A Plastic Ocean

Do you ever wonder what happens to the rubbish that is just discarded? Did you know that more than 8 million tons of plastic is dumped into our oceans every year.

I started writing this blog mainly because of watching a documentary called A Plastic Ocean on Netflix (Click here to watch on Netflix). I didn’t usually watch documentaries but after reading the description and watching the preview I had to watch it to find out more and found it to be was amazing & mind opening. I have now watched War on Waste, Rotten, Waste Land, Plastic Planet, Bag It, Food Chains and Plastic China.

A PLASTIC OCEAN
Year: 2016 | Duration: 101mins | Director: Craig Leeson | Classification: PG | Genre: Documentary – Environmental

‘A Plastic Ocean begins when journalist Craig Leeson, searching for the elusive blue whale, discovers plastic waste in what should be pristine ocean. In this adventure documentary, Craig teams up with free diver Tanya Streeter and an international team of scientists and researchers, and they travel to twenty locations around the world over the next four years to explore the fragile state of our oceans, uncover alarming truths about plastic pollution, and reveal working solutions that can be put into immediate effect.’ – IMDB

Video Description: ‘A Plastic Ocean is an adventure documentary shot on more than 20 locations over the past 4 years. Explorers Craig Leeson and Tanya Streeter and a team of international scientists reveal the causes and consequences of plastic pollution and share solutions.’

PO_Instagram_Quote_URL_5 — *Plastic Oceans*

These pictures are from an Info-graphic for the Film’s Impact on the Plastic Oceans Website. Other things you can find on the Website:

See how you can help: Info-graphic to Reduce Plastic Pollution
Info-graphic How Ocean Pollution Affects Humans
About the Film
Plastic Ocean Facts
Plastic Oceans Educational Supplement
Research Papers including High-Level Science Review for ‘A Plastic Oceans’ Film
Plastic Oceans Projects
Film Reviews

I have now watched A Plastic Ocean two more times – once with my husband and the second time with a few people that I thought might be interested in learning about the impact that we are having on the environment.

In the spirit of the film, everyone was challenged to bring a snack and/or a drink that has been grown or bought and brought without any plastic. It turned out to be harder than most people would have thought. The main reason for food without plastic was because it was during Plastic Free July.

Craig Leeson

Craig Leeson is an Australian filmmaker who grew up in Tasmania and now lives in Hong Kong. He was the Director and main presenter on A Plastic Ocean.

Video Description: ‘Green is the New Black- Craig Leeson: A Plastic Ocean- Every piece of plastic that was ever made is still on our planet today. Did you know that by 2050 there will be more plastic in our oceans by weight than fish? We speak to Craig Leeson, the director of A Plastic Ocean, to find the current situation and how we can be part of the wave of change.’

Craig Leeson and Jennifer Lavers in A Plastic Ocean — *Plastic Oceans*

Tanya Streeter

Tanya Streeter is an American Free Diver and she presented on A Plastic Oceans. She did a TED Talk about Diving and her involvement on A Plastic Ocean.
This embedded video starts halfway through her talk- to watch the whole talk click here.

Video Description: ‘Tanya Streeter | TEDxAustin 2012: Take a deep breath and dive down to the depths of the ocean — and life — with world champion free diver Tanya Streeter who has often been asked to redefine her own limits. In sharing her journeys, she invites us to do the same.’

Image result for a plastic ocean tanya — *Plastic Pollution Coalition*

Sir David Attenborough

Video Description: ‘OceanVistaFilms: David Attenborough Plastic Oceans’

Molly Steer: Straws Really Do Suck

A young girl in Queensland, Molly Steer, was affected by watching A Plastic Ocean and she wanted to find a way to make a difference in the world’s impact on the oceans. She came up with a Straw No More project. See ABC News Article & Teachstarter.

Video Description: ‘TEDx Talks: Nine year-old Molly saw the damage that disposable plastics do to the ocean, and knew she had to do something. With all the innocence of youth, she set about convincing schools to remove single use plastic straws from their tuckshops. Molly Steer is 9 years old and is in grade 4 at school in Cairns. When she isn’t trying to remove plastics from the ocean she enjoys dancing, swimming and spending time with her family. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx‘

Catalyst: Plastic Oceans

In 2012 ABC Catalyst did a episode about Plastic in Oceans. See Transcript of Episode.

Plastics are now choking our oceans

Video Description: ‘ABC Science- Catalyst: Oceans are silently choking on our plastic waste. Plastic and synthetic materials are the most common types of debris in our oceans and are having horrific impacts on marine wildlife and systems. As an island continent “girt by sea” marine debris is of particular importance for Australia. Creatures get entangled in plastics and drown and ingested concentrated toxins from plastics pose a threat to the health of the food chain. Plastics also transport and introduce species into new environments. Anja Taylor catches up with the CSIRO research team spearheading the Marine Debris Survey, a world first study of the plastics around our coastline.’

Tan Zi Xi

An Artist from Singapore, Tan Zi Xi, had a installation ‘Plastic Ocean’ as a exhibit for the Sassoon Dock Art Project as a part of St+art Mumbai Urban Art Festival in 2017. The installation was plastic that hung from the roof and represented what fish could see in the ocean. For more information about the installation click here. For a video about the installation click here.