
How Do Plastic Bags Get into the Ocean? - Oatseller
http://news.discovery.com/earth/oceans/how-does-your-plastic-bag-get-into-the-ocean-151102.htm
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stevetrewick
Where I live (coastal UK) the answer is quite simply that people throw them
in. Yes really. More discard them in the street, where the wind does the rest.
No evidence so far that the 5p mandatory charge is changing this behaviour. So
yeah, I can believe that some large portion comes from coastal litter.

Someone's sure to pop along and mention commons, but a large proportion of
people who my partner or I have questioned or upbraided about their litter
habits seem to genuinely believe they're keeping someone in a job, which makes
it more of a broken window fallacy.

Everyone should read Bastiat [0]

[0]
[http://bastiat.org/en/twisatwins.html#broken_window](http://bastiat.org/en/twisatwins.html#broken_window)

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ingenieros
In Iceland some folks find it more convenient to dump their old furniture into
the sea: [http://grapevine.is/news/2015/11/01/caught-on-film-
throwing-...](http://grapevine.is/news/2015/11/01/caught-on-film-throwing-
furniture-off-a-cliff/)

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mironathetin
Most shocking - because unexpected - news to me is the plastic waste from the
laundry. First time I read about that was only a few months ago.

It means, all our super high tech modern wear finally poisons our drinking
water. And the most sporty young cool dressed guys are the worst polluters.
One more reason to stay with natural fabrics.

Industry always tries to convince us that their high tech stuff is superior.
Honestly, after buying a lot of it, I doubt that's true. All the artificial
clothes smell quickly and they are not warm at all. I am switching back to
cotton, wool, real leather shoes and (for the winter) down: This all feels
great (but needs more attention and care).

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mhb
Really? If you don't go outside much, those materials are great. But a lot of
synthetic gear is worth it. Cotton is cold when wet. Wool is warm when wet but
moths eat it. Down is worse than useless when wet.

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mironathetin
"Cotton is cold when wet"

yes, I see that point. For mountain climbers this is bad. For runners, its ok.
At least I only stop when I am done and then I take a shower. Even in winter I
run with a cotton t-shirt under a cotton sweat shirt. That's fine down to -15
degrees centigrade.

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mikestew
_For runners, its ok. At least I only stop when I am done and then I take a
shower._

Until you get hurt and have to walk home, shivering the whole way because you
wore cotton. I avoid the stuff for running. Plus a wet cotton sweatshirt just
sounds miserable.

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mironathetin
"Until you get hurt and have to walk home,"

You make me laugh. I run since - 30 years? Once in this time I hurt myself,
once my wife fell badly and we had to walk home in the cold. Despite of this,
we are still alive and well.

Otoh, coming back with a plastic shirt, in summer or in winter, being dry but
smelling like a wet cat, THIS is ugly!

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mikestew
_You make me laugh. I run since - 30 years? Once in this time I hurt myself,
once my wife fell badly and we had to walk home in the cold. Despite of this,
we are still alive and well._

Do what you like, but I wouldn't rely on "I was in a car accident once, wasn't
wearing a seat belt, and I lived!" as a reason not to take precautions. If you
want to argue longevity and anecdotes, I've run for 40 years and have _never_
walked home. I still don't wear cotton when it's cold or wet.

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freshyill
The article mentions Baltimore's efforts to remove trash from the inner
harbor. Here's how they're doing it: [http://baltimorewaterfront.com/healthy-
harbor/water-wheel/](http://baltimorewaterfront.com/healthy-harbor/water-
wheel/)

Here's a pretty impressive photo if it in action:
[https://twitter.com/MrTrashWheel](https://twitter.com/MrTrashWheel)

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agentgt
I live right next to one of the widest parts of the Charles River (Waltham)
and since I don't own a dog I often pick up litter during my walks along the
river (this behavior was encouraged by my brother early in my life... I'm not
really a super environmentalist).

The reason I mention the dog is I have seen people litter (usually throwing a
cigarette, can, or candy wrapper) and than the next minute are picking up
their dog's shit. Irony at its best.

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dfc
Liberated copy of paper mentioned in article:
[http://www.iswa.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Calendar_2011_03_A...](http://www.iswa.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Calendar_2011_03_AMERICANA/Science-2015-Jambeck-768-71__2_.pdf)

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mirimir
The article doesn't actually focus on bags. I suspect that wind is a major
pathway.

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neolefty
Right, it focuses more on small particles, especially threads. It sounds like
most of those come from washing machines! Ugh, how can you prevent that?

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sjg007
You could put a filter trap on the drain, but you'd have to empty it often.
People uses these for sceptic systems etc..

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TheSpiceIsLife
I wonder how much car tyre rubber ends up in the oceans.

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fit2rule
About 10x more than appears in your clothes dryer. Srsly. That fluffy blue
stuff? A lot of it is nano-tyre.

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dschiptsov
Like everything else - by the rivers?)

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mandeepj
humans?

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betimsl
No. We do not throw them at all. Seriously ;) ;) ;)

