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Living in a Plastic World

Rosy cheeks, bronzed shoulders, and sea salt dowsed hair, all aspects of a quality day at

the beach. Packing up towels, suntan lotion, and books from a well deserved and much needed

beach day, I cannot help but notice the color speckled sand around me, the sharp and shiny

pieces of trash in the sand. I wonder, how is this possible? Why has the world come to the point

where every single beach is covered with plastics? I soon realized there were too many tiny

pieces to pick up. Bottles, straws, and cutlery are now common items seen peeking out of the

sand at the beach nearly every day. In oceans all over the globe bright, colorful fish and coral

have now been replaced by plastic.

By the age of three, most kids are terrified of water, it is unknown and cold, but that was

not me. Ever since I can remember I have been in the water swimming during the summers, in

lakes, or oceans. A summer full of sunburns, bleach blonde hair, freckles, and tan lines meant it

was a summer well spent. At five, Shark Week on The Discovery Channel became an annual

event in my household and I fell in love with sharks and the idea of one day being able to work

with sharks and help marine life. For me, sharks were everything, from creating my own

‘sharkologist’ journal to the numerous shark hats and stuffed animals my parents purchased. At

six I would scour the internet for hours learning as much as possible about sharks. Despite

friends and family saying I was crazy for wanting to swim with sharks or even be in the open

ocean, my love for sharks only grew fonder. After many years of constant research and finding

that the most common reason for the death of sharks has been caused by ocean pollution, I turned

to look at the bigger picture.

As time went on my attention switched from researching sharks to the conservation of the

oceans and finding alternate uses for single use plastics specifically in creating art. The

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movement of the waves and the colors of sunsets bouncing off of the water sparked something in

me. I have replaced research journals with canvases, painting numerous ocean settings and the

sun setting over the water. The diversity of color in marine life and the thought of it one day not

being there have both inspired me to want to help save, not only, the planet but marine life. This

has led me to develop my senior project question: How are ocean conservation organizations

cleaning up ocean pollution and repurposing it?

In an interview Raj Guatam, a current student at The University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

studying Earth and Environmental Sciences. Guatam first became interested in the conservation

of the environment, “...through my experiences backpacking through our country's national

parks. After seeing the wonder that nature had to offer, I was compelled to understand how the

wonders of the Earth are/were created.” When it comes to the government making efforts to help

the pollution and climate issues in our environment, Guatam believes that the government is not

doing enough. He believes that, “We subsidize the fossil fuel industry with hundreds of billions

of dollars every year but we give only a fraction of that amount to renewable energy projects.”

Fossil fuels are used to power almost everything, boats, cars, any transportation yet after many

years of the globe using fossil fuels, the government has not even thought of using renewable

energy resources. Fossil fuels such as gas and oil are often found in the ocean, thousands of miles

off of land. Fossil fuels leaking into ocean environments are very common, with the most

common being oil spills. Oil spills are up on the list of top ocean pollutants with the other being

plastic waste. Guatam believes that the government needs to take climate and environmental

pollutant issues seriously in order to preserve the world for future generations.

Each year between eight and fourteen million tons of plastic waste ends up in the ocean,

which can take at least 450 years to biodegrade. Plastic waste in the ocean accounts for the

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deaths of over 100 million animals each year which amounts to over 100 species. Located

halfway between Hawaii and California, The Great Pacific Garbage Patch consists of 600,000

square miles of plastics that float in a ‘dead zone’ of the ocean. This tremendous garbage patch is

twice the size of Texas (which is 600,000 square miles), with 1.8 trillion pieces of waste and

weighs 88,000 tons (“Oceans”). This enormous patch of plastic is stuck in a ‘dead zone’, an area

of ocean where an ocean gyre occurs, swelling all of the plastics together into one spot. Other

garbage patches have been found around the globe off the coasts of Chile and also Antarctica.

Due to ocean pollution becoming a rising issue in the past decade and more people becoming

educated on the impact that plastics can have not only on animals but also people, organizations

have come forward to try and help contain the issue.

