, about 550 meters down, and the ocean is a beautiful deep blue. So we already come across the typical glass balls of Japanese networks and many plastic ones. Nothing like what we found in 2009, though, during a month-long trip to study how 'lanternfish', which eat plankton and are then eaten by larger fish, were feeding on plastic, pushing it into the food chain. We also took the opportunity to catalog the amount and types of waste... There were massive accumulations of nets, thousands of large white bottles of laundry detergent, boxes of beer and soft drinks, buckets, containers, children's toys, chairs... We We feel very distressed."

Crowley and the organization he leads have been making their way to the garbage patch non-stop ever since, trying to find "solutions." On successive trips they collected a large quantity of ghost nets and a huge variety of consumer plastics, “between 2.5 and 3 tons each year. Until in 2019 we ramped up our efforts and achieved record-setting mid-ocean cleanups. In 2018 we began using GPS satellite trackers to tag nets and other large debris, work done by various ships from Greenpeace to sailing holiday families, racing boats and work vessels. Some twenty ships and more than 200 people have collaborated on this and we greatly appreciate your help."

Among Crowley's most disturbing moments, he recalls the moment he saw the skeleton of a sea turtle "enclosed in a net, within many other nets. It was extremely disturbing. I love all the creatures of the ocean. Seeing young whales stranded on the beaches, starving to death with stomachs full of plastics, all that destruction of marine life, is probably the most distressing for me. However, it is also terrifying to see how our garbage, instead of being recycled or reused, floats in what was once a pristine ocean. Also the fact that our world continues to make more plastics, especially disposable ones, because it can be a good material for a lot of permanent uses, but it's a terrible choice for plates, glasses, containers... We need to change our ways and become best stewards of our magnificent ocean."

Ocean Voyage Institute

And we come to this year that we are about to say goodbye, in which they have freed the patch from the weight of 154 tons of waste, 93 of them in a single trip, considered the largest cleaning carried out on the high seas in a single time: «It was a magnificent and triumphant feeling, since it is a lot of plastic. Our mission for 2021 is to eliminate some 450 tons, that is, triple our collection this year. We invite people from around the world to join us in this effort, both by donating to our cause and by doing cleanups in their own areas (those interested can write to mary@oceanvoyagesinstitute.org). People don't usually dump this kind of waste into the ocean on purpose, although there are some 'criminals against nature' who do. We tend to dump this type of waste in overflowing bins or end up in landfills, and wind and rain blow it out into the ocean.” The researchers believe that 20% of the total smudge came from the 2011 tsunami in Japan.

Sculptures, energy, bracelets...

– What do you do with the collected waste?

– Our commitment is that everything we collect is reused, recycled, and nothing will end up in the ocean or landfill again. We have provided materials to artists for sculptures and paintings that educate people about plastics in the sea. We have made exhibitions of the waste in museums. We've turned plastic into clean energy with Hawaii Power to power our homes. We can also convert it into fuel, insulating panels and other construction materials. I have worked with companies that make medical tissues and equipment. The nets have become bracelets, necklaces, dog leashes, keys, chains... And we study their use in road construction."

Crowley has been sailing since he was 4 years old, initially on his grandfather's wooden boat, on Lake Michigan in Chicago. «It was a family activity, parents, siblings... We all enjoyed it. I love the sea. I have had the pleasure and honor of sailing more than 115,000 nautical miles (200,000 kilometers). It is this deep love that I feel that inspires my devotion to these cleanups, to restoring and maintaining the health of our ocean, which we have used as a garbage can for centuries."

Ocean Voyage Institute