Latest News

Easter Island battles global vortex of plastic waste

Easter Island, the tiny remote speck of land in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, is stuck in an oceanic vortex of plastic.

According to community data from Rapa Nui, the island's. regional name, it receives around 50 times more plastic and. microplastic than the coasts of Chile. This is mainly due to. its location in the South Pacific Gyre, which brings in trash. from Australia, South America and fishing vessels.

The microplastic we find on the coasts isn't ours, stated. Moiko Pakomio, a marine biologist for the city government,. adding that globally most microplastics originate from fishing. vessels that toss their waste in the ocean.

That (plastic waste) disintegrates as it takes a trip along. currents and breaks down until it becomes microplastic.

The microplastics have actually likewise infected the regional. animals, Pakomio stated, consisting of sea urchins that both locals. and other marine fauna consume, polluting the whole food cycle.

Microplastics have been growing greatly and it's. horrible, said Pedro Edmunds, the mayor of Rapa Nui. It's. impacting our lives, it's affecting our food, the blue fish that. live in our ocean and we depend upon for protein.

This has led Edmunds and others on the island to lead a. campaign against plastic contamination. Edmunds hopes an arrangement. will be reached in South Korea next month to help in reducing the usage. of plastic polymers.

Although the island is interesting the world to minimize. plastic waste, Edmunds stated they had actually found that the majority of the. contamination is coming from their own country.

We discovered that 58% of the plastic Rapa Nui gets comes. from continental Chile, Edmunds said. It's Chile that's primarily. polluting Chilean waters and Rapa Nui..

(source: Reuters)