What happens to plastic once it gets into the ocean?
That's the question Valerie Lecoeur of Winston-Salem wants to answer. A mother of three children, Lecoeur created Zoe B Organic, an online company that sells anti-plastic apparel, dishes, and toys.
She’s passionate about the environment, and has even created beach toys made from corn. If washed out to sea, those toys will break down in 2-3 years, as opposed to the 500 years it could take ordinary plastic to break down.
Since early May, Lecoeur has been traveling in the Pacific Ocean between the Marshall Islands and Tokyo. She's part of a research team studying plastic pollution in the ocean.
"In our voyage, we did about 20 samples and every one of them had plastic in it. They’re small pieces, but basically we saw a piece of plastic every 8 minutes and we were thousands of miles away from any land," said Lecoeur.
The environmental groups Algalita Marine Research Institute and 5 Gyers organized this 2,900 mile oceanic expedition.
For years, they have been sampling the world's 5 major oceans identifying plastic pollution. Lecoeur is part of a 13 member crew, including educators, businessmen, and filmmakers.
While skimming the Northern Pacific Ocean surface during the past two and a half weeks, they've also found a few nets containing dead fish and several other species of marine animals.
"We saw a lot of debris that had bite marks from fish, so a lot of fish are actually ingesting plastic. The other troubling fact about plastic is that it attracts pollutants in the ocean. PCB and other pollutants are going to cling on to the plastic and once it is ingested by fish, we don't know what happens to the fish and to us after we eat those fish," said Lecoeur.
According to Lecoeur, coastal species can climb aboard plastic items and float far across the ocean. But she says researchers are concerned this will create potentially dangerous imbalances in the global eco-system by introducing species into areas where they don't belong.
Scientists also worry these plastic “rafts” could be dangerous world-wide.
"What people don't understand is that 80 percent of marine debris comes from land. It doesn't just come from the fishing industry; it comes through our waterways and watershed. If you are in Winston-Salem, and there is a plastic bottle that gets in the Yadkin River, it may end up in our ocean," said Lecoeur.
Lecoeur said she plans to educate elementary school children in the Triad about the importance of recycling and picking up trash in their neighborhoods.
