I went to the beach today and I picked up a...
I think the main environmental threat to North Devon’s
coast, and any coast really, is the amount of litter that is accumulating and
it’s not just the coast, the oceans are filling up too. Marine litter is a
threat that affects all living organisms from zooplankton, all the way up the
food chain and it affects their habitats too. Environmentally, we are living in
an Anthropocentric era, in that human interaction with the environment is
considered to be at the root cause of problems.
The litter which lines our beaches and fills our seas is
a threat that ultimately has the potential to come back to ourselves, as
research into microplastics indicates. Plastic can be so small that even
zooplankton can ingest it, which as well affecting the
species directly, can multiply as it rises through the food chain and possibly
end up on our dinner plates.
Anything man-made can end up as litter and it’s not just
a coastal problem. The coast is just the visible sign, a liminal space that
marks the edge of humanity. It’s where rubbish gets washed up and washed away
again but it comes from a number of sources; through the sewage system, litter
dropped on the beach, in the nations streets or from the mismanagement of bins
and landfill sites. Whilst commercial and leisure fishing has a direct impact,
material also gets lost at sea through shipping.
Probably the worst item of litter, the main threat is
plastic. Plastic contains chemical additives that are ingested by marine life
which can then enter the food chain. Contaminants also leak out and disperse
into the water column and accumulate in sediment. Plastics also soak up other
marine pollutants, acting like a sponge which again could enter the food chain.
When it comes to change it feels like nothing is
happening but individuals and organizations are fighting back. I feel we need
to take personal responsibility, also law and industry needs to change, especially
the plastics industry.
Globally we are failing and it’s sad. Take plastic alone,
it doesn’t biodegrade, it just gets smaller, and smaller, and smaller. An item
of plastic could take hundreds of years to disappear. It’s scary because almost
every bit of plastic ever made has the potential to still exist today and the
amount is growing. The smallest pieces of plastic visible, microplastics,
microbeads or nurdles are defined as anything up to 5mm and there is an unbelievable amount lining
the beach at Croyde alone this winter but what about the bits we you cannot
see, they are measured in microns. The plastic material found in zooplankton
can be around 170 microns. I have recently been in a lab looking at plastic
fibres from a North Devon beach which measure between 12 and 20 microns, to put
this to scale 1,000 microns = 1mm.
Is the problem
getting worse? Yes, at least all the reports indicate this and the visual
impact on our beaches is undeniable.
I started to make photographs of things I found on the
beach about a decade ago. It was during a six month road trip with a friend
travelling and surfing around France, Spain and Portugal. I wanted to approach
the trip photographically with an open mind and out of this litter became
prominent. Since then it’s a theme I’ve continued to explore through my degree
studies in photography, on to today.
Most of the rubbish I pick up is just that, rubbish but
there are occasions when time and tide have formed something unique,
interesting and beautiful which I collect and put aside for future projects or even
use as an ornament at home, much to my partner’s delight.
Some months ago I found a plastic toy, a yellow turtle,
to make sand moulds, like a jelly mould. Days later I found a blue plastic duck
and then a week or so later my partner found a green starfish and then I found
a green plastic shell. All seemed brand new and may have come from a shipping
container that was lost at sea some years before. It’s amazing.
It makes you wonder what we can do to help the marine
environment because globally, the problem is so big it makes you want to give
up, it cannot be beaten but I cannot turn my back on it. I find it sad and
embarrassing that as humans we just don’t seem to care. There is so much wrong
with the world and this issue may seem insignificant but it’s not, it’s
important.
Photographically, I continue to try and raise awareness
in a non-didactic manner, either through my magazine, The Point, or through the blog, mark-king.blogspot.co.uk
and other social media networks. I was recently involved in an exhibition at
the White Moose gallery in Barnstaple
which reached a new audience but making pictures is not enough, an action has
to happen and you are either active or inactive.
Culturally, I think we need to change, legislation needs
to change, industry needs to change, and businesses need to change. The problem
needs to be attacked from both ends. It’s not enough to keep cleaning up the
beaches because it’s becoming ineffective. For me, any item of plastic that has
a one-off, short term life span needs to be re-thought, from plastic drinks
cups to supermarket packaging.
As individuals, we need to change too, doing simple
things like checking our toothpaste or shower gel for microbeads can help.
There is any number of organizations around the world and in the UK working to
alleviate this problem; Surfers Against Sewage and the Marine Conservation
Society are just two. There are community action groups and organised beach
cleans but as an individual we can all pick up a piece of rubbish whether it’s
after a surf, walking the dog, fishing or just enjoying the beach. To put it in
context, trying to clear a beach of sand one or two grains at a time, alone, is
impossible but collectively, it all adds up, as “I went to the beach today and
picked up a…” shows.
Copyright Mark King 2014
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