Finally, A Study on Plastic From Rivers to Gyres!

It's been a while since I have posted. Life gets busy. I still try to Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rethink, and Refuse Plastic.

I ran across an Article titled

These 10 Rivers Are Responsible for 90 Percent of the Plastic in the Oceans

https://www.seeker.com/earth/conservation/these-ten-rivers-are-responsible-for-90-percent-of-the-plastic-in-the-oceans 

Finally there is a study out there that concludes what I have been saying for years! #FromRiver2Gyre.  This article discusses a study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.

Titled 

Export of Plastic Debris by Rivers into the Sea

 The study claims that "The 10 top-ranked rivers transport 88–95% of the global load into the sea."

They go on to say "Using MMPW (mismanaged plastic waste) as a predictor we calculate the global plastic debris inputs form rivers into the sea to range between 0.41 and 4 × 10⁶ t/y."

The Top Ten Rivers are the Yangtze River, Indus River, Yellow River, Hai He River, Nile River, Ganges River, Pearl River, Amur River, Niger River, and the Mekong River.

Neither article mentions anything about plastic from rivers in North or South America because they did not make the top ten list of Rivers. The U.S. has better waste management, but a lot more slips through than we would think. 

The predictors used in the study, or the lack of data to study I think under estimates how much plastic actually flows from rivers in developed countries like the United States.

The article in admits, "Due to the limited amount of data high uncertainties were expected and ultimately confirmed." but then says "The empirical analysis to quantify plastic loads in rivers can be extended easily by additional potential predictors other than MMPW, for example, hydrological conditions."Thus cuncluding more research needs to be done and other factors need to be considered. For example;
 We also need to consider plastic flowing down rivers because of flooding caused by climate change.

Vermont Green Up Day 2017

We Celebrated Vermont Green Up Day a week early this year. We picked up 4 bags of bottles, cans, wrappers, random plastic pieces and a whole lot of cigarette butts along the road near the Church in Ascutney. Also a lot of members and friends helped clean up the Church grounds. Thanks everyone who helped.

The Art of 3D Printing

So it might seem Ironic that a blog about plastic in the oceans is posting about 3D Printing because 3D printing, like many technological advances has it's pros and cons when concerned with the environment. 3D Printing creates a new market for plastic production, and a new stream of plastic waste, with every failed print.

But If used in a smart way, it can help reduce the amount of plastic that normally gets tossed into the waste stream. With the Filabot and Filabot Reclaimer it is possible to recycle plastic right from home. You can make your own filament from the right kinds of plastics, including all those failed print jobs, that would otherwise be tossed!


3d printing is an art. It takes a bit of trial and error to get prints to turn out the way you want and there are little tricks you learn along the way. For instance, I have found that it helps to heat the bed to 50 degrees Celsius. This helps the plastic from hardening too quickly and curling at the edges.

I have been using my 3D printer to fix things around the house instead of going to buy a new one.


I have a filabot, but I need the reclaimer or some way to shred the plastic so I can start recycling all the failed print jobs I have been saving.

Green Up Day 2014

This year I wasn't sure if I would be in town for Green Up Day and the forecast  looked like rain so I wasn't able to organize a group to help pick up Riverside. But the weather held out so I took my kids to help contribute some time for the annual clean up.

We filled up four bags of litter. Then the kids took a break and played on the playground before we took our bags to add to the collection down town. They were serving hot dogs chips and refreshments. I ran into some high school students I recognized who just dropped off bags from around town. It turned out to be a nice event. 

Thanks to All Who Voted

Thanks to all who voted for my video on the 5Gyres contest. Unfortunatly I did not win, but there are other ways I can get the footage I need. I ended up with around 165 votes. There were some good videos.

Check back on this blog for more posts, and remember to Reduce Reuse Recycle, and keep looking for ways to reduce the amount of plastic that is consumed.

