Microplastics on local beach cause concern

Story by Rachael Harris.

Peter Fromm has been an islander long enough to witness changes overlooked by most peak-season visitors. More ferry boats. Fewer resident whale sightings. More commercial and residential rooftops. And more plastic.

As a professional landscape photographer, Fromm has had a front-row seat to the uptick in plastic use and misuse among modern Salish Sea inhabitants. His photo of plastic nurdles (pellets) on a local beach depicts one of the many ways discarded plastics are altering the natural world.

According to a 2017 report, readable by visiting advances.sciencemag.org/content/3/7/e1700782, 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic have been created since the 1950s. That’s the equivalent of 25,000 Empire State Buildings or 80,000 blue whales, and that magnitude of waste could cover a country the size of Argentina. Of the 8.3 billion metric tons, only 9 percent is recycled. The rest is incinerated (12 percent) or dumped in landfills (79 percent). Inevitably, too much of that 79 percent ends up in the ocean instead of landfills.

Most of us have seen the photos of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch or a turtle tangled in a plastic grocery bag. It’s clear that plastic has become a problem.

But Fromm admits that plastic use isn’t all bad. Forty years ago, his photographs used to be sold with no protective plastic. “At the end of the summer, my photos and mats would be junk, but now they’re clean forever,” he said.

Also, consider the ways plastic has played an active role in human flourishing — in 2021 we use plastics to perform life-saving surgery, access information with computers, and pipe clean water into our homes.

Fromm’s photo — and its plastic casing — represent a tension born with the first man-made plastic almost 150 years ago. Plastic may be polluting our oceans, but it is enormously helpful in certain contexts. In fact, when it was first created in the 19th century, it was hailed as the savior of elephants and tortoises, which had been driven to the brink of extinction by market demand for products made with their husks and shells. Ironically, plastic even helped struggling whale populations rebound when it replaced whalebone.

Still, at the rate plastic waste is accumulating in the environment, and considering the much slower rate plastic decomposes in the ocean, the cons seem to outweigh the pros. Not to mention the growing body of research indicating that plastic may pose a threat to human health. A 2011 study includes cancers, birth defects, impaired immunity, and endocrine disruption among the possible health issues linked to extended exposure to chemicals in plastic.

When I asked Fromm what he wanted to communicate with his photo, his answer was impassioned: “Wake up! There’s a lot of people who could care less and are careless.”

Even though Fromm is pessimistic about changing the persistent apathy towards plastic pollution, he understands that part of the problem is ignorance. After all, most people don’t start their day conspiring about how to pollute the ocean. “Their biggest concern is getting to work on time and making sure their kids get an education and stay away from drugs,” he said.

With his photo, he’s hoping that people will pause from the hustle-and-bustle and rethink some of their consumer habits. Actions as simple as stashing a few reusable bags and a reusable coffee cup in your car can noticeably reduce single-use plastic waste when multiplied by millions of people over multiple years.

In San Juan County, the first steps have already been taken to eliminate single-use plastics and the accompanying pollution. A few years ago, the majority of San Juan County restaurants eliminated single-use plastic straws as part of the “The Last Straw in the San Juans” campaign. Later this year, Gov. Jay Inslee’s Washington State plastic bag ban will take effect.

In June 2021, the San Juan County Council embraced the “Plastic Free July” movement, which encourages citizens and businesses to trade single-use plastics with sustainable substitutes. Learn more at plasticfreejuly.org/.

The prospect of giving up plastics for a month may seem daunting, but it quickly becomes a habit just like drinking enough water or taking a 30-minute walk each day. More than anything, it requires a perspective shift — one that acknowledges the threat that single-use plastics pose to human and environmental health. It also takes a willingness to commit a few minutes or a few extra dollars to intentionally prepare for a plastic-free tomorrow.

Here are a few ways you can begin to turn the tide of plastic pollution in the Salish Sea (and your home):

• Adopt a local beach and commit to picking up litter every few weeks or months. Learn more at https://plasticfreesalishsea.org/adopt-a-beach/.

• Always carry reusable grocery bags in your car (most can be purchased at grocery stores for around $0.99).

• Trade a plastic straw for a reusable metal straw.

• Use your own coffee cup. Most cafes are happy to make your beverage in your to-go cup, and some even offer small discounts for doing so.

• Swap plastic wrap and plastic snack bags for reusable bags and Tupperware.

• Consider switching to bar soaps, shampoos, and conditioners.

• Buy products in bottles and aluminum cans, which are more easily recycled.

• Bring your own water bottle with you when you leave the house.

If enough people make these small changes, there’s a good chance that the next generation of islanders will see cleaner oceans, and just maybe, Fromm’s photo could become a relic of a bygone era.