Plastic in paradise: the battle for the Galápagos Islands' future

The Galápagos Islands are supposedly one of the most pristine locations on the planet, but plastic pollution arriving by sea is threatening this unique habitat and wildlife. Leah Green travels to the islands to see how our reliance on plastic is affecting even the most remote of locations, and to see how the archipelago is hoping to lead the worldwide fight against plastic
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[@GamerwithaConscience]

The planet has enough to support man's needs but not enough to satisfy his greed

[@jasminchavez1500]

You are right a million times

[@thekingoftheworld9553]

Capitalism makes people greedy, so we just got to get rid of it.

[@patoukelele3876]

@@thekingoftheworld9553 Greed exist before capitalism

[@lukaszha8826]

Watching those marine iguanas eating plastic broke my heart.

[@667DOOM]

same, how fucked up.

[@kenlee1416]

ALL sea creatures and sea birds are eating plastic.. and certainly humans who love sea food are ingesting some too.

[@chivo121]

It's a delicacy. They love it

[@lukaszha8826]

Chi vo I really don’t think your sarcasm is appropriate here

[@cybercroneCA]

There are apparently micro-plastics in pretty much every fish and sea creature caught and prepared for our enjoyment and sustenance. And of course, the larger pieces that are eaten or trap the creatures, harming, starving and strangling them. It's an epidemic we have to solve NOW.

[@md.mahbuburrahmanraju6963]

All of us want to make good world for our children but we need to make good child too to make the world better place. The education is helpful.

[@jeteveuxdubien5474]

A very good documentary, dark and sad with a final hope. Necessary testimony!

[@CherryFruitSnack]

This really breaks my heart. I always thought I wasn't part of the problem because my trash goes in the garbage or recycling plant. But EVERY piece of plastic I've ever used in my life is part of the problem, regardless of how I used it because it is still on the planet somewhere, and most items never actually get recycled that are supposedly going to a recycling plant.

[@alikevan123]

I think the big difference is if you put your rubbish in the bin it's not going into the sea. There's lots of impoverished places around the world where people have no way to dispose of rubbish and it goes into the river. The plastic problem is a poverty problem

[@markocapek4627]

I am here for the last month, spent some time on three different islands and I work in environmental protection for the last 15 years, including plastic 5 years. The focus is not on the garbage which comes with the currents, but just take a walk, and look how the local population litters (except Santa Cruz island). Theres parks and forests full of plastic waste. Theres parts of the island where people live like in Morocco or Guatemala littering everything they consume. Yesterday was a huge rainy storm and all ended up in the ocean. So the solution needs to come also to educate the people. And those who do not want to change should find another place to live.

[@debbiehenri7170]

The crime of littering shouldn't be punished with just a small fine (as in Scotland), it should come with one week's litter-picking duties at the very least.

[@andrewlowrey6280]

Wait. You mean this didn't come from an invisible garbage pile in the ocean? Shocking. We have pictures of a black hole now, but cant see across our own ocean.

[@debbiehenri7170]

@@paulinemoira8442 Yes, I have come across the exact same attitude. You wonder where to start with such people! I live in a lovely area, I clean up the roadside, go to town to do shopping, come home, and on the way I see new coffee cups, new sandwich packs and crisp packets laying on the ground.

[@salampeacemyfantasy8422]

It is true that educating people is an essential key, however goverments around the world should agree on laws to protect the planet, not protecting but saving our lives lol becuase if we keep doing this we are gonna get our asses whooped one day.

[@gialopez1699]

As an Ecuadorian, this makes my heart cry

[@667DOOM]

as a german this makes me sick too.

[@johne.chalco4134]

Heyyyy fellow Ecautoriano

[@bartsshorts]

cry me a river

[@danewiley4215]

I went to the Galapagos in 2014 and it was the best trip I have ever been on. Now I want to be a marine biologist and go back there to go scuba diving

[@FactNFiction]

Amazing documentary, I mentioned you in my social studies exams

[@donegal79]

good ...that will make all the difference then

[@peaceandlove5214]

I think all ships need to be involved in this project. Great work thanks.

[@prime7041]

Who ever dislikes throughs away plastic or rubbish in the sea, or even litters in the street or anywhere.

[@ramonlegs3076]

A plastic-eating bacteria has been found in the stream of a province in the Philippines, a research was under process.