5Gyres Contest

This is too good of an opportunity to pass up. 5Gyres is having a video contest which starts today. The winner will get to go on an expedition to the north Atlantic Gyre to research plastic polution. A $10,000.00 dollar value. If I win, I will be able to get the footage to finish my documentary! There are a lot of dedicated people who I know would love to be part of this voyage. It won't be easy. Please vote for my video. I can use all the votes I can get.

Click on this link to vote.http://woobox.com/bt8ew8/vote/for/2214920

Moore's Garbage Law and the Soon to be Obsolete USB Connector

Did you hear there is going to be a faster USB coming out soon? It will have a nifty new plug. Now I will need to go out and buy all new peripherals. The USBIF has been taking lessons from Apple and Intel. It's called planned obsolescence. http://news.yahoo.com/future-usb-charger-reversible-141933870.html?bcmt=comments-postbox 

This is an example of Moore's law in action. 

Moore's law was a self serving prediction made by Intel's co-founder Gorden E Moore. His prediction was that the number of transistors or circuits, or the capacity of computing doubles every two years. Moore set the bar for the advancement of computer technology, and for the most part the computer industry has met that challenge. It has fueled the fast advancement in computer technology since the Apple II computer went on the market in 1977. It had a 1 MHz processor and 4 kb of memory. Today computers have 3GHz processors and 8GBs of memory.

There is a downside to all of this push in technological advancement: E Waste. If new computer capacity doubles every two years, that means within four years of buying a computer it becomes relatively obsolete, unless you can upgrade it. So what happens? It is thrown in the trash and replaced with a new computer.
"Rapid changes in technology, changes in media (tapes, software, MP3), falling prices, and planned obsolescence have resulted in a fast-growing surplus of electronic waste around the globe. Dave Kruch, CEO of Cash For Laptops, regards electronic waste as a "rapidly expanding" issue." An estimated 50 million tons of E-waste are produced each year.^[1] (Sthiannopkao S, Wong MH. (2012) Handling e-waste in developed and developing countries: Initiatives, practices, and consequences. Sci Total Environ.)

Since 1995 USB standard plug has not changed. USB 3.0 and 2.0 fit into the original USB 1.0 slot. This has made USB the most widely used form of connecting peripherals like Harddrives, keyboards,  Mice, Phones etc to a computer. It has outlived Apple's firewire, and it could outlive Apple's new lightning if they just stuck to their standard. But by changing their connection they are taking away the one advantage they had, compatibility. The USB-IF should stick to their standard and show Apple that Planned Obsolescence will be Busisness Taboo.

Moore's law is the law of garbage. It is time to come up with a new law, a new standard for technology where connectors don't change every couple years, and when they are changed, they are backwards compatible, where new hardware is made backwards compatible and old hardware is supported for at least 8 years, and made to be upgradable.

Plastic Places:Lake Ontario

A couple weeks ago I went on a fishing charter with a friend. The waves were too strong so we didn't stay out too long. Instead we rented kayaks and fished along the pier. To get there we had to squeeze through some brush, we found a hidden cove. everywhere I stepped there was broken up plastic debris that had been washed up on shore by the waves.

A balloon, a water bottle, a McDonald's cup

a bottle cap and various other unidentifiable pieces.

there was no way I could pick up all that debris. so I just took some shots.

It made me think of 5Gyre's recent voyage to chart plastic in the Great Lakes. Yup, just like all the other great seas and oceans, It is plagued by non-biodegradable garbage. Oh well, time to go fishing.

Plastic Solutions Checkpoint: Diaper Duty

Back in December we were blessed to welcome a new member to our family.  He's an absolutely adorable, giggly, ray of sunshine (so we're probably a little biased on that one) but man oh man, the diapers. Now everyone knows it's probably one of the most challenging parts of having little ones at home - they make a lot of messes and there's no doubt about it that between the diapers, the wipes, their packaging, and the trash bags - it's a lot of plastic. We were filling up a medium size trash bag pretty much every week with just diapers.

