Plastic debris in the sea?

ajaney


Joined: 24/12/2008
Posts: 199

Message Posted:
23/09/2010 10:50

I don't know if this subject has been covered before. I am really disappointed to see sow much,albeit shredded, pieces of discarded and now empty garbage sacks are in the sea. Is this particular to the north side of the island or all round? I am told that it comes from the Lebanon where their domestic rubbish is discharged at sea. Has anyone come up with a proposal or solution to remedy this problem either physically or politically? I know that there are a lot of litter and plastic bottles dumped on the beaches, this could be dealt with by manpower but what about the sea? Hope that my concern is shared with others.

martinD41


Joined: 06/09/2010
Posts: 3001

Message Posted:
23/09/2010 11:41

I think a better word would be "MORTIFIED"..Recently a group of i think divers did a survey to try to discover the origin of the garbage defiling much of the public beaches such as they are!It was found that the VAST majority of the said garbage was in fact LOCAL refuse ie; Lemar bags Dano bags Erdener bags .The plastic waste is also to a high degree LOCAL ..Plastic bottles,..But most alarmingly, the huge number of Hypodermic syringes complete with needles...I guess dumped Hospital Waste...Please be aware that the MED is pretty much a Land Locked Sea and is heavily populated all round its coast line...Many of the poorer coastal countries dispose of un-treated sewage into the MED..So to point a finger at LEBANON as the sole culprit would be wrong to say the least..Very high polution levels have earned the MED the nick name "THE DEAD MED"

martinD41


Joined: 06/09/2010
Posts: 3001

Message Posted:
23/09/2010 14:42

ajaney.... 95 Views so far---- Now do you understand..It's not a HAPPY subject so NO ONE wants to discus it such is the attitude of modern society..............SAD...

the butler


Joined: 22/06/2007
Posts: 1958

Message Posted:
23/09/2010 14:45

Until a recycling plant is built and fines imposed for not recycling household waste like in the UK, this problem will only get worse. It is no good just blaming the locals, they need educating starting with the younger generation teach them its wrong to just throw away litter wherever they happen to be. Place warning signs on beaches that people will be fined for leaving litter on the beaches and they should take it home, the same goes for picnic areas. The local councils could do a lot more than they do by placing more bins around and making sure they are emptied every day in high season. Some beaches seem to attract more rubbish than others and this where the councils should make a start. Rubbish is the biggest moan that tourists to the TRNC have but no one seems to be interested in doing anything about it.



The butlers wife

martinD41


Joined: 06/09/2010
Posts: 3001

Message Posted:
23/09/2010 15:12

msg 4... I agree hole heartedly,educate the Children,"OUT OF THE MOUTH OF BABES" etc;But the unfortunate fact is that the "DAMAGE" to the MED has been done and is continuing,No amount of Re-cycling can undo Decades of abuse... Its not LEBANON to blame it is Humanity...".The councils are not in a position to do much about it" they say, as they have a chuckle at the Ex-pat volunteers cleaning THEIR beaches...Would they volunteer to clean UK beeches if they lived there I think NOT...

the butler


Joined: 22/06/2007
Posts: 1958

Message Posted:
23/09/2010 20:35

Hi Rob,



Whilst I agree with a lot you are saying, I don't think it is to late to do anything about it. This is defeatist and one should never give up. 10 years ago there was a large hole in the ozone layer but now it is almost gone, due to the efforts of manufacturers and the man in the street being more aware of it's existance. Several years ago we visited a friend in Sweden and we were amazed that their homes were heated by the rubbish that was collected. Everyone should find ways of recycling their waste and stop wasting the earths recourses.

Whilst I agree that it is humans who are killing the planet, it is through education that it can be saved. Why don't all us expats have some stickers made for our car rear windows, in Turkish telling people to stop dumping their rubbish and take it home. That would be a start.



The butlers wife

Hippo


Joined: 02/02/2007
Posts: 2070

Message Posted:
24/09/2010 07:03

You need to understand the currents in the Med to see how it ends upon the beaches there is a East West trash line extending from the Karpaz to just past Morphou bay.



There is a very large waste disposal site between Beirut and Sidon that sits just on the coast.

This adds to the already present rubbish.

Basically the currents move in a clockwise direction although there are obviously some local variants and in some places counter currents.

The gulf of Iskenderun has the reputation for collecting the meds rubbish while there is a large amount of trash there it in turns regurgitates it in a westerly direction some of which ends up in Kibris the problem is exasperated by amount of wind borne rubbish from the land.

martinD41


Joined: 06/09/2010
Posts: 3001

Message Posted:
25/09/2010 11:37

A survey done around the Spanish,French and Italian coasts in 1994 using trawl nets revealed that there were an average of 1,900 items of man made rubbish for every square Kilometre of sea bed..74 % of which was plastic bags...Call me a Defeatist, may I suggest that the amount of garbage has not decreased or miraculously Vanished!! And that the Clean-up is Cost prohibitive!

islandgirl


Joined: 12/09/2009
Posts: 302

Message Posted:
25/09/2010 18:53

I saw in the paper there was a clean up today in Alsancak or Lapta anyone go?

Pugwash


Joined: 06/09/2010
Posts: 1797

Message Posted:
26/09/2010 11:53

Butlers wife, very incorrect to say the ozone "hole" has almost gone, ozone depletion is a very major problem and continues to be so.

the butler


Joined: 22/06/2007
Posts: 1958

Message Posted:
26/09/2010 14:15

Sorry Pugwash but only read it the other day, that most of the global warming issue is not true and is just scaremongering. The ozone hole was also mentioned in the same article and it is nowhere near as big as it was ten years ago. I am sorry I can't remember where I read it but it was probably in one of the Sunday supplements.





The butlers wife

ajaney


Joined: 24/12/2008
Posts: 199

Message Posted:
27/09/2010 19:57

Thanks for all the feedback. In reply to hippo's response bearing in mind the currents. Is the sea suffering the same plague of shredded black plastic on the south side of the island? In the 70'a on the north side this problem did not exist and the sea was a joy to swim in. What a shame it is in such a bad state now!

rowlo



Joined: 12/10/2008
Posts: 4796

Message Posted:
27/09/2010 20:13

in the south of the island they have a whole new mess to deal with ,IE mcdonalds ,kentucky , pizza hut ,burger king , theres more plastic debris on that side than you can shake a stick at , i think they throw it in the sea on purpose ,knowing it will float round to our side then blame us ?

andrew4232



Joined: 04/07/2009
Posts: 1543

Message Posted:
27/09/2010 22:47

but do they care am sure there is a EU grant to deal with it

Blackbird



Joined: 11/08/2009
Posts: 1432

Message Posted:
27/09/2010 23:52

The Butlers wife is right....where is there global warming? The ozone layer depletion is mainly in the southern hemisphere, not in central Europe.

Here in North Wales it's more like Global Wetting!!!

martinD41


Joined: 06/09/2010
Posts: 3001

Message Posted:
03/10/2010 12:35

Cyprus Today 2nd Oct... 600,000 tons of crude oil deliberately discharged into the MED EVERY YEAR ....Says it ALL doesn't it!