Plastics made it possible

Tim Iverson

(6/2019) Humanity is compelled by a deep internal drive to push forward into the unknown. Countless explorers throughout history have expanded the boundaries of our maps and what was thought possible. Foraging a light into the darkness we’ve turned the limited into the limitless. In May 2019 it was reported that an American explorer dove into the deepest darkest depths of the Marianas Trench. Going further than anyone before Victor Vescovo carried humanity forward into the unknown only to find that humanity had already found its way there.

At the very bottom of everything, a staggering 35,850 feet below the surface, was plastic garbage. We went to unfathomable fathoms only to find a human signature etched onto an untouchable place. How could one of the deepest points on Earth be excluded when the surface is literally drowning in plastic?

Along the coast of Cocos, a remote island in the South Pacific, researchers from the University of Tasmania found 414 million pieces of garbage. Globally there are 1 million plastic bottles purchased per hour. 91% won’t be recycled and will end up in the ocean or in landfills. Much of this ends up in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which is a giant whirlpool of trash circulating in the Pacific ocean.

These troubles may seem half a world away, but we have similar woes right in our very own backyard. The Chesapeake Bay is victim of the same plague. The most recent State of the Bay report grades overall Chesapeake Bay health as a D+. One of the most significant contributing factors is polluted runoff. During heavy spring rains and summer downpours excessive rains wash freely over the surface. Rushing into sewers and waterways the water takes an abundance of surface chemicals, nutrients, and garbage with it.

A watershed can be thought of as a giant sink. Anytime precipitation or a water-related event happens in this sink it all goes down the same drain. The Potomac River watershed is nearly 15,000 square miles, and comprises parts of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, and DC. Bubbling up out of the earth the Potomac River starts as a slow trickle at Fairfax Stone on the West Virginia and Maryland border. Coursing nearly 400 miles the river cascades and meanders its way to the Chesapeake.

A rain storm to the west can wash excess fertilizer from farms and yards into the river causing deadly algae blooms hundreds of miles away. Roadside litter, like plastic grocery bags or bottles, can be washed into the river and become flotsam congesting and polluting the waterway. The Potomac supplies drinking water to over 5 million people in the Washington, DC metro area. The Potomac flows into the Chesapeake Bay, which is one of the most productive estuaries in North America. It accounts for over $6 billion economic output and nearly 70,000 jobs in fisheries and tourism. Restoring the river to full health is not just an environmental issue. It’s a matter of public health. People’s livelihoods depend on the water quality.

The Chesapeake Bay watershed is much larger, encompassing 64,000 square miles, extending all the way to New York state. The health of the bay, which is vital to Maryland as an environmental and economic powerhouse, is dependent not only on local and regional efforts, but national endeavours for stewardship. The health of all contributing waterways degrades any progress made.

While all roads lead to Rome, rivers within this watershed lead to the the Chesapeake Bay - the largest and most productive estuary in the United States. The road to sustainable use and conservation is dependent upon each state. There is a path to restoration called the Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint. This is a provision of the Clean Water Act enacted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In 2010, the EPA began to legally enforce the "Total Maximum Daily Load" (TMDL) which is a scientifically derived basis of the acceptable amount of total pollutants the water system can handle while still being productive and meet water quality standards. Six states (Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, W. Virginia) and the District of Columbia are now required to incrementally reduce nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment pollution over two year periods through 2025. Nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment are the top three pollutants contaminating the bay. Farms and agribusiness are responsible for 41% of the polluted runoff, but urban and suburban areas are responsible for 15% of the total deposited amount.

While most of the pollutants come from agriculture, there is a sizeable amount that comes from citizens themselves. There are a few things one can do to help ease the runoff and waste that accumulates in our water. The easiest is to significantly reduce use and dependence on single-use plastics.

Single-use plastics are designed to be disposable. They are cheap and convenient, which is exactly what has caused their proliferation. However, small adjustments in a person’s everyday life can create significant impact on the amount of waste generated. Opting for reusable cloth or canvas grocery bags prevents plastic ones from entangling wildlife. Storing food in durable tupperware or pyrex keeps baggies from being mistaken as jellyfish and choking sea turtles. Utilizing utensils in favor of plastic ware, carrying steel or reusable bottles, and saying no to straws are all low-hanging fruit that prevents unnecessary waste from becoming plastic soup.

Other possible solutions include collecting rain in rain barrels or by constructing rain gardens you can strategically utilize rain, reduce runoff, and save on your utility bill. Rain barrels are inexpensive and collected water can be used for anything. All you need is a 50 - 60 gallon drum (sold at hardware and outdoor stores), PVC coupling to connect to downspouts or roof drainage areas, screening to keep insects and debris out of the barrel, and a hose is optional. For many homeowners up to 40% of summer water usage is dedicated to watering gardens and lawns, this can help to reduce that number and your water bills. A slightly more ambitious do it yourself project would be to plant a rain garden.

The health of our waterways and bay is in the hands of varied interests and many states. For the 15% that the average person can help control - we can meaningfully influence the result by reducing our impact. Much of the solution depends on multi-state public private partnerships. However, we’re all responsible. Plastics are everywhere. They’ve undoubtedly increased sanitation and public health in areas of the globe where it otherwise wouldn’t have been possible. By helping medicine and public safety plastics have helped save and raise the quality of life. Plastics also made it possible to pollute untouchable places. They’ve made it possible to alter the geologic record as they take thousands of years to decompose. They’ve made it possible to contaminate our food supply. As a society we need to look at our dependence upon it. We need to look at it’s effect on the world at large. We need to, and can be, the solution.