Well, back with our second child we tried to go for cloth diapers - I can't remember how long I kept it up for but it really didn't work out or last long. Still, after a few months of watching the diapers fly into that trash bag faster than I could imagine we decided that we'd go ahead and try it again. This time I really wanted to research it out so I knew what I was doing.

There really are a ton of different options out there. They all have pro's and con's. Honestly it can be kind of intimidating trying to figure it all out. Thankfully I still had the diapers from last time as a starting base. Ultimately after going through all the rounds of pre-fold, all-in-ones, etc. I decided that we would just get a few covers for the diapers that we already have. We also got some all-in-ones that would hopefully make things a little easier when other people were changing him. Our current diaper stash includes 12 Kissaluvs fitted size 2 diapers, 2 Blueberry One Size Coveralls, and 3 Swaddlebees (now Blueberry) Simplex All-in-One Diapers.

When I was selecting which diapers to get I had one major requirement. I wanted them to last until we were done with diapering. Since I was starting with a 4.5 month old this was a little easier. The diapers we got all had multiple adjustments for as the baby grows and will fit up from about 12 to 35 lbs. They were also all rated for long-lasting quality. I didn't want to have to buy two or three sets of diapers as he grew out of them or as they wore out. What you get depends on what is most important to you and how much money you can set aside to start out but I would advise thinking about the long term costs etc.

In addition to the diapers I also wanted to know how to take care of them. Part of this for me involved getting some wet bags. We got two from Planet Wise - 1 large that I could use for the bulk of the diapers and 1 small that I could bring along with me when we go out. Honestly this is something that is pretty straightforward but does have an ick factor. Maybe because baby is number 3 and the ick doesn't bother me as much but overall it's really not bad. Before the diapers are used they need to be washed at least three times before they get to be absorbent enough to be worn (they'll continue to get more so over the next few washes as well). After that whenever they're wet I just take them off and put them in the wet bag. I wipe the cover and reuse it with the next diaper unless it's gotten soiled. When there's more than wet in the diaper I just take it to the toilet and wipe it off with toilet paper and flush it. When the bag is full I throw them all into the washer, run it through with unscented laundry soap on a quick cold cycle. Then I run them through on a hot cycle that has an extra cold rinse at the end. About once a week I throw the wet bag in with them. Then I throw the diapers in the dryer until they're done (now that's summer I'm looking forward to being able to hang them out on a line). We end up washing diapers about every day or two (you really shouldn't leave them any longer than that) So far seems to do it pretty well.

Now I'll admit that as of yet I haven't tried them at night time. Mostly because I just can't deal with trying to wake up enough to change him during the night. So he usually uses 1-2 disposable diapers a day. One thing I didn't realize until we began using these is just how much babies usually wet. The disposable ones make it hard to tell sometimes. Although you can leave the disposable on even when they're wet I really think that knowing that he's wet and getting to change it without worrying about running out of diapers has been a great part of the whole experience. It does mean that I usually change diapers about every 1.5-2 hours though, we have gone about 4 before when we were out and trying to get back home. Honestly I've never had a leak or mess that the diapers haven't been able to take care of. (Part of this is probably due to having a decent diaper cover this time around - it was definitely one of the headaches from last time when we just had the super cheap ones)

So for cost - we ended up spending about $125 on what we purchased new. Still if we were to be using disposables at a minimum of 5 a day (that would be definitely more than one time wetting) we would be spending about $40.00 a month on diapers. So all in all it works out pretty well cost wise.

Now, our covers and bags do all have plastic. Still, I figure it's using a lot less of it over all. If you have the means of doing so there are all natural fiber options that some people seem to love. They do run more expensive though so for us they weren't a good fit.

Overall There was a little bit of an upfront cost, but there are options that run much less expensive than what we got. Some require more work (having to fold and pin them), some wear out sooner but might get you through a year or two. It does make for extra loads of laundry. If you don't have a laundry machine, having to go to a laundry mat would make it much more expensive and time consuming. Other than that, it really has been worth it! Plus they're incredibly super cute!

