The Plastiki

You've probably heard about that big mass of plastic that sits, circling gently, out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, right? It's also called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. But I don't really like that moniker - even though it's a reference to the enormous size of it, I think using the word 'Great' is kind of wrong. Gives it a positive twist, whereas it's really anything but. It's actually tonnes of tiny plastic particles (scientists believe up to 100 million tonnes) broken up and worn down from the plastic that's found its way into the sea. Not so great, really.

I read this article yesterday and although I was already aware of the patch, I didn't realise it was quite so big as it is. Scary stuff. But it got me following the progress of the Plastiki, a vessel that's floated by 12,500 plastic bottles in its hulls, and the environmental activists aboard, as it sails off on it's final leg toward Australia. The sea is so often my playground, and I'm aware of the amount of rubbish that washes up at my local beach - that's bad enough, but the fact that it's entering our food chain, steadily filling our major Oceans, and the awareness that practically every plastic bottle ever made is, in some form or another, still plastic and still out there really spooks me. But people like Mr de Rothschild make me happier. A project like the Plastiki is just one of many raising awareness of this issue and others, such as the crippling over-fishing of our Seas. So there is the odd positive twist and hopefully there'll be many more.