Solutions

Marine Debris is a major issue in the world’s oceans today. The non-biodegradable manmade materials that make up marine debris and the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (along with others) have a largely detrimental effect on the marine environment and on the animals that live there. We need to put an end to this excessive dumping of garbage into our coastal and offshore waters. Many people are unaware of the severity and vast scale of marine debris, or the effects it has on the ecosystem. It is our job to try to the best of our abilities to fix and reverse the negative results of this on the environment. The only solution to marine debris is to raise awareness on the matter. We need to educate the public on marine debris and how every little bit of action can help. Get out the word through public service announcements, posters, and flyers. Stop making the world’s oceans a soup of non-biodegradable plastics that only serve to hurt. Buy and use biodegradable products, which are made from corn-based plastic to replace petroleum, that is created out of Ingeo plastic pellets. Although these products are biodegradable, they still need to be sent to a commercial composting plant. Another brand of biodegradable plastic is called Mirel and it decomposes in soil, compost, or water. Most importantly, recycle! If everyone were to recycle every plastic bag and water bottle they used each day, the shredded plastic mix soup would most likely be half the size at least. The only chance there is that this problem may eventually be brought to an end is to make marine debris as publically aware as possible. We need to educate the people so that they can understand what effects their actions have on nature. And, above all, even more important to emphasize than awareness, is recycling. Recycle anything that can be recycled, and reuse when necessary. This will ultimately minimize debris pollution flying and falling into the ocean. Awareness, intelligence, and recycling will all help to one day eradicate the blob that is called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.