#mining plastic

A Vice Document on the North Pacific Gyre: the plastic void in the middle of the ocean. I found this documentary good, it gave me a sense of what it is and the impact of our plastics in the oceans, the microscopic pieces. They had some good points and one thing that really stood out for me, a statement that was made: "If you dont see it, it isnt there" really hit home, as i believe this is a large problem we have in society! and it is ironic that these pieces of plastic have broken down so much that they are in fact impossible to see but are still there! In the film it was stated that a 2L coke bottle, when broken down has enough plastic particles to litter the entire coast line of the US. "plastic has not end game" according to the captain of the ship, and thats why we have these problems. There is no way to get rid of it. he goes on to say that "if we solved our plastic problems, we would solve our social problems". We need a shift in understanding if we are to gauge the impact and future possibilities of plastic's potential. it is scary and really awful how we have made this material that is impossible to get rid of, this is why i feel so strongly about my reason to do this project, do a project for a reason. It may not be a realist answer but it still questioning possibilities and the lack of action, creating awareness about this. We need to prepare our systems for this change that is GOING TO HAPPEN

UCL iGem: a student project on creating organisms which will in turn break down and collect this waste to create 'plastic islands'. "creating a new use for our waste"

A chat with Helena this evening: She told me about this Vice film where these two guys go to the GreatPacificGarbage patch and teste the water and the amount of plastic content they found in the samples. She suggested a way of having a boat there floating over this mass and harvesting the plastic. I jumped in saying,"like mining the plastic"!? I would like to explore this notion, like Daisy's fisherman at the tip of the world island (2nd year project), where they rely on the resource and their culture depends on it. A quick 3 day project exploring the possibilities. She also mentioned a plastic island that a guy had built off the coast of mexico, form all the plastic bottles he had collected and rowed over in his canoe. Apparently he has built a 2 storey house on it now and the reckons when the plastic and net finally disintegrates the island will still be a mass of land due to the plants he has planted and grown in and through the sand, net and plastic bottles making the island.