Link to Original Post

Plastic Places: The Connecticut River

Spring is finally here. The snow is almost gone and the rivers are flowing high. The water is still a little cold for kayaking, but I thought it would be a good time to do a post on the Connecticut River. Last week I stopped by the dam in Bellows Falls. A lot of debris has collected over the winter and Spring melt.

 

Part of the dam has stopped debris from flowing on. Mixed in with all the branches and wood was a lot of plastic. How much plastic can you find in this picture?

It looks like dams stop quite a bit of plastic from making it all the way to the ocean, but they don't catch everything, especially if the water gets high enough. There are different types of dams, some that allow water to pass, and some that don't. Many dams are built with a spillway. A spillway is a section of a dam designed to pass water from the upstream side of a dam to the downstream side.

The day before Hurricane Irene hit New England a couple years ago I went to the Holyoke Dam which is further down the Connecticut River. The Holyoke Dam has been providing power to the Paper City since 1870, when it was rebuilt. It is an hidro-electric dam with several channels, overflows and waste-weirs. (www.holyokemass.com)

Twelve channels divert water to power the hydro-electric turbine. The dam is designed to allow a steady flow independent of the water level. If it gets high enough, the water flows right over the waste-weir dam.

During Irene, whole houses were floating down the Connecticut. I was able to get some shots the day after. I went to Springfield and Bellows Falls. I saw a porch, a couple gas tanks, lots of various plastic bottles and containers, several basket balls, and a lot of lumber. The person next to me said they saw a fiberglass bathtub going down the river just before I showed up.

A lot of debri went out to sea from Irene, But it isn't just after a big hurricane that you see plastic flowing down the river. Last fall we were exploring places to go kayaking, and we found a current along the Connecticut that had collected several items of plastic trash. 

 There is something about rivers. People have been living near rivers since civilization began. Before the Industrial Revolution, it was one of the main sources of transportation, one of the main sources of power. Rivers provided drinking water, and connected communities. You can still travel from town to town, by river. Many cities are built on the shores of rivers. Waste made by man has flown out to sea for centuries. But until the invention of plastics most waste would biodegrade. Now the waste that flows down the river will outlive us five times. The next time you are out enjoying the nice weather this spring, please take the time to pick up three plastic items you see littering the streets. Most likely there is a river or steam near by that leads to the sea.

Sanctuary

Last week we took our children to The Vermont Institute of Natural Science. It is a great place for hands on learning. 

VINS is a bird sanctuary in Vermont. We got see owls, eagles and hawks and many other birds that have been rescued and brought back to health. They keep the birds that will not be able to survive in the wild because of their injuries. A plaque by each cage gives a description of the birds in it. 

 Each bird has a story to tell of what happened to them. The cause of the injury is written on the plaque if it is known. Many of the injuries they know about were caused by vehicles, but there are a variety of causes.

One information plague describes what one could do to limit the risk of harm to birds. Birds frequently perish in snarls of discarded mono-filament fishing line and other non-biodegradable debris. You can help by cleaning up shore lines.

 The day after our excursion to the Vermont Institution of Natural Science I found a hurt crow. We were going to take him to the rehabilitation center the next day, but he died during the night. We buried him and said good bye. 

Birds need a sanctuary, a place away from the dangers and pollution caused by man. Yet even an island Midway across the pacific is not far enough away. It is often too late for many of the birds found. Even if there were more bird rehabilitation centers. Hopefully they have been able to reproduce before they accumulate too much plastic.

Why doesn't New Hampshire Redeem Bottles?

I pick up bottles and cans when I have time. I redeem the ones that are redeemable. It doesn't amount to much but it is nice to get something back for my efforts. In neighboring states New york, Massachusetts and Main, A person can get a redemption for recycling soda bottles and cans. But not in New Hampshire.

Sometimes when I pick up a bottle or can expecting to be able to redeem it, I find something like this. It is a little discouraging. It's not about the money, What is five cents anyways? I couldn't figure out why some Pepsi bottles had no label for redemption. Then I realized, these cans must have been soled in New Hampshire because they can't be sold with no label for redemption in Vermont. These products are bought in New Hampshire and tossed on our soil.

