McVeigh, K. (2020, December 16). ‘We’re getting europe’s WASTE?’ US hit by plastic Debris lost from UK ship. Retrieved March 15, 2021, from https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/dec/16/were-getting-europes-waste-us-hit-by-plastic-debris-lost-from-uk-ship

 

In the process of transporting a 10,000 tonne shipment of plastic waste from the UK, the shipment fell into the sea and washed ashore in Maine. This debris could have harmful impacts on wildlife in a bay in Maine, which contains a very old lobster fishery. There has been a crew deployed to clean up the waste from the shores. Conservationists are upset that there were not preventative measures in place to stop this from happening. There is general annoyance that this was not U.S. waste, and it is polluting our coasts. This incident represents just a small portion of the problem, as 1300 containers are lost at sea on average each year.

 

It is disappointing that plastic waste is now discarded on the shores and in the ocean that could have been avoided. There should be more measures taken to prevent spillages like these, because there is already too much plastic pollution in our oceans. However, I think it is ironic that there is outrage about the effects on Maine’s lobster fisheries, because fisheries like those contribute heavily to ocean pollution. There should be more focus on the effects of marine life and less on the fishery. I was astounded that 1300 containers of waste are lost at sea each year, which is pollution that is easily preventable.