Se7en Goes Looking for Micro-Plastics…

My kids have been doing beach cleanups for years, and when we began our goal was simply to clear the area we were in, of all visible pollution. As the years have rolled by, so our beach cleanups have evolved into plastic collections… really most garbage on our beaches is plastic, in various forms. The thing is beach cleanups are no longer about clearing the plastic we can see, but rather the plastic we can’t see has become somewhat of a problem.

The beach might look pristinely clean, and ready for visitors for the day. All those plastics that we have discarded over the years, that we have put into the dirt bin, haven’t gone anywhere. Plastics don’t go away, they break down. Smaller and smaller pieces of plastic are finding their way into our diets, as they break down in the ecosystem, and particularly in the ocean.

Don’t for a second be misled that certain plastics degrade… the one item we collect at almost every beach cleanup is a toothbrush. Yes, probably every single tooth brush you have ever used is still in existence today. It is a small and simple thing to change to a bamboo toothbrush, but it can make a big difference. In the meantime, our beach cleanups are no longer about just the visible plastics, they have become about invisible plastics too.

Snorkelling in St. James Pool, a World of Wonder

Earlier this year Hood #6 had a beach cleanup with our friend Lisa. She wanted to share with her friends what she had learned recently about micro-plastics and how they have gotten into the food chain.

We met Lisa on Instagram a couple of years back, we were captivated by her photography of sea-life that she took on her daily explorations in St. James pool. Lisa has the incredible ability to spot beautiful creatures under water and inspire curiosity wherever she goes. My young eco-warriors have been a fans of Lisa ever since, they went snorkelling with her.