Happy FriYay!
I’ve spent a lot of time enjoying some of Australia’s most beautiful beaches. I feel very blessed to live in this beautiful country. I am both amazed by the breathtaking beauty of these beaches and yet, saddened by a horrible reality. Rubbish. And a lot of it. Plastic bottles, wrappings, beer bottles, straws, cigarette butts, fishing wire, plastic bags, nappies and much more.
Mother Earth is in trouble. And we are going to face more challenges in Australia with import restrictions excluding 99% of the recyclables we previously sold to China. And who suffers from this mess? Our lands, our oceans, our marine life and ultimately, you. Yes my friends – there are more and more discoveries that we humans are digesting plastic from seafood. So gross.
I know you’ve heard this before and I’m sure by now you’re probably feeling crap about this depressing information. Whilst you are no doubt concerned like I am, the problem just seems too big for one person to change, doesn’t it?
I want to share a story about a young man from the Netherlands who felt the same way I do. He decided to do something about it. Meet Boyan Slat. For him it all started in 2011 when the 16 year old was diving in Greece. He noticed more plastic bags than fish. He started to investigate the plastic pollution problem, and why people claimed it was nearly impossible to clean up the oceans. This work eventually lead him to the idea of using the natural ocean currents to let the oceans clean themselves. The concept was first shared in 2012 in a TEDx Talk, which rapidly went viral. Then he crowd funded and gathered a team of voluntary scientists and engineers to help work out the idea. In 2013, The Ocean Cleanup was officially founded. What a legend.
Fast forward to 2018 and tomorrow, September 8, The Ocean Cleanup will launch the world’s first ocean cleanup system in San Francisco Bay toward the infamous Great Pacific Garbage Patch. I’m sure you’ve heard of it – The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is the largest accumulation of ocean plastic in the world and is located between Hawaii and California. Looking at the photos, it’s seriously disgusting.
With billions of people using plastic every day, stopping this behaviour is not an overnight fix. It’s a mindset change that will take time. And whilst the journey has started, there’s always more we can all do. However, for now, The Ocean Cleanup project may be the a solution we are seeking to the current garbage issue in our beautiful oceans. Clean them up and let’s see what happens to mother earth and her amazing ability to regenerate. What a way to make a meaningful difference!
What to know more? Click here.In the meantime, remember, plastic bags are for dags (a take on the old only ‘dags smoke fags’) and if it needs to be covered – use a recyclable alternative. Oh, and if you are walking on the beach any time soon, please pick up some rubbish. If we are all united in our dedication to cleaning up our oceans, we might just start to make a bigger difference.
Have a lovely weekend!
Miss Meaningful x
