Garbage Island {the documentary}

by Mike Didj on April 22, 2008


here’s part 2

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{ 6 comments }

mike DiDj April 22, 2008 at 11:39 am

Here’s a video of ‘air bear’ an example of inflatable art made from garbage.

Suza April 22, 2008 at 9:52 pm

Thank you for posting this Mike!
This being Earth Day I thought I would put my feet up, kick back and watch it! Wow!! Watching all that plastic trash floating in the ocean reminds me of how the other night I ended up shopping at Von’s. I bought organically grown strawberries in plastic containers, organically grown blueberries in plastic containers, organically grown dates in plastic containers, organically grown carrots and apples in plastic bags and on and on… when I got home I unpacked my cloth shopping bags but I ended up with all this extra plastic packaging…I better get my act together and keep Sunday mornings free for Farmer’s Market…this video gave me a much needed kick in the pants! Thanks again!!

evan austin April 23, 2008 at 1:32 pm

thanks for posting this, Mike!
as a new father, i’m aware that the parenting community is concerned about BPA particularly in baby products (most notably bottles). i’d like to share that Toys R Us, Wal-Mart, and Playtex are all on schedule to discontinue products that are made with BPA plastics, according to this article.
Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) has a bill to ban BPA in baby bottles, and i have a call in to his office for a bill number that we can urge our representatives to support. when i get a return call from them, i’ll post it here!

Letitia Grimes April 23, 2008 at 8:20 pm

Many thanks to Mike for posting this. I watched the ABC Frontline segment (http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Story?id=4528488&page=1) called “Landfill in the Sea” on March 28th and was stunned that this story was in such an obscure late-night slot. The title of the video “Garbage Island” really does not do justice to the size of the entire garbage-filled area, which the ABC story (based on data from the marine research vessel Algalita) describes as continent-sized. Say, about the size of Africa. You’d think this would be major news, but so far it appears to have generated little coverage.
What the marine research has made clear is that plastic causes a unique kind of damage in the oceans: it doesn’t just float on the surface, it breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces that remain suspended in the water as far down as 100 meters, forming a plastic soup. Seabirds, especially the beautiful and legendary albatross, scoop up the plastic bits, mistaking them for food, feed them to their hungry chicks, which then die of starvation.
The albatross, in the tradition of sailors, has always symbolized fair weather and good luck. But like the Ancient Mariner of Coleridge’s poem, we are killing the albatross. No matter where I look around my house, in town, in the markets, plastic is everywhere. It’s not just the obvious, such as plastic bags, but also plastic integrated into consumer items at all levels: in your car, your trashcans, your running shoes. Pre-production pellets, spilled through careless handling, are tiny and difficult to clean up, so they find their way into the ocean. In the developed world, we all have an albatross around our necks.
A practical approach that comes out of viewing both this documentary and the
ABC Frontline story is to provide education and make this crisis visible. It’s happening in a remote area in the middle of the ocean that has no economic value because of few fish and very little wind. The captain of the Algalita, Charles Moore, has founded the Algalita Marine Research Foundation ( http://www.algalita.org/) and they have wonderful educational resources that would be great to see in schools and local presentations.
The Ancient Mariner was transformed only when he blessed the creatures of the sea – then the albatross dropped from his neck.

Lamtg April 23, 2008 at 8:40 pm

Many thanks to Mike for posting this. I watched the ABC Frontline segment
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Story?id=4528488&page=1
called “Landfill in the Sea” on March 28th and was stunned that this story was in such an obscure late-night slot. The title of the video “Garbage Island” really does not do justice to the size of the entire garbage-filled area, which the ABC story (based on data from the marine research vessel Algalita) describes as continent-sized. Say, about the size of Africa. You’d think this would be major news, but so far it appears to have generated little coverage.
What the marine research has made clear is that plastic causes a unique kind of damage in the oceans: it doesn’t just float on the surface, it breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces that remain suspended in the water as far down as 100 meters, forming a plastic soup. Seabirds, especially the beautiful and legendary albatross, scoop up the plastic bits, mistaking them for food, feed them to their hungry chicks, which then die of starvation. And this plastic will not go away any time soon: it’s the very nature of the oceanic gyres, in which the debris is caught, to trap the plastic along with assorted junk such as pieces of World War II aircraft wreckage.
The albatross, in the tradition of sailors, has always symbolized fair weather and good luck. But like the Ancient Mariner of Coleridge’s poem, we are killing the albatross. No matter where I look around my house, in town, in the markets, plastic is everywhere. It’s not just the obvious, such as plastic bags, but also plastic integrated into consumer items at all levels. Pre-production pellets, spilled through careless handling, are tiny and difficult to clean up, so they find their way into the ocean. In the developed world, we all have an albatross around our necks.
A practical approach that comes out of viewing both this documentary and the
ABC Frontline story is to provide education and make this crisis visible. It’s happening in a remote area in the middle of the ocean that has no economic value because of few fish and very little wind. The captain of the Algalita, Charles Moore, has founded the Algalita Marine Research Foundation
http://www.algalita.org/
and they have wonderful educational resources that would be great to see in schools and local presentations.
The Ancient Mariner was transformed only when he blessed the creatures of the sea – then the albatross dropped from his neck.

Tammy June 20, 2008 at 11:36 am

Hey! I have watched Garbage Island and it has made me think of different things that we could do to get rid of plastic. I came up with this crazy idea but what if we threw all the garbage into a volcano?? I know its silly but there is nothing in a volcano that will eat these plastics, and it could help to clean up our environment. I really want some feedback on this idea and let me know what ya think!

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