Are you
teaching your thrash to swim?
If you have a chance to look out of the window while
driving on the third mainland bridge in Lagos Nigeria, or by chance you are on
a boat on the Lagos Lagoon, there are quite a few things that catch your attention.
The greyish-turbid water with its unique “fishy smell”, drifting to and fro the
open ocean; fisher-folk with their canoes and nets looking for a catch and some
interesting people who sell their wares on water. It is a beautiful place to be
if you love a boat trip on the Lagoon.
However, away
from this, hidden from the eyes of the environment neophyte but obvious to all
others, is the presence of thrash or debris on the Lagos lagoon. Pure water
sachets, phone recharge cards, plastic bottles, baby doll parts, condoms,
discarded fishing nets, cigarette butts and lighters among other interesting
sightings are visible on the Lagoon.Most times we ask ourselves “where did all this trash come
from”? “Who put them there”? In answering those questions, we are quick to
absolve ourselves of any responsibility for the debris on the Lagoon and are
more than happy to put the blame next door. Indeed we may not be the ones who “dunnit”,
but then who is responsible for teaching our thrash to swim?
At the moment it is estimated that about 20% of debris
in the aquatic environment is from ocean based sources, while a staggering 80%
is from land-based sources. In a place densely populated city like Lagos,
debris on the Lagoon is as a result of run-off during rains, irresponsible
disposal of our wastes and direct release from industrial and domestic
effluents. Many times we have seen people throw out garbage into gutters when
it rains, with the hope that it gets washed away by the downpour. Indeed some
might say it is irresponsible to do such a thing, but again you will be
surprised to find out that quite a lot of people see it as commonplace to throw
out thrash when it rains.
Sometimes ships at sea find it rather convenient to
dispose their thrash over-board, hoping it will flow with the tide and possibly
disappear. Does it? Despite the International maritime organisations effort to
strengthen laws to prevent dumping of thrash at sea, quite a number of ships
still throw out their thrash with reckless abandon. Not too long ago, a man on
a cruise ship was filmed throwing out thrash off the coast of Brazil and this
caused quite an uproar in the Brazilian media. See HERE and HERE.
Needless
to say, dumping of trash at sea is not only an environmental hazard but a
violation of international law. The case is similar in the Gulf of Guinea where
the Lagos Lagoon lies. I have been on a couple of ships in this region where
thrash was thrown overboard on a regular basis. It may not be too ambitious to
make a claim that some of the ships in Nigeria's continental waters are
responsible for some of the sea based thrash we see on the Lagoon. It is
obvious that the major culprit for debris in our environment appears to be man,
who thumps his chest in a bid to subdue the environment without thinking of the
long-term consequence of his actions. I remember I went on a trip from Victoria
Island to Festac Town and an interesting fellow sat next to me, munching on a
beef burger, drinking a bottle of something I can’t remember, all in a typical
Lagos traffic on the third mainland bridge. After he was done, he threw the
empty paper bag and the plastic bottle out of the window, over the bridge and
into the Lagos Lagoon. Typical! Yes? I cringed on the inside and said in my
calmest voice “couldn’t you have held onto it till you found a dustbin?” His
reply is something you probably don’t want to know, suffice it to say he was in
a foul mood because I brought his “everyday waste behavior to his attention
The problem with swimming thrash is that it might be
gone today, but surely will surface someplace else, with lasting impacts. The
beauty and aesthetics of the aquatic environment is the first impact we
observe. The Lagos Lagoon especially during the rainy season looks splattered
with pockets of debris and is quite unsightly. In addition, thrash in the
aquatic environment has the potential to affect the health and safety of the fisher
folk and those who want to take a dip in the lagoon. It is possible they might
come in contact with used Syringes and used condoms. Dirty and unsafe waters discourage
holiday makers from frequenting debris laden waters. This has an implication
for the local community and the government who lose money that would have been
made from tourism.
Plastic fragments in fish, algalita.org
Aquatic organisms such as fish, birds and crabs can be
harmed and often killed by debris. Some of these organisms feed on debris and
die of suffocation or starvation. Quite often, the consumption of plastic bags
by sea turtles