A Tale of Sea and Plastic

My little beach.

South Italy. Early September. Holidays. Perfect day, perfect sun, perfect weather. Packed a nice bag to spend the day on the beach, relaxing, doing nothing. The perfect beach... Wait a minute! Not so perfect at all! Looking at it and getting a bit shocked. Along the sea shore many little pieces of plastic that got washed a way by the Tramortana, the northern wind. I pick them up, one by one, with a simple understanding that if they stay here they will be washed back to the sea within few hours. It feels good to do something like that, not just sitting back, accepting that the beach is dirty and will always be like that, as long as humankind is using plastic, leaving it behind them to the wind, the low and high tide without much awareness.

According to research made by French and Belgian marine biologists, supported by green campaigners, there are around 250 billion microscopic pieces of plastic floating around in the Mediterranean. This creates a biological risk that echoes up the food-chain. The micro-sized plastic mixes with the plankton, which is then eaten by the fishes, which are then eaten by the big fishes, which then means if you like eating fish - be sure you are also eating plastic! Simple fact!

Water sample taken out in the Mediterranean.

I felt Innocent and pure as I collected my articles and presented them neatly by the garbage bin. But then, there a was a bigger task awaiting for me and I approached it with bravery and determination. I entered the sea and started fishing endless pieces of plastics. Plastic bags of all kind and sizes, plastic bottles, fishing nets, you name it; all kind of rubbish that people thought or didn't think to leave to the sea, big and vast as it is and can take everything.

I grew up by the sea and it was my piece of sanity in the humming buzz of the city, which I could escape to, get comfort and support. I owe it hell of a lot, so when I started, against all odds, picking up endless pieces of plastic, I felt grateful that I had a chance give something back. I felt also mad at us, people, that can create so much damage and have so little awareness next to it. Only later, at home, browsing on the internet, that I learnt how big the damage actually is.

I knew of course, while I was doing that, that my action was just a little drop in the ocean but I didn't care. I worked like a maniac, like the broom of Mickey Mouse in the 'Sorcerer's Apprentice in Fantasia; back and forth, into the sea and out to the garbage bins. After an hour I thought it worth making some documentation - to let the world see what can be collected in one hour, by one person, in one little beach in south of Italy. And just for the record, I must say, that this are the results of my second hour of work, as the first batch was already in the bin before I got the idea to take photos.

The results of one hour plastic picking.

Look at one of the items which I found: It really touched my heart. If you look closely you'll see how the kingdom of the sea had already began to integrate the alien object.

Sea pocks are slowly eating a piece of garabge bag.

Sea life intermingle with a piece of plastic net.

This plastic bottle was really heavy as it is full with sand. Who knows how long it has been in the ocean already. I'm still wondering what made it's color black(?)

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My last presentation: knitly placed next, as I already filled the recycled plastic bin!

The end of my story:

The beach owner gave me a thumb up when she saw me at the beginning of my task. Later on, when she saw me taking photos, she got a bit more suspicious, maybe I was to report the beach was dirty to some kind of travel book or something. Note: the beach itself was perfectly clean and well taken care of!

a couple bathing in the sun looked at me oddly.

One man started to help me and picked some plastic sheets out from the sea, handing them to me. 'Sculptura?' He asked. Kind of, I said.

A young gang that was lying there looked at me with mixed feelings, am I also going to ask them to do the same like me?

By the end, as we walked back to the car and I took my last photo (the one on the top of the page), I saw one man returning some kind of a lost sea star to the sea. For me it was a win. If I can do it, anybody else can.

I once saw this movie on line and it gave me the first awareness of what is happening to the sea and the life next to it. As sad as it is, it motivated me in my little plastic action.