[@k.bellingham8335]

Until this fancy new bacteria can eat up all of the plastic garbage can I expect you to eat the pop bottle your pop arrived in, or will you try not buying a pop today?

[@k.bellingham8335]

@Sexy Asian Cuties stop buying plastic bottles

[@k.bellingham8335]

@Sexy Asian Cuties You put the cart in front of the horse, do you know what that means? The horse is supposed to pull the cart. Yes the "companies" need to offer some choice, but they won't unless there is a reason. If we keep buying what they supply they'll keep supplying it, it's called supplying the market. The "company" wants to make a profit, the maximum profit! If you and I stop buying what they are supplying they'll offer something else, simple eh.

[@sana5762]

We are all in every way responsible for destroying these beautiful locations, nature's gift with our junk! Everything we use & dispose irresponsibly! For the live of all these innocent lives and the beautiful greenery... Let's all just reflect and make responsible changes.. please!🙏

[@justindouglas7043]

I like the closing remarks about making a better planet for our kids; making better kids for our planet

[@dg_96_7]

Was just there about 2 weeks ago. Was only in Santa Cruz and Isabella , very clean islands however the smaller islands is where the problem lies. Shout out to my step cousin Pablo V who is one of the worlds top guides in Galapagos!

[@davinelucis685]

It’s absolutely heartbreaking..

[@vthilton]

Save Our Planet.

[@kenlee1416]

Just a few measures we can take as consumers: - Eschew ''convenience'' and the takeaway culture. - If you patronise street food vendors, bring your own containers. Same with chain food outlets, if they allow it. - Do not buy items such as sodas/soft drinks, drinks, sauces, snacks and other junk 'foods' in plastic packaging. - If available, buy from local farmers' markets, not big chain supermarts that use plenty of packaging.

[@leor7795]

In was born in the Galapagos islands and this makes me so sad

[@danthemansmail]

This planet will do much better when we are gone.

[@MrSatyre1]

Don't let the door hit you on the way out!

[@baronzemo420]

In all likelihood, the most guilty perpetrators of this ecological catastrophe (the captains of industry and robber barons of finance capital) will have the resources to leave this planet and build self-sufficient off-world colonies, leaving 99% of us to eke out a living here on Earth for a few years before we inevitably perish.

[@bartsshorts]

but what if you are entirely wrong, what if all the gases and oils inside the planet we're destined to turn the planet into a gaseous planet like jupiter, but us humans have slowly diffused the bomb by using engines.

[@landofevolution9757]

We need to change and clean it up.

[@w.s8676]

@@landofevolution9757 nope

[@tunca9709]

I nearly did this drone project with a friend, but switched to a different topic afterwards. I am quite happy to see that someone did it and uses it on actual beaches.

[@aptorres01]

this is absolutely & utterly Heartbreaking

[@lukenolan9798]

This is heartbreaking

[@baumbiber3115]

I like that this video points out this very important issue. BUT like allways there are a few overstatements. For example if your are living in a developed country most of the plastic waste does NOT end up in the ocean, so your toothbrushes were probably burnt in a incendieary plant to produce electricity

[@k.bellingham8335]

@Energy So much for Baum Biber's argument

[@jennifermero4730]

Muchas gracias The guardian

[@dinero2103]

"Better kids for our world instead of a better world for our kids"

[@bartsshorts]

interesting

[@karlpilkington997]

I'm responsible for absolutely none of the plastic waste, I just burn it all in my backyard

[@hunati31]

Dumb and dumber.

[@karlpilkington997]

@@hunati31 says the guy who watches Alan Watts haha!

[@jaddy540]

Then you polute the air,azzhole.

[@michaeldoise8672]

Thank you for making this video. What I find brilliant is that it not only shows the scope of humankind's capacity for destruction but also our ability to invent intelligent solutions. My students will watch this video!

[@claudialima7714]

Plastic was everywhere I saw last year visiting a far away beach. . . It cames with the high tide. My vacancies's day were over.

[@Roman-hg6rg]

A heartbreaking sight.

[@JC.Holland]

humans have lost their humanity...we're worst link in the evolution 🤐

[@cantalope67]

The very worst

[@MrSatyre1]

I blame you. Not me. Not anyone else I know. Just you.

