The 7th continent or the plastic continent
In the heart of the oceans, where the waters have little to do with tourism or merchant shipping, a huge territory called “7th continent”, made of hundreds millions of tons of plastics, is growing day after day. This deposit of waste accumulated by currents constitutes an island that exceeds twice the surface area of the United States.
Ocean pollution affects the entire world
It is now considered that more than 10% of the beaches in the world are polluted by plastic waste. Until then, this large-scale pollution has not only had effect on the marine environment, but also on our environment. Heavy metals, endocrine disruptors, other pollutants are transported, dispersed and then absorbed by fish, marine mammals and birds. There are no more birds, turtles or whales found dead without their stomach full of plastic.
Clean up and recycle plastic
Several projects are being studied to alleviate this phenomenon, but today none manage to achieve its mission. The Ocean Clean-up project is currently investigating the creation of a boat with floating net that could clean the oceans. This vessel would be fixed and the sea currents would bring the floating waste directly to its dams.
Will the awareness and education of each one be enough to save our underwater friends?
Thank you François aka Aquaman for this article