So why doesn't New Hampshire have Container Deposit Legislation? There have been several attempts to pass a bottle bill in New Hampshire but none have been successful. The latest attempt at a bottle bill in New Hampshire was in 2010.

In an article on the Bottle Bill resource Guide We find out why it has failed.

John Dumais, president and CEO of the New Hampshire Grocer's Association, said his group has been fighting bottling legislation for more than 25 years.

They have pushed the idea that there is a better way to recycle. But their way of recycling doesn't address litter, which not only clutters New Hampshire but ends up on the road side of neighboring states.

Can you guess which one of these cans is not from New Hampshire?

Why From River to Gyre?

So what is this Blog about anyways? Why From River to Gyre? If you have read some of the other posts on this blog, you have probably figured out that this blog has something to do with the amount of Plastic in the world's oceans, and the negative affect it has on marine wildlife.

So what is From River to Gyre? Plastic. You may have heard of the Plastic that has been found in our oceans. There are many blogs and organizations out there that have been spreading awareness about the issue; 5gyres, The Blue Ocean Society, balloonsblow.org, and Museum Of Litter to name a phew.

What this blog does is try to show the connection between the litter on the side of the road and near river beds and the plastic found in the ocean. It's not just trash from ocean liners and beaches that accumulates in the Gyres. Basically any place that has a river near by that leads to the ocean carry plastic trash to the ocean. As you can see from the map bellow, there are a lot of rivers just in the United States.

The question is, how much plastic flows into the oceans from these major rivers? and how far inland does the plastic come from?
That is what we are trying to find the answer for.

Plastic Places - Newburry Port MA

On August 7th 2012 we went on a river cruise in Newburry Port Massachusetts. The cruise traveled around Newburry Port and up the Merrimack River. Before the cruise we took a walk on the beach and picked up trash along the way. Among the usual balloons, bottles, wrappers and straws, I kept finding these plastic white disks.

I thought, "What are these? I know I have seen them before." Then I remembered I read a blog article on the NH Marine Debris blog about the Hookset New Hampshire Water treatment plant over a year ago.

The article read, "Emergency Beach Cleanup!  Small white circular mesh disks, approximately 2" in diameter, were released into the Merrimack River from the Hooksett, NH Wastewater Treatment Facility following heavy rainstorms .... It's estimated that hundreds of thousands of the disks were released to the Merrimack River - these are now in MA and NH coastal areas and beaches."

Over a year later and these discs are still washing up on New Hampshire and Massachusetts beaches. I found 12 of them on our short walk. The interesting thing is we know where these disks came from. Here is a map of the path the disks took from Hooksett NH.

 

It shows that plastic debris in the ocean can come from pretty far up stream. Those plastic disks had to travel quite a ways down the Merrimack before reaching the ocean. The disks were identifiable, but what other plastic debris comes from Hooksett, or further upstream, in, say Concord? The same question goes for any river. I have captured plastic flowing down the Connecticut River. This study shows a definite connection to roadside litter and debris in the ocean.

People want redeemable bottles

The people want redeemable bottles so what is stopping legislation in Australia? Find out more on Tim Silverwood's Blog Here.

Quick Note: Balloon Releases Blow

Balloon releases are bad for the environment. Please don't release balloons.
This is a really cool website balloonsblow.org The founders have been cleaning beaches for over 15 years. They started this website to open awareness about the environmental impact of balloon releases. Check it out. and take a look at their wall of shame.

Save the Bottle Bill!!

The American Beverage Association has been working hard to terminate the Bottle Bill. With out the Bottle Bill there would be no more 5 cent redemption for soda bottles or beer bottles. 

I grew up in New York where the Bottle Bill has been around for a couple decades. Redeeming bottles was how I payed for lunch at least once a week while I was going to college. The bottle bill in Vermont(the state I live in now) doesn't cover as much as New York currently does, but it is nice to live in a state where bottles can be redeemed.   