[@baronzemo420]

Production of material waste is a fundamental part of humanity. Chimpanzees have no humanity but pose no threat to their environment. Humanity is the problem. Humans are the problem. Technological progress is the problem. Ted Kaczynski was right.

[@Exedus20]

@@baronzemo420 fix yourself. The means are all around you. Take the leap.

[@TheVera9966]

Very sad the human activity on Mother Nature.

[@atheistgenocideinthebible1102]

And every day we make the new Plastic, Worldwide.

[@brendatenorio5721]

Consumers and manufacturers internal and external.

[@JaySmith91]

We should probably do something about this.

[@sallyannedavies7742]

The bin men in the Dominican Republic 🇩🇴 used to empty their Rubbish trucks on their beaches using it as a dumping ground. When they had a bad prime minster ruling. A Shocking site to see.

[@MOJORAPSCALLION]

Tragic & heartbreaking 💔 an utter travesty….

[@Ezequielschelegel]

Cómo afecta el plástico en la fauna y la flora

[@atheistgenocideinthebible1102]

Two young Womens talking critical about Plastic every where on Galapagos, and the same young Womens used Technology with Plastic together! This is a point!!!

[@nakotaridge8749]

Hemp will Save Mother Earth🙏

[@w.s8676]

No it wont

[@pacificoceania5828]

The best solution is stopping to produce end use plastic.

[@bartsshorts]

or decrease human population from 7 billion to 500 million.

[@ginadelsasso288]

Exactly....you can keep cleaning it up but where is that garbage going to go, how much will just end up back in the ocean, and more just will keep coming and coming.

[@ifukill7538]

Today I'm keeping all plastic cartons and bottles and making pots to grow food in. Spring onion, garlic, strawberries, tomatoes... You can use plastic bags too. Make a few holes in the bottom fill with soil ..ta da😀😷

[@La_to_the_Bay]

Devastating

[@douglas5595]

re buenardou el videovich

[@luciochiletto]

ANASHEI

[@SatsMate]

How can we volunteer or help? Someone please send me the link! Also we need to figure out the source of the problem.

[@Xergecuz]

We've only really been using plastic for the last 30 years or so, this problem will only get worse as we continue using plastic in the future, the alternative is not that simple since everything we use is made out of plastic, including our cel phones and computers, earphones, it's not just bottles and bags, it's toys, even shoes.

[@elmaragustin2010]

So sad this happening all over the world, even in remote islands...

[@davidsivills3599]

All i can see at the moment is, no solution to plastic waste.Everyone on the planet must help but i can't see that happening.

[@lwnaALiraq]

❤️❤ ♡ ♥ ღ ❣ ❥ ❦ ❧ ლ 💖 💝💕Thank you "The Guardian".........

[@jigargore]

Humans doesn't deserve this planet 😪

[@mkfmgaming3019]

I try to use only eco friendly things, I have bamboo toothbrushes

[@aspect9857]

I guess we have to do the Minecraft way Put the rubbish in lava

[@stanley-hu4yv]

I-

[@JS-qg1ie]

Isn’t the main problem Indonesia where they use rivers instead of landfill/recycling!? They’re right stomping out the problem at source. An impossible task to totally eradicate the problem I’d say, fishermen will always lose nets, wind will always blow litter into the sea, ships will always capsize leaving debris...

[@almudenamanzanopardo6129]

Alguien me hace un resumen del vídeo para geografía?

[@aleew9341]

Good film to showcase and evoke an emotive response to the interconnected global issue of plastic. Plastic dependence and reliance is unfortunately inherent in the current status of our society. For example, in this very film whilst both scientists are talking about the issues of plastic, simultaneously the tools they are using (i.e. drones, safety glasses, hi vis jacket, gloves and lab equipments) are also plastic and will ultimately end up in landfills, burnt, and/or in the oceans. Just want to highlight the issue is heavily complex, and a lot of work is needed to disentangle the underlying power and politics of plastic.

[@debbiehenri7170]

Yes, and it is very difficult to rely on any waste plastic being responsibly recycled. I was disheartened to learn that my local council were burning a lot of plastic for heating purposes, and then started putting it in landfill. Until that time, I had taken the trouble to wash out plastic packaging carefully, knowing that contamination was an issue when recycling.

[@WipedoutCanada]

Crazy video 🤔

[@jaddy540]

In FL, butane lighters litter the beaches, as well as cigarette filters. Use HEMP filters??

