Film demonstrates how plastics threaten environment, people

The problem with plastic, explained Teresa Torrent, coastwise coordinator for the Maine Coastal Program, is "it never goes away," particularly if it ends up in the ocean. On September 16 she and a team of volunteers presented an abridged version of the film A Plastic Ocean at the Lubec Memorial Library to a group of about 25. Opening comments were provided by Steve Hoppins of Lubec, who -- after surveying the crowd -- admitted he was "preaching to the choir."
While the images of plastic debris in the world's oceans were compelling -- including a cluster of water bottles visible at a depth reachable only by an unmanned vessel -- perhaps the most appalling was watching the dissection of a dead seabird. When opened, bits of plastic spilled out onto the table -- 234 in total from a single bird. "It's not even a record," said the scientist. The film explained how larger plastic items are broken down into micro‑sized bits that are mistaken for food by marine organisms. These organisms are in turn consumed by larger fish and eventually find their way into those species that are harvested for human consumption. The conclusion? Not only are humans threatening their own environment, but people are also eating plastic, along with whatever contaminants it has absorbed.
Single‑use plastics have become ubiquitous in people's lives, to the point where consumer -- and corporate -- resistance makes it difficult to adopt alternatives. "Fifteen towns in Maine have enacted plastic‑bag ordinances," said Torrent, suggesting that banning one of the culprits would be a good start. Presenter Leslie Gajdukow described the process in Belfast -- where she taught school for several years -- where the local Hannaford store resisted dispensing with plastic grocery bags, deferring to corporate reluctance.
Foam beverage cups, plastic bottle tops, drinking straws and stirrers and plastic bottles are all top offenders on a list of items tabulated during a 2017 global effort involving over a half‑million volunteers. According to literature prepared by the Ocean Conservancy, the equivalent of 22,000 747-jumbo jets of plastic go into the world's oceans each year.
A half‑mile stream of plastic waste is sometimes seen during local whale‑watch excursions in Head Harbour Passage near Campobello Island, driven there by local currents and winds. Where does it come from? Torrent, who is on the staff of the Maine Department of Marine Resources, was reluctant to blame the fishing industry. Certainly some is fishing‑related, but it would be a mistake to say the bulk comes from fishermen, she explained. Some is blown in by the wind, some comes from failed landfills, some is beach‑litter discarded by picnickers -- but all of it was used by humans in some manner. Some comes from poorly tended trash receptacles, meaning people thought they did the right thing, but it ended up in the ocean anyway.
The team of presenters included Bill Humphries and Diana Fitzgerald, representing EcoSattvas DownEast; Hoppins, a part‑time Lubec resident; and Gajdukow from Whiting. Fitzgerald observed, "We need to focus on reduction; recycling isn't working," pointing to the enormous piles of collected plastic material not yet recycled that were depicted in the movie and also the number of Maine towns that have abandoned recycling because of the costs involved in sending recovered materials into recovery channels. To make matters worse, recyclability of plastics -- identified by often difficult to decipher marks on container bottoms -- varies, with some plastics readily accepted and others not.
Lubec resident Melissa Lee pointed out the number of large mooring floats filled with tiny foam beads that have come loose and found their way to local beaches, very few of which bear owner identification. Some have cracked open, spewing their contents out. "We need owners to take more responsibility," she said. Fitzgerald responded by saying that "80% originates from land, 20% from the ocean."
Jerry Conway of Campobello raised his hand and said, "You are wasting your breath. You need to start with the kids." A number in the audience immediately agreed, with several pointing out that an initiative had begun at the Lubec school, with students returning home to pressure parents to engage in both reduction and recycling plastics. Hoppins pointed out that the group has already been in contact with school faculty, and plans are in place to show the movie, starting with older students and then possibly engaging the younger grades.