The Bottle Bill is the most affective recycling program because it places value on items that would otherwise be discarded. Unfortunately, the Bottle Bill has been under attack since the 1980's. Many states have adopted some form of recycling program, but only 

eleven states have adopted a form of the bottle bill. The last State to adopt the bottle bill was Hawaii in 2002, which happens to be a state surrounded by the ocean. Yes, you guessed it, they must have passed the bill because of all of the plastic that washes up on their beaches. Unfortunately many of the other states don't seam to have the same sense of urgency to the issue of plastic in the ocean.  

The bottle bill is under attack in just about every state. Supporters have to go up against a strong opposition force of lobbyists payed for by the American Beverage Association and other interested parties. In Vermont the American Beverage association is trying to push legislation that would replace the current bottle bill with a state-wide EPA system or zero sort recycling program. 
Maclean, Meheen and Rice(MMR), a Law firm based in Montpelier has put up a web site that promotes the EPA Legislation. It is www.wecandobettervt.com. The propaganda cleverly frames the issue and makes it look like more people support the one tiered state-wide EPA system over a system that incorporates both zero sort recycling and bottle redemption models. At the bottom of the site there is a link that is hardly noticeable, "paid for by MMR". If you fallow the links you find that the American Beverage Association is a client of MMR. Hmmm, how interesting.

Zero sort recycling programs work OK for what they do, (divert household garbage from the dump) but they aren't built to address the issue of Plastic Litter, much of which comes from discarded bottles. If there is no value placed on the item who would bother picking it up, other than paid road crews? 

When a recyclable item is collected separately from rubbish, it produces a higher quality product. There are many items that can only be recycled if they are collected separately; such as print cartridges, cell phones, digital cameras and other electronics. One wouldn't think of replacing one of these redemption programs so why get rid of the bottle bill?
Please Help save the Bottle Bill. Please support the bottle bill in your state.
Thanks

Green Up Day May 5 2012

The first Green Up Day was on April 18, 1970. Green Up Day started in Vermont, but recently other states and countries have been joining in on celebrating Green Up Day. Each year around the first week of May, we fill up as many green garbage bags as we can, with litter. 2012 was our third year joining Vermonters in greening up Vermont.

We had a small group this year. Four Students and three adults, but we did a ton of work. We collected 12 bags of litter, and two bags worth of recyclable material.

There is so much litter out there, it is impossible to pick it all up. The litter that lies close to rivers and streams eventually makes it's way to the ocean. Plastic debris causes a major threat to marine life such as sea turtles sea lions.

Thanks to all of those who participated in cleaning around Riverside this year. It is important that we all do our part in reducing the amount of plastic litter.  Green Up Day is one of Vermont's great traditions, that I am proud to be a part of.

Plastic Places Jacksonville Beach

March 8, 2012,
We traveled to Jacksonville Beach, Florida to pick up the plastic debris brought in by the tide and to document what we saw. The beach was busy with sunbathers and surfers. There were many species of sea birds flying around searching for food. Hidden among the seaweed collected at the high tide line, were several pieces of plastic.

As we walked the high tide line along the beach, I noticed a seagull picking at something. I couldn't tell what it was. I could see it was small and bright green.Was it some kind of larva?



I chased the seagull, as he carried the orderve with him for a while, but he gave up and flew to a new location.







I picked up the green orderve. Just as I suspected. It was a rubbery piece of plastic.








A little further along the beach, I saw a dead seagull. I took a picture of it and kept walking. Later, while reviewing the photos, I noticed that the unlucky seagull was tangled in fishing line. I am not sure if this is what caused it's demise but it is very likely.


It made me think, how much is hidden in plain sight? Out of all the beach goers, how many even noticed the dead seagull, not to mention the fishing line wrapped around it's legs?



How many people noticed the bottle caps and balloons and plastic cups mixed in with the seaweed, or the plastic bags caught in the grass at the edge of the beach? How much do we just not notice?