[@bjornironside1820]

Why we are using plastic stop for plastic

[@marcovelascod32]

We can make the difference, for example reusing plastic bags consumption at home and mainly, helping people understand that we have to be part of the solution

[@davoun5490]

The problem is too many humans. Less humans, less trash

[@davoun5490]

@@visser9555 No, but the government could make some rules for having children. 1 child policy wasn't a bad idea in China, it could help the whole world to solve the hunger and unemployment.

[@ArkansasGamer]

What the most effective solution?

[@rajibsarker7061]

ভবিষ্যতের সুন্দর পৃথিবীর জন্য আমাদের সচেতন হওয়াটা খুবই জরুরী।এটা আমাদের অস্তিত্বের জন্য হুমকিস্বরুপ। সচেতনার সাথে সাথে আইনেরও প্রণয়ন আর প্রয়োগটাও জরুরী।

[@davidserafim5368]

It will be very interesting and inspiring to see these coasts and oceans being cleaned up

[@greysilverback3924]

Too bad they can't make drones out of bamboo.

[@oliviacollin5781]

Terrible. We need to do something NOW

[@user-ew8hd6il6d]

plastic material ruin paradise like this really sad, we should protect our environment and its necessary for everyone :)

[@Ecovaluations]

Make the environment better for kids and simultaneously make kids better for our environment.

[@SPEEDKILLAR]

Terrifying!!

[@DylanChng]

How does the plastics get to the sea in the first place?

[@DylanChng]

@@visser9555 I only know that some plastics get leaked into sewage systems which spills into the sea

[@r3dp1ll]

people not caring. Out of sight out of mind

[@bartsshorts]

india throw all their rubbish everywhere

[@awolff3381]

the guy so concerned with plastic has namebrand plastic sunglasses on.. Irony

[@r3dp1ll]

Sad :( Countries of the world need to get together.

[@DiffKaran]

Say no plastic,save environment, save the planet

[@BeeeeeeFreeeeee]

Everyone in this used plastic. That drone will be in the ocean in a few years.

[@sabineblume5341]

That means you do not have to take resposibiliy for your one moment bottle and bag ? That is sad. If the ather are littering, i do not have any motivation to change something ? That is why this Planet is not to save quick enough.

[@analourdeshernandezcabrera2123]

My english teacher put to us this video (I'm from Spain), so i'm not feeling bad and the animals eating plastic didn't broke my heart, I'm tired of do homework

[@samanthab1923]

I had no idea. Always thought they were pristine. Sad 😭

[@celestaronin]

Do you know how much deisal could be made with all that!

[@mariavera9788]

💔

[@DKLA1220]

Ok I was waiting for a few solutions

[@stephenfield4593]

I grew up in the 60s. straws, milk cartons and grocery bags were all paper. egg cartons were paper. Sodas came in glass bottles which you paid a deposit for, and just returned to the store when you bought your next sodas. I could walk to the store with no money and by the time I got there I had picked up enough bottles to cash in for a coke and some M&Ms or whatever. I remember when the 2 liter plastic soda bottle was announced and how wonderful everyone thought it was. It seemed stupid to me even then.

[@320ifq]

Sad as this is it doesn't come close to midway island, there there are floating plastic islands. I went to Portugal in the 90's and it was covered in broken bottles discarded by idiots. Now glass is less common plastic has taken over, it is more visual as it can float more easily than glass.

[@archades54]

Pretty sure the parabolic antenna for the DJI is aimed wrong, you want parabola's to be facing away from you, directly at it, not to your face.

[@robjworkshop5692]

She mentions about finding out about who is responsible - that's easy! Every plastics manufacturer and every consumer...

[@nc8414]

Am I the only one who wishes someone would invent a energy source that relies on burning plastic for its source?

[@TELEVISIBLE]

maybe we should go thano

[@bbcash3360]

Such an irony that the concerned scientists use the drone made of plastic, surfing ocean in a plastic surfboard.

[@sabineblume5341]

But you need it again and again and Not a BAG or a bottle for a little Moment and it is there for ever.

[@1azulcielo1]

Things is, are there other options? Boards made of wood maybe? drones made of biodegradable materials? We are on a horrendously vicious cycle with plastics. Where do we begin to end it?