One of those organizations is The Ocean Cleanup Organization. The Ocean Cleanup

Organization started the mock up of their plan to create a technology that could be used to clean

up plastics and debris in the ocean without interfering with marine life. In 2018, the organization

unveiled their 001 project which would collect ocean pollution and would be powered by wind.

This project was a 2,000 foot ‘boom’ shaped like a ‘U’ which was predicted to clean up over 55

tons of plastics each year. Unfortunately, in early 2019, the boom had to be retired and brought

back to shore due to a fracture in the structure of the technology. Since then, The Ocean Cleanup

Organization has tested and perfected their technology and deployed it to the Pacific Ocean and

various rivers. The ocean technology is now called 002 and is faster and more efficient than the

previous technology, 001. The 002 technology works by having a net attached to two boats that

collect the ocean pollution without trapping or interfering with marine life. Once the system is

full, “the back of the retention zone is taken aboard, sealed off, detached from the system, and

emptied on board the vessel. The retention zone is then put back in place and the cleanup

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continues” (“Oceans”). The plastics then get properly recycled and in some cases, the plastics

have been repurposed to sunglasses made by The Ocean Cleanup Organization. In rivers ‘The

Interceptor’ was deployed that is 100% solar powered and energy efficient. The Interceptor is set

up differently, it is secured in a river and uses the current to its advantage. There are barriers set

up to ensure that all pollutants and debris are guided toward the machine which then collects the

pollutants onto a conveyor belt. The plastics are then transferred into dumpsters inside the

machine and stay there protected until brought to a recycling facility.

Unfortunately, the world cannot rely on The Ocean Cleanup’s technology or ocean

cleanup technology in general. The Ocean Cleanup’s technology is not efficient enough to

completely end the issue of ocean pollution, plastic pollution needs to be stopped at the source.

“To clean up a fraction of one percent of the total, the Ocean Cleanup would have to run nonstop

until 2150. Even when Hohn artificially increased the fleet to 200 booms, the project still only

recovered five percent of the floating plastic” (Stuart). Although The Ocean Cleanup’s goal is

amazing and hopeful for future generations, the media has portrayed the technology and

organization as much better than it is. The media loves a good story of someone starting a

company and raising millions of dollars to help the issue but in reality, it is not good enough. It is

much worse and more costly having to take pollution out of the ocean than stop it from the

source. Single use plastics contribute to a majority of the pollution in the ocean when they could

easily be swapped out for reusable items. “Once plastic has gotten into the open ocean, it

becomes very expensive and fossil-fuel intensive to get it back out again” (Dickie). Although

The Ocean Cleanup Organization’s technology is not the best nor efficient, pollution that is

collected from their technologies are repurposed and recycled correctly.

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Many companies in the past decade have gone to more environmentally friendly

production and materials of their products. While companies have done that, the number is still

very few and fast fashion is on the rise currently. “When we consider that approximately

1,500,000 pieces of plastic waste find their way into our oceans every day and do not include the

numbers from fast fashion items such as apparel and footwear only makes the problem worse”

(Lee). Fashion production, more specifically fast fashion, or inexpensive and fast production of

low quality and cheaply made items, has contributed immensely to microplastic and plastic

pollution in the ocean. These clothing items are made quickly and cheaply to only get thrown out

within a year. Fast fashion items are made from cheap materials such as polyester, rayon, and

nylon which are harmful to the environment. These materials are man made and not found in

nature which makes them even more harmful. In production, micro pieces of these fabrics can be

released into the air and then eventually into waterways. Most people do not know that these

fabrics that they love so much are causing serious issues in the environment. These items are

highly relied on because they are inexpensive and easily available to all. Most do not have

enough money because sustainable items are more expensive to produce causing the retail price

to be higher than others.

Fast fashion relies on generally virgin plastic meaning plastic that has not been touched

before and is being produced specifically for the use of fashion production. In an article written

about the downsides to fashion production, Tobin states, “Fast fashion relies on enormous virgin

plastic production to enable growth; the report estimates that 63 percent of the materials used for

clothing in 2015 were virgin plastic compared to less than 3 percent being recycled material”

(Tobin). The synthetic fabrics are used for most of fashion production and recycled and natural

fabrics are hardly ever used. In addition to synthetic materials, synthetic dyes are used in the

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materials. These dyes account for almost 20 percent of water pollution worldwide. Another way

fast fashion pollutes waterways is through microplastics. Microplastics shed and fall out of

clothing items through wear and tear, washing the items, and when the items are disposed of.

