Hawaii's Plastic Beaches

I first decided to investigate the effects of plastic pollution in Hawaii, because the island is a special place to me. My family and I visit every year, and my grandfather is a resident there. I love Hawaii for many reasons, but especially for the years I spent at the beach with my family learning to swim, surf, sail and boogie board. After reading an article about Hawaii’s dirtiest “plastic beaches”, I immediately knew I wanted to research further. I realized the issue is much more complex and global than just the Hawaiian Islands. In my research, I will explore what causes the convergence of trash on Hawaii’s beaches, examine the idea of the "tragedy of the commons" and its impact on global accountability, and address potential solutions on both a local and global level to restore their health.

When people think of Hawaii, they often imagine the beautiful beaches, balmy air, and the perfect destination for vacation; however, Hawaii's beaches are also some of the dirtiest in the world. Every year, thousands of pounds of man-made waste is deposited onto Hawaii's shores, making these once clean beaches into wastelands of trash and causing many to refer to them as "Plastic Beaches". About 46% of the waste is discarded fishing gear, but there are also other items including hair brushes, cigarette lighters, detergent bottles, water bottles, and straws, reminding us all that plastic never goes away. There are also other discarded trash items with labels in various languages, including Japanese and Russian. So, how is it that trash from over 5,000 miles away washes up on the shores of Hawaii?

Hawaii is an island located within the Pacific ocean, sitting between North America, East Asia, and Australia. Within the Pacific Ocean, there are "garbage patches" which accumulate as ocean currents and atmospheric pressure steer trash into a specific direction. The garbage circulates between these three continents as the Subtropical Convergence Zone separating the subantarctic northern waters from the subtropical southern waters keeps the garbage from straying too far north, and the Western and Eastern Garbage patches rotate the garbage in a circle. This accumulated garbage from these three continents eventually is deposited onto the shores of Hawaii.

Ecologist Garrett Hardins first explored the idea of the "tragedy of the commons" in 1968. This social dilemma begins with issues that Hardin calls "no technical solution problems," meaning issues that cannot be solved through scientific inventions, but rather a re-evaluation of morals and an agreement as a community. These "no technical solution problems" include overpopulation, overgrazing, and deforestation. For example, within a town of herdsmen, there is only one field they can share for their cows. A rational individual seeks to maximize their individual gain, and in this situation, the rational individual, the herdsman, would want to add cows to his herd. First the herdsman would be concerned with the question of how adding another cow would benefit him. The answer to that has one positive and one negative effect, also known as one positive externality and one negative externality. The positive externality is that the added animal will provide an economic advantage, as well as provide him the utility of more animals in his herd. The negative externality is the overgrazing of the shared field; however, since the herdsman is only one individual out of many, the downfall of overgrazing is shared with the other herdsmen, since they all share the one field. Therefore, from a logical and self-interest point of view, it makes sense the herdsman would just add another animal, since the benefits outweigh the negatives. The tragedy begins when the first herdsman decides to add another cow. And then the second decides to follow suit. And then the third, and fourth, and so on.

This increase in cows might be fine for a time because the maximum sustainable yield, defined as the maximum amount of resources that can be used and renewed before detrimental harm will ensue, has not been met. However, when the herdsmen reach that point, the commons resource, the field, will no longer be usable because it has been so overgrazed it can no longer provide nutrients to the cows. Tragedies occur when people try to overuse a limited resource they ultimately believe is unlimited. And, within these "no technical solution problems", it is difficult to definitively put the blame on one individual or group, because the problem has been compounded by many.

The issue of ocean pollution is an example of a "no technical solution problem" that Hardin wrote about, and the fact that the pollution has not decreased in any way indicates it is also an example of a tragedy of the commons. Returning to the initial example, the herdsmen and the cows, the commons resource was the field. All of the herdsmen relied upon that field to feed their cattle, but when it was abused, they all suffered. In the same way, the ocean is a commons resource. Hawaii's Department of Health (DOH) is working to combat problems affecting environmental health, behavioral health, or health resources by doing things like cleaning up thousands of tons of waste from beaches. Within the DOH, there is the Clean Water branch, the Wastewater branch, the Clean Ari branch, the Solid and Hazardous Waste branch, and Safe Drinking Water branch. Acts have been passed, permit requirements imposed, and regulations enforced. But, it is difficult to ameliorate the ramifications of this global dilemma without global help. Other individuals or groups might not be concerned with the amount of trash they release into the ocean on a daily basis because there are no immediate consequences of polluting the water. But the ocean is not an unlimited resource. Eventually, the maximum sustainable yield will be met. And when that happens, Hawaii will not be the only place suffering from the effects of pollution. The whole world will.

Ocean pollution is not an issue solely reserved for the Hawaiian Islands. Around the world, waste, chemicals, and other nonrenewable garbage are dumped into bodies of water, disabling ecosystems, killing aquatic life, and potentially poisoning human beings. In order to establish a viable solution, it is important to understand the issues of pollution on a broader scale rather than just the specific pollutants impacting individual areas of land.

This graph shows the quantities of surface plastic in each body of water. With the North Pacific having the most topical plastic waste, and the South Atlantic with the least. This data provides information that indicates which countries produce the most plastic waste. With this knowledge, future protocols should include these countries in particular.

This graph shows the pathways in which plastic enters bodies of water, as well as ballpark amounts of waste. The primary amounts of plastic pollution come from plastic production and plastic waste (plastic waste can sometimes even exceed production amounts). The second-largest source is from coastal waste in which garbage washes onto the shores, as well as mismanaged coastal plastic waste that comes from coastal populations. Although this project is specific to the pollutants that wash onto the shores (coastal plastic waste) of Hawaii, it is important to also be aware of the sources of plastic pollution in order to devise a feasible plan of action that includes all responsible parties (global powers).

With an understanding of both the domestic and global ramifications of ocean pollution, reasonable solutions can be posed. However, while an understanding of pollution's global impact is beneficial, no single successful solution encompasses every country's needs, specifications, politics, or culture. For example, within the U.S., the commodification of resources is tied deeply with the American capitalistic interests, in which individuals set their own interest above others and have a tendency to look for short term solutions rather than long term solutions. A solution within the U.S. would be to establish more programs, such as, Cap and Dividend or the Nutrient Reduction Strategy (NRS). While these programs might have faults, they attack environmental issues from an economic standpoint rather than a moral or social one. And with these new programs would come more education of our environment. The ramifications of individual decisions, hopefully would lead towards more outside-the-box ideas such as the growing movement referred to as "Rights of Nature", which provides legal "personhood" to natural entities. A bill of rights was passed to protect Lake Erie in this manner, giving it the right to "exist, flourish, and naturally evolve". In theory, it would be possible to hold corporations and governments economically liable if these rights were violated. These types of more radical thinking would help to shift public perception of the environment and human impact. While creating programs to focusing on the economic benefit might not be a successful idea in other countries, specific initiatives for each country, or even each region, need to be established so there is a collective global effort to decrease ocean pollution.