Last month I read an article on the BBC website about the amount of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) that the UK potentially requires per day.

I was shocked to read the numbers!

All PPE equipment is made of plastic. Even face masks are made of polypropylene, a type of plastic, that does not break down quickly.

The article states that in the United Lincolnshire Hospital Trust, which covers three hospitals with intensive care units, four in total. – “Even in an area with relatively few Covid-19 infections, the daily use of PPE is pretty staggering: 39,500 surgical masks per day, 11,495 gloves, 1,501 gowns and 4,201 highly-protective FFP3 respirator masks, as well as aprons and eye protectors. That sums to a staggering 72,000 items a day in for one trust, alone.”

They go on to talk about the demand for PPE in care settings, councils, mortuaries, volunteer organisations, and the general public.

They state that “Billions (plural) of items will be needed per day.”

Bag that all up and try to form a picture of the waste in your head. I know I can’t fathom it…

It seems like overnight single-use plastics are making a comeback, thanks to concerns over contamination and safety.

In the UK, certain charges on plastic bags have been suspended. A ban has also been put on hold in US states such as Maine, while Starbucks have banned reusable products to protect against the spread of Covid-19.

Low oil prices could also see an increase of cheap virgin plastic flooding the market and reducing the competitiveness of recycled material. Global recession could also make manufacturers and consumers more price conscious and less likely to recycle.

A big consequence of the coronavirus outbreak is that it has diverted attention from plastic pollution. Before the breakout we were all conscious of our single use plastic, and we were all trying to reduce it. Now I find even on my tiny floating home, I can’t risk my families health and not use these items. All those shampoo bars that I have stacked up in my cupboards that I bought before leaving the UK, in a plight to cut down on the plastic we use in the bathroom. I’m now more than making up for with the antibacterial & alcohol sprays I need to buy to disinfect my groceries before they come on board, or the bags I’m now placing my fruit and veg in so that they can safely pass over the cashiers scanner.

These little things bug me! I’ve always tried to reduce, reuse and recycle – not only has this virus stolen my freedom to travel but its now not even allowing me to make those small environmental changes I was committed to making!

How does this affect our oceans?

If not disposed of properly PPE equipment will eventually end up in the oceans. There have been reports all over social media about masks and gloves littering the worlds streets and parks. If it rains or if there is a gust of wind these items easily end up in our waterways and oceans.

Gloves, like plastic bags, can look like jellyfish to sea turtles.

Marine life can get tangled in the cords and fastenings of masks.

Over time, these products also break down and add to the massive collections of micro plastics in our oceans. We all know the cycle. The fish eat the micro plastics and we eat the fish!

The irony is that, while we produce and discard plastic to fight one global health crisis, we may be slowly contributing to another.

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Below is an article written by 14 year old Marta Monarca who is also sailing around the world with her family. Marta is from Portugal and she wrote this report as part of her English school work. She gave it to us to post on our website as its all about our Trashy Tuesday Community that we are trying to form. Marta is an incredibly confident young lady, who is more than happy to help with any projects in the marina, from looking after her younger siblings, making up food packages for the local people to cleaning up the marina waters. Thank you Marta!

Enjoy…

The Trashy Tuesday Community

Here we are, (with the word “we” I mean 20 people) stuck in Marina Santa Marta, Colombia, and why not participate in an initiative, that really helps the world and the seas, because we love it and we really need it?!

“The Trashy Tuesday Community” a project started by the Taylor Family, that lives on sailing yacht Mokara. An initiative that is nothing less than collecting garbage, in this case on Tuesdays! (But you can also do it anytime you like)

Now if you are reading this you must be thinking that you need to be part of an association to make the diference and to do this kind of projects but it’s not like that! And that is the problem, because most of the people think like that, but you can make the diference, ALONE! Even if you don’t want to do it alone, you can always join to this project and help us to collecting over 2020 kg of garbage this year! We already started, and today (12th of May, 2020; Tuesday), we picked up over 49,5 kg, which may look good, but if we think about it it’s devastating, because I think “ How is it possible that only in a marina there is so much garbage?!” I know that this may sound pessimist, but look, I’m not being pessimist, I’m being a REALIST!

Now that you already know that you can make the difference alone, probably you are asking yourself “But what can I do to help?!”. Well the answer is very simple: you can start with the supermarket for example, buying reusable bags, and whenever possible choose products without plastic things! You can also go pick up trash on the beach, or if you are not convinced, just DON’T THROW TRASH INTO THE SEA!

If after I tell you this you are still not convinced then I will now write some facts, which will probably catch your attention:

• It is estimated that in 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the sea! (which is worrying)

• Every second, about 200 kg of garbage enters the oceans

• Every day, 30 million cans and plastic bottles are thrown into the street and into the sea, only in Spain.

• In the Pacific Ocean, it is estimated that there are 87,000 tons of garbage.

Well, if I haven’t convinced you yet, I don’t know what else to say, no, I’m not going to tell you that we only have 12 years left until a major catastrophe happens because that is not a real fact, that is just a way to get the population’s attention… The words with which I will close this article are a little ironic but …

The plastic you throw into the sea today is the one that a fish will eat tomorrow and that fish that you will eat in the future.

Do you really want to eat that plastic you send to the sea?