Volvo Ocean Race – Plastic soup - There is a solution

by Bouwe Bekking on 24 Apr 2015 What a huge difference is there between Itajai and Rio de Janeiro. Ok, the water looks murky in Itajai, but that is because it is at the end of a river. Luckily there is not so much plastic and other rubbish in the waters near Itajai. But also the streets looks much cleaner and, of course, that helps with less rubbish washing in the river during heavy rain showers, of which there are plenty in Brasil.

As some know I am worried about the environment we are living in and as well I like to make people aware that the problem is way greater than we think. I did a bit of homework during the Itajai stopover to reach out to all Team Brunel and Volvo Ocean Race followers. I know only a drop of the world population, but please share through your own media, so that two or three drops of people get aware and start doing something about it.

In Newport the Rozalia Project, the environmental project originated in Canada will be there as well and together with Team Brunel we will try to make the American public aware of all the issues our nature and oceans are facing. Starting with this short blog.

Underneath some facts and figures: some scary, some interesting, some very promising. And we can grab the problem by the tail!

Who is to blame? Easy answer: We are!

When considering the problem of marine debris, it is important to remember that though the oceans have different names, they have no boundaries. The trash that is wreaking havoc on the ocean and its creatures is everyone’s problem and everyone’s doing. And that means we can all be part of the solution.

A plastic water bottle will never go away. It takes approximately 450 years for that bottle to break down into microplastic. In fact, a standard water bottle will become 55,000 pieces of 1mm microplastic swirling around the middle of our oceans (and on our Volvo Ocean Race track) if allowed to escape the waste or recycling stream.

Even Newport, RI, where nearly everyone loves and lives off the ocean - whether as sailors, fishermen or people in the tourist industry, has shocking amounts of marine debris. Rozalia Project has been working in Newport with partners like Sail Newport and the Oliver Hazard Perry to clean up and inspire people of all ages to be part of the solution. They have been using underwater robots to connect people to their underwater world and they have found one of the highest concentrations of underwater trash in all of their work in urban and coastal waters.

Off some docks in the northern part of downtown Newport, they found an underwater trash reef with a concentration of up to 41million pieces of trash per square kilometer.

You will see it is made up of items we all use every day - cups, cans, bottles, food wrappers, straws, plastic bags and more. You probably are shocked by this video, I was. But, the good news is that this huge pile of trash can be prevented from happening again in Newport (it was cleaned up, isn’t that great !!!!!) and anywhere else! The simple acts of reduce, reuse, recycle and ensuring that outdoor trash and recycling bins are secure and covered will go a very long way to prevent this from happening. So next time you walk on the street and you see a plastic bottle or bag laying on the floor, devote one second of your life and just pick it up and take it home or put it in the trash bin, simple as that! I started doing it and it feels great.

Lots of small acts add up to big change - especially with this issue. As you and I do our part, the Rozalia Project and others initiatives will continue to find and clean these underwater trash reefs and along shorelines and on the surface of our urban and coastal waters. They will continue to inspire people of all ages to be part of the solution and they will continue to learn everything we can about the problem - sharing ideas and implementing innovations about what it will take to protect our oceans!

So become involved with the Rozalia Project, not only people from Newport: check them out on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter and their website

Lets hope we have a swift and safe leg and that plastic bags and other floating trash will stay off our keel, daggerboards and rudders!

Watch video