Flotsam and jetsam

Previously I have introduced Aldabra as one of the most pristine atolls on the planet, and certainly in the Indian Ocean. There is always a bit of bitter with the sweet. Rubbish wash out on the beaches here, a lot of it. It is certainly a less tasteful topic, but no less true or necessary than the sweet ones.

There are no large industries on Aldabra. There are no massive factories, no harbours, no airfields, and it is hardly populated. There are no shopping malls, and only fishing that can sustain the eight to sixteen people that live here at any given time is allowed. Yet, even on this pristine atoll, rubbish of all kinds can be found.

The persistent winds and strong currents wash an extraordinary amount of rubbish from all over the world onto the beaches that would otherwise be pristine. You can find nearly anything that floats on these beaches: Buoys, drums, gas cylinders, toy soldiers, toothbrushes, dolls, broken boats, masts from boats, FADs (Fish Aggregating Device), lids, containers, ...the list goes on and on and on. Most common of all are flip-flops, tons of it. I am talking about those trendy summer sandals that you buy for nothing and through away like it is nothing. During beach clean-ups we often joke amongst ourselves, and call it the flip-flop graveyard. But it is not really funny. Aldabra is the Mecca for green turtle nesting in the Indian Ocean. It is a terrible shame to see a majestic green turtle struggling to come ashore between all of the flotsam and jetsam, or abandoning nest digging because of some rubble obstruction buried in the sand.

It certainly made me re-evaluate the need for all this plastic. Do we really need all of it? Look around you. Absolutely everything contains it. Our sunglasses, fancy  ipods, cell phones, cameras, toothbrushes, televisions, and those trendy flip-flops, to name but a few. In fact, I am sure this laptop that I am writing from is mostly plastic. Will we ever really be rid of this wasteful pollution? Is there ever going to be hope for complete replacement of plastic with renewable materials? Or will green turtles on Aldabra (and everywhere else) be flinging away plastic soldiers long after human kind is gone?