Tons of plastic waste in the North Sea

Tons of plastic waste in the North Sea

12/04/2011

Every year, around 20,000 tonnes of plastic waste land in the North Sea. Environmentalists warn against health and environmental consequences for animals and humans.

According to the conservation association „Mellumrat e.V.“ Each year, around 20,000 tonnes of plastic waste land in the North Sea. By now it's so bad that it „between Sylt and Borkum there are no plastic-free beaches anymore“ said the Chairman of the Conservation and Research Association, Matthias Heckroth. Since the 1990s, the only German organization to systematically examine the beaches for rubbish. On 100 meters of beach, around 700 plastic waste parts are now being assembled, explains Heckroth. The tubes, shampoo bottles, toilet brushes, plastic granules and plastic bottles are flushed around 80 percent of the world's rivers into the oceans. The rest had been shredded or thrown overboard as a whole.

Animals contaminated with plastic waste
This is a terrible disaster for the environment. Again and again the conservationists find dead birds in discarded nets. In the stomachs, the environmentalists almost always find small plastic particles. According to a study by the University of Kiel, about 93 percent of all dead animals found had plastic garbage in their stomachs. Statistically extrapolated, there were 29 particles per animal, 26 of them so-called consumer plastic. In the North Atlantic, more and more particles accumulated in a sea current. Meanwhile, the floating garbage island in the sea is already bigger than Germany and Poland together.

Traveling exhibition against marine litter
In a new traveling exhibition, the association now wants to draw attention to the problem. Under the title „Trash on the beach - well and?“ the causes and effects of environmental time disturbances are addressed. The prelude to the exhibition is Schloss Jever. Thereafter, the traveling exhibition is to move to other cities.

The Mellumrat is a nature conservation association that exists since 1925. At that time, the association was founded to protect the uninhabited North Sea island of Mellum. Today, the environmental protection association also looks after other islands and territories in the interests of nature conservation. The main task of the association is the supervision and supervision of official nature reserves. The areas collect data on nature conservation, environmental protection and research. (Sb)

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Picture: Peter von Bechen