[@aragornthebrave]

I've just come back from Shetland (a set of islands to the north of Britain) and there is no plastic problem at all. Why does it affect the Galapagos and not Shetland?

[@apextroll]

The ocean gyres.

[@aragornthebrave]

@@andrewzcolvin Thanks for the answer, but what is a gyre?

[@andrescarreno2623]

BUENA

[@atheistgenocideinthebible1102]

With Plastic Consum, Drone, Cellphones, Tablets, TV, we make a new Plastictrash!!!

[@MrBelseBoB]

we use the same amount of plastic per person here in Finland like the rest of the world, more or less. But we throw all the plastic in bins just for plastic or in trash bins and they get dealt with. the most simpel way of not having plastic in our nature is not to throw it there. And huge piles of trash is not the answer but to recycle or burn it in facilities that can burn plastic waste with minimal air pollution. So I think the biggest problem is knowledge about this waste and money to create these systems to collect plastic waste and deal with it in another way than just piling it up for the wind to take.

[@diegoperez2090]

That place is way less remote than Hawaii, New Zealand or Fiji.

[@landofevolution9757]

Ban the manufacture of plastics and polyesters.

[@paramoreparks9960]

Change is not hard and the world is in desperate need of a POSITIVE change.

[@user-wp9ye7wn9w]

I think, and I see that the news of the floods, so you have to see about this problem and a lot of the garbage! around the world and you will have to do about this topic/problems in this year

[@jeffsartadventure3634]

Unless we radically reconfigure our relationship to the earth,and each other, none of us has a future.

[@4Score747]

No words..so terrible! What can we do 😞

[@victoria.5772]

A lot but together. That's not the attitude. We always can do something

[@debbiehenri7170]

A lot of people want to do something to help, but opportunity is very limited and hardly anyone listens. How many people on this comment section have written to at least one supermarket saying - Please stop wrapping everything in so much plastic? Seriously, a plastic wrapper around a pomegranate? A melon? A coconut? Why? I enjoy the occasional solo litter-pick, beach-clean or pawing through a fly-tip, but I suspect that once I put the rubbish into the bin - where does it go? Probably back into the sea eventually. It makes you feel really powerless. As I go litter-picking, I do pick up a lot of things that are useful to me in the garden, so I guess that's a small bonus. Today I was reusing an old copper curtain track as a hoop support for a fleece cover. I have loads of old plastic oil drums which I picked up from the beach and converted into large pots. (Ideal size for a couple of potato plants). Fishing net makes a great alternative to the usual 'bird netting' and protecting those early crops. I actually reuse my family's old toothbrushes in the garden (for marking places where new perennials and bulbs have been planted. I haven't thrown one in the bin for years).

[@taniik8233]

We need to make a change as fast as we can because by 2030 there will be more plastic than marine life and fish in the ocean 🌊. We need to change now and all work together. It’s our planet 🌍 we need to save it. And as it says that there are so many plants 🌱 on the Galápagos Islands and they can be found no where else in the world. We need to change now.

[@donegal79]

"We need to make a change as fast as we can because by 2030 there will be more plastic than marine life and fish in the ocean " Are you kidding...that's a fairly ridiculous claim to make. Show me your proof. Hint: this video isn't proof of your claim

[@its_fabled]

@@donegal79 It's a study from the Ellen McArthur Foundation that predicts this state for 2050. It's right, we need to change our thinking.

[@Pippie5555]

We need to STOP buying goods from the countries that are polluting, China, India etc. We need higher import tariffs on goods from these countries.

[@upcola]

Not so easy. And its definitely not just developing countries that are polluting.

[@upcola]

@El Loco Wow what a solution. Nobody is to buy anything. That seems like it will gain traction

[@Pippie5555]

Why is it people keep supporting the countries that are polluting the most? Double moral!!! We need to STOP buying goods from the countries that are polluting, China, India etc. We need higher import tariffs on goods from these countries.

[@Pippie5555]

Natog You are not correct. Just see the sea around you how polluted it is!! In Europe we don't dump chemicals in our rivers! According to the Chinese Ministry of Health, industrial pollution has made cancer China'sleading cause of death. Every year, ambient airpollution alone killed hundreds of thousands of citizens. 500 million people in China are without safe and clean drinking water.

[@thetruth9775]

I use reusable bags only!!

[@mariaagudelo4352]

Cuiden el medio ambien para que no nos pase nada de esto😭