Inside The Garbage of The World

Published February 8, 2015 in The Examiner

This is exactly what you think it is. And guessed who killed this bird?

Author's collection

Paper or plastic?

Think about it . . . bring your own bags.

The truth about plastic has been revealed in an outstanding documentary produced and directed by filmmakers, Philippe and Maxine Carillo. The controversial, hard-hitting documentary, Inside the Garbage of the World, is now available via YouTube, and tells the story about plastic pollution inside the oceans rising to a frightening level to human safety.

Without urgent action the horrid momentum will worsen dramatically, and so . . . solutions are embedded in this highly environmentally conscious work.

The dynamic, which impacts on all of our oceans, affects the world economy and undermines healthcare because our food chain is being poisoned in unprecedented fashion.

“We don't have too much time to stop and handle the disaster we are creating. In about 10 years, maybe more, the fisheries are going to collapse. Maybe earlier”, says Carillo. “The curve of the percentage of fish who ingested plastic already is exponential from the research of Scientists and Oceanographers I know personally. There is no other way but stopping using single use plastic now . It may be already too late.” "We have to categorize plastic as Hazardous Material," says Philippe.

There is no way around that fact, according to the oceanographers and other scientists interviewed.
"Recycling and cleaning up beaches are necessary," Philippe emphasizes, "but much more must be done simultaneously, post haste." A deeply experienced activist worldwide, Philippe underscores that "we are moving at an arthritic snail's pace when it comes to dealing with the source of the ocean's bleeding.

All anyone is involved in at present, their good intentions notwithstanding, is the application of tourniquets. We cannot continue to apply band aids to a situation which threatens to desecrate the beauty and the sustenance provided by our oceans."

Some of the startling points revealed in Inside The Garbage of The World:

· The amount of plastic produced from 2000-2010 exceeds the amount produced during the entire last century;

· Plastic is the most common type of marine litter worldwide;

· An estimated 100,000 marine mammals and up to 1 million sea birds die every year after ingesting or being tangled in plastic marine litter;

· Up to 80% of the plastic in our oceans comes from land-based sources;

· It is estimated that Americans go through about 100 billion plastic bags a year, or 360 bags per year for every man, woman and child in the country;

· Plastics do not biodegrade, but instead break down into small particles that persist in the ocean, absorb toxins, entering our food chain through fish, sea birds and other marine life. Those particles often contain a million times more PCBs than open sea water;

· Plastic debris in the area popularly known as the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" has increased by 100 times in the past 40 years. The five oceanic gyres are estimated to contain 100 million tons of marine litter, and approximately 20 million tons of plastic litter enters the ocean each year.