Today is our first "Trash Tuesday" of 2021.
It comes to you from a very lovely anchorage between Karakoren and Gemiler Adasi in southern Turkey.
Almost 3 years ago to the day, we anchored here with our good friends Tammy & Sally and their two boys, Jack and Tom on-board. After anchoring and setting the two stern lines ashore, we could not help but notice the plastic trash caught in the cove. Four of us set off on SUP's and it took us well over an hour to collect a number of trash bags full of plastic (see "Trash Tuesday" post July 2018).
While on the passage today from Gocek, I wondered how we might find this special cove, which often attracts turtles to its turquoise waters.
The wind and wave action channel and funnel all sorts of debris into this cove, and I remembered thinking in 2018 that the wind was doing us a favour by concentrating all the trash in one small area. In the clearing of plastic trash, I would call it an "indicator" cove in that it can tell us just how well or poorly a coastline is doing plastic trash wise.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that after 3 years it took me, working on my own, only 45 minutes to collect what filled only one full bag of plastic trash. The cove is now completely plastic trash free.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that after 3 years, it took me, working on my own, only 45 minutes to collect what filled only one full bag of plastic trash. The cove is now completely plastic trash free.gs and sheet plastic items break down easily under the sun's UV rays. They then become brittle and reduce in size to individual pieces which are hard to collect and float on or just below the surface for marine species to eat. How to capture those items will be food for thought for me this season.,
In the meantime, if any sailors are in the area, you will find this little cove clear of plastic.
