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Trash Isles – Under Application for the 196th Country
Apr 17, 2018

Have you heard of a country called “Trash Isles” which campaigners submitted an application to the United Nations to declare the it as the world’s 196th country?   The campaign is encouraging supporters to sign up to become citizens of the Trash Isles, and you only need to fill out a simple online form.  Anyone in the world can become a citizen of Trash Isles.

 

Regarding Trash Isles

It is located in the North Pacific Ocean and has an area of accumulative plastic trash the size of France, which is fifteen times bigger than Taiwan.  The Trash Isles launches with an official flag, passports, currency and postal stamps, created from recycled materials.  All of which uses pictures of marine life trapped in marine garbage as their theme.  In future, there may well be a national anthem, general elections and even a national football team.

British actress Judi Dench, has agreed to be the queen of the Trash Isles and Al Gore, former U.S. Vice President is the first honorary citizen.  Recently actors Chris Hemsworth from “Thor” and Mark Ruffalo who acted as the “Hulk” in “Avengers” are just some of the names from Hollywood that have joined as Trash Isles citizens.

 

The Trash Isles Passport. Source: Dezeen

Passport insids page, Mr. Al Gore. Source: Dezeen

Passport insids page, entry chapters. Source: Dezeen

Trash Isles’s banknote. Source: Dezeen

 

Initiation

“The truth of the matter is we are on the verge of an environmental catastrophe,” said Sarah Roberts, a Trash Isles “ambassador”.  Marine experts fear there could be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050.

By getting the Trash Isles officially recognized as a country by the UN, LADbible and the Plastic Oceans Foundation are trying to make sure the problem cannot be ignored anymore and make as much noise as necessary until people start to listen.  Force the world to notice this issue and gather nations to start handling the situation.

 

Why make it a country?

If Trash Isles become a country and a member of the UN, it will be protected by the UN’s Environmental Charters, which state…  “All members shall co-operate in a spirit of global partnership to conserve, protect and restore the health and integrity of the Earth’s ecosystem.”  Which in a nutshell means that by becoming a country, other countries are obliged to clean the Trash Isles up.

 

Great Pacific Garbage Patch

In 1997, Charles Moore – oceanographer and sailboat racing captain – accidently discovered an enormous stretch of floating plastic debris when crossing the North-Central Pacific, after a sailing race.  It took Moore seven days to leave the area covered with marine garbage.  After the incident he and his team started to study what he saw.  Reports show that the “plastic soup” is located in the eastern portion of the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre and is an accumulation zone that contains a vast array of plastic debris.  In 2017, researchers had discovered a similar—possibly even larger—collection of plastic in the South Pacific.

 

The Effects of Marine Waste

These plastic waste not only greatly impacts marine life but at the same time, started to pollute many beaches and uninhabited islands.  Located in the North Pacific Ocean, Midway Atolll, was once the home of the American Naval Air Facility Midway in World War II, which is now home to 1.5 million albatross.  Plastic garbage is drifted ashore and albatross fledglings grow up alongside the heaps of rubbish, and is fed these plastic garbage waste since the parent albatross think of it as food.  Most fledglings’ die in pain as their stomachs are filled with bottle caps, lighters and other plastic garbage.  Once the birds die and their body decayed, what’s left is the plastic waste inside them that was mistaken for food.

 

Return

After investigation, the plastic garbage in the Pacific Ocean is filled with micro-plastics and its number is greater than plankton.  These plastic wastes and micro-plastics in the ocean are then returned to the human body through layers and layers of the food chain.  Research has also shown that nearly 30% of tiny fish at the bottom of the food chain have been found with these pollutants in their stomachs.  There were even 84 plastic pieces found in the stomach of a small fish only 6.5cm in length.

In a 2009 TED speech entitled Seas of Plastic, Charles Moore, stated that: “you can buy certified organic produce.  But no fishmonger on Earth can sell you a certified organic wild-caught fish.”

 

What can we do?

Besides from going to change.org and joining the petition, at the same time we could forward this shocking news to all our friends, to let more people know that this problem is already very serious!

Start with yourself: reduce the use of plastic products, try not to buy bottled drinks or water, bring your own utensils and water bottles etc.  At the same time if you are able to push the government to promote relevant laws and regulations, recycling policies and educational programs, then that will be the number one priority.

 

If every day, everyone can reduce the use of one plastic bottle then the whole of Taiwan will be able to reduce 23 million in just one day!  Small powers combined, can also change the world!

By Reise
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