Microplastics are small pieces of plastic that are from bigger pieces that have been broken down

over time. These tiny pieces of plastics can be harmful to both animals and humans.

Microplastics are easily ingested by marine life due to their small size and bright color. Ince

ingested the plastics can live in the meatiest parts of the animals, which happen to be the parts

most commonly eaten by humans. Microplastics have been found in the placentas of pregnant

women who have previously eaten seafood. Microplastics are the biggest issue when it comes to

fast fashion, but many companies and brands are taking steps to change that.

In 2019, French President Emmanuel Macron introduced The Fashion Pact which

consists of 32 companies and almost 150 brands that have come together in order to better their

environmental impact and make their companies and products more sustainable. “Clothing

companies and brands are encouraged, but not mandated, to: 1) achieve zero greenhouse gas

emissions by 2050, 2) restore natural ecosystems and protect species, and 3) reduce the use of

single-use plastic” (Tobin). Companies have eliminated the use of virgin plastics in the

production of their products and have started including recycled items such as water bottles and

fishnets into their items. Specifically, the brand Everlane has partnered with groups in Japan and

Taiwan to incorporate recycled plastics in their items. Items are collected and sanitized then

ground down into fine particles which are then melted and spun into yarn to be used in new

products. By companies reducing their use of virgin plastics and using recycled materials instead,

they are also cutting down on their wastewater contamination and production.

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4ocean is another company that has contributed greatly to recycling and repurposing

collected ocean pollution. 4ocean’s goal is to spread awareness about the ocean-plastic crisis

while providing sustainable living tips to show others how they can make an impact no matter

how big or small. The 4ocean company takes collected ocean-plastic pollution and turns it into

bracelets, jewelry, and much more for consumers to buy. The profits from these bracelets along

with civilian donations allow the company to keep going and to further their ocean cleanup

duties. 4ocean is a sustainable company, not only do they know exactly where the plastics they

collect come from but the donations they get go exactly to funding their ocean cleanup project.

“4ocean is one of the only companies in the world that hires full-time captains and crews to

recover trash directly from the ocean, rivers, and coastlines seven days a week” (“About Us”).

4ocean purchases vessels to go and clean up plastics along with hiring captains to be in charge of

the boats and also using booms all to collect pollutants.

In addition to big companies, smaller businesses such as A.B Seas repurposes collected

ocean pollution. Alice Birnbaum started a company called A.B Seas located on the Big Island of

Hawaii. Birnbaum takes plastic ocean pollution that she collects from beach cleanups and free

dives in the ocean into beautiful pieces of jewelry. Birnbaum uses her art in order to repurpose

plastic pollution items and believes that art can change the view of conservation. By

incorporating pollutants in art it provides an example of how anyone can help conserve oceans

around the world. Birnbaum became inspired to conserve the oceans when she was backpacking

around the world. For eight years, Birnbaum traveled around the world and truly got to know the

effects that pollutants can have on the world. Birnbaum uses her platform on social media apps

such as Instagram and TikTok in hopes to inspire teens and adults. Birnbaum states:

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By sharing my experiences in nature and within the mess, I hope to inspire people to take

action, shift practices while spreading awareness for the ocean and highlight all the

magic that’s within it that’s worth protecting and fighting for. Everyone has the ability to

make a difference in this world. Big or small. It all matters!

Social media is becoming adamantly more and more popular and Birnbaum uses available

platforms to get the word out about the rising ocean pollution issue. As ocean pollution becomes

a rising issue it is becoming more difficult to solve the issue. Plastics are being mass produced

and mass used without any consequences. When asked about what can be done so future

generations do not have to suffer from this issue Birnbaum states, “Most importantly,

corporations must be held responsible for their mess. No matter where you live, how far you are

from the ocean, education on the matter must be spread!”. So, when it comes to ocean pollution

Birnbaum firmly believes that with the help of art and education the issue can be downsized and

almost eliminated.

