It shouldn’t be river plastic either though. That’s just pushing the problem back a step instead of solving it outright. It’s a step in the right direction, but it shouldn’t end up in the rivers either…

Yes. That is why I said that I support them.

We cannot fix the fact that the patch is there no. But we most certainly can fix continuing supply of garbage to it. That is exactly the argument I put forth in a different reply. “Oh well; we can just fish out the garbage, so we don’t need to fix the underlying issue of single use plastics.” Complaining about the origin of the pollution is very much not missing the point.

I very much doubt the goal of an organisation like “The Ocean Cleanup” is to get to pick up garbage in perpetuity. I would very much hope, that its end goal is to outlive its own usefulness.

No of course not. It’s the people who have an interest in keeping plastic around, who I fear might use an excuse like that.

How in the heck do you mean? I’m happy for the accomplishment. It’s excellent work. I’m just angry that said work is necessary in the first place.

No one specifically, but in a lot of cases it feels like certain interest groups, tout projects like this as the be all and end all of solving the issue. I just fear for a sentiment where people go: “Look at what “The Ocean Cleanup” is doing! We don’t need to abolish single use plastics. Any that end up in the environment is simply picked up!” That is of course a bit of a caricature, but at this point my trust in humanity as a whole, is not very high…

No doubt it’s good work, but the plastic shouldn’t get in there in the first place. That was my only point.

Same issue though; it shouldn’t end up in the rivers either. The rivers were just an example in relation to the ocean patches specifically. Plastics shouldn’t end up in the environment at all. Catching it a step earlier, is still treating the symptom instead of the cause.

“The Ocean Cleanup” is a great effort and I support their mission wholeheartedly. BUT looking at the bigger picture; it seems completely asinine to fish garbage put of the ocean and call that the solution to pollution, instead of preventing it from getting there in the first place. This is not meant as a criticism of “The Ocean Cleanup”, but of global society in general. One minute you see them removing the Pacific garbage patch and the next you see whole rivers covered in plastic waste flowing out into the ocean from certain countries.

Edit: Fishing it out of the rivers before it enters the ocean is also a good effort. But it doesn’t address the underlying problem any better than cleaning ot out of the ocean. Also; some people seem to think I’m bashing “The Ocean Cleanup” and similar organisations. I’m very much not. They do great, necessary work. I’m just frustrated that said work is needed, and more importantly; that it doesn’t seem to be on track to stop being needed anytime in the near-ish future.

All things considered, that was a lot less hurt than it could have been.

Removed by mod

I’m picturing the chip overload from Kingsman.