flat & clear

Here are some initial thoughts about plastic and how it is a part of my life. I will begin with quick, stream of consciousness comments and close with discussion about collecting my own plastic waste and some general conclusions/questions for future consideration.
I spend as much time as I can in the water (preferably salty). My family and I have participated in many beach cleanup events and usually pick up any trash we see (within reason) at the beach or otherwise. I have noticed trends in the items we collect: common items (oyster spacers, hagfish traps, etc.), seasonal variations in amount and location, etc. I have drifted in thought inventing tools that would make it easier to collect waterborne and beach-borne plastic debris (vacuums, sifters, etc.). I have wondered what becomes of the debris we collect, and, from a cynical perspective, how long before it enters the ocean again?
When I consider plastic in my life, it is hard not to realize how formidable its presence! I offer three simple examples in my daily life: plastic dishware, surfboards, and automobiles.
I can’t imagine how many dishes, bowls, glasses we would have broken in our family had we not relied on plastic dishware, cups, and utensils. We often decide that the children are old enough for glassware, yet cannot find the resolve to discard the ease and carefree use of plastic ware and accept the risk (albeit minor in the grand scheme) of glassware.
The largest items of plastic that I regularly use are surfboards. Admittedly, I may have a problem; I find it hard to discard them, and I there are roughly 20 at our house including nine (at last count) I call my own. I will also admit that I conveniently ignore the environmental impact of many of the materials used to make surfboards (although I do have a wooden one in my quiver). The surfboard industry had a unique, unforecasted catalyst for developing greener materials. Clark Foam, who largely monopolized the polyurethane foam blank industry, folded without notice. This allowed many upstart companies to enter the market and fill the void; several offered technologies that were new and much more sustainable. Arguably this would not have taken place if the foam giant hadn’t abruptly folded. There is a relevant storyline here – looking for the angle!
I have also noticed a surprising amount of plastic in our automobiles. Many of the automobile components that were made of metal 50 years ago are plastic today. Some of these are for safety concerns; no one would deny that airbags and seatbelts, which incorporate plastic, are worthwhile. But, arguably many of the products are made of plastic because it is cheaper or for aesthetic reasons (perhaps a luxury not worth the environmental impact). I consider the dashboard of my 1952 International Harvester Scout 80, which had a steering wheel grip, gear shift knobs, and ventilation control knobs of plastic. It was utilitarian, but there was aesthetic appeal in its simplicity. Was it inferior to the dashboard of my 2004 Toyota Tacoma, which surrounds me in plastic accoutrements?
For a week, I collected the plastic waste that my family (two adults, four children) produced. I collected everything that we generated at home and away from home. I collected items that we discarded as well as items we would have recycled or reused. I consider our family more environmentally conscious than most, yet I wondered how we would compare to the average of 7.1 pounds of waste per person per day (“The State of Garbage in America,” BioCycle, October 2010), or 42.6 pounds of waste per day for our family.
I was surprised that the bulk of the collected plastic was related to food delivery (roughly 85% by number of items, and a greater percentage by weight or size). I was also surprised that although more than half of the material was recyclable (had recycling category labels), only about a third of the recyclable material is collected for recycling on Oahu. Many recyclable materials are burned in the waste to energy process or buried in a landfill because it is not convenient or profitable to recycle it. Most of the plastic material was clear and what I would classify as flat – plastic bags and wrappers. The plastic waste I see on the beach generally has color, which makes me wonder where the clear, flat plastic waste entering the ocean ends up.
I continue to see and think of plastic in new ways. I tend to slip into cynical frames of mind, and it is disturbing to think that many people are unaware of the consumer/waste cycles (or dismissive, apathetic). Is the problem too big to address? Is it getting better or worse? I try to be more positive and consider the technological advancements and social developments that have occurred on a global scale (e.g. the internet, declines in smoking, HIV). I also try to identify the scope and scale at which I can generate positive impact. We will see where it takes me!

My inspirations for creating a landscape/tower using my waste: clear plastic and its play with light, the idea of a brick or multiple strata made of compressed plastic, epoxy as an adhesive (also plastic), the contrast between translucent and opaque, recyclable plastics that are not recycled on Oahu, the lifespan of plastic (infinite?), Sea Level Rise-resistant structure that transforms