Cleaning up and repurposing plastic ocean pollution is still an ongoing mission of many

organizations, large companies, and small businesses. Small creators such as Alice Birnbaum and

her business, A.B Seas, that she created are using their platform on social media and through ads

to bring awareness to how big of an issue ocean plastic pollution has become. Many bigger

organizations such as 4ocean and The Ocean Cleanup are using their new found technologies to

help diminish this issue as best as they can while still repurposing the items and being

transparent with the public about how they collect the items and what they do to repurpose them.

Collecting ocean plastic pollution can be very fossil fuel and carbon emission extensive so big

organizations are doing their best to use renewable energy sources such as wave power and solar

energy. Slow and steady civilization is taking steps to clean up the globe one step at a time. So

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what now? Contact your local state and national government officials. Demand changes. Live

sustainably, buy ethically made clothing that will last a lifetime instead of clothing that will be

thrown out in a year. Next time, skip the single use plastic straw at a restaurant, bring reusable

bags to the grocery store, and think about the big picture. Minor changes can be made to

anyone's lifestyle, reuse containers, swap plastic for reusable, and live green.

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Works Cited

“About Us”. 4ocean, https://www.4ocean.com/pages/about. Accessed 20 March 2022.

Birnbaum, Alice. Creator and Designer of A.B Seas. Personal Interview 21 March 2022.

Dickie, Gloria. “Ocean Cleanup struggles to fulfill promise to scoop up plastic at sea”. Reuters,

16 September 2021,

www.reuters.com/business/environment/ocean-cleanup-struggles-fulfill-promise-scoop-up-plasti

c-sea-2021-09-16/. Accessed 20 March 2022.

Guatam, Raj. Student at The University of Michigan. Personal Interview. 16 March 2022.

Lee, Tricia. “What You Don't Know About Fast Fashion & the Effects on the Ocean”. Sea2See,

20 October 2021,

www.sea2see.org/blogs/sustainable-eyewear-made-out-of-recycled-marine-plastic/what-you-dont

-know-about-fast-fashion-the-effects-on-the-ocean. Accessed 20 March 2022.

“Oceans”. The Ocean Cleanup,theoceancleanup.com/oceans/. Accessed 20 March 2022.

“Rivers”. The Ocean Cleanup”, theoceancleanup.com/rivers/. Accessed 20 March 2022.

Stuart, Ryan. “Scooping Plastic Out of the Ocean Is a Losing Game”. Hakai Magazine.

Published 21 September 2021.

hakaimagazine.com/features/scooping-plastic-out-of-the-ocean-is-a-losing-game/.

Accessed 8 February 2022.

Tobin, Catie. “How Plastic Pollution is Being Woven into Fast Fashion Culture”. New Security

Beat, 30 July 2021,

www.newsecuritybeat.org/2020/07/plastic-pollution-woven-fast-fashion-culture-2/. Accessed 20

March 2022.

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Works Consulted

Dunphy-Daly, Megan M, et al.“Plastic pollution solutions: emerging technologies to prevent and

collect marine plastic pollution”. Science Direct, Environment International, Volume 144,

Published 2020. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412020320225.

Accessed 7 February 2022.

“The pros and cons of blue tech in tackling marine plastic waste”. World Ocean Initiative.

Published 14 November 2019.

ocean.economist.com/innovation/articles/the-pros-and-cons-of-blue-tech-in-tackling-marine-plas

tic-waste. Accessed 16 February 2022.

Rodrigues, Oga R. “Giant Trash Collecting Device To Be Deployed in the Pacific Ocean”.

KQED. Published 10 September 2018.

www.kqed.org/science/1931034/giant-trash-collecting-device-to-be-deployed-in-the-pacific-ocea

n. Accessed 16 February 2022.

University of Exeter. "Surface clean-up technology won't solve ocean plastic problem."

ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 4 August 2020.

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200804085923.htm. Accessed 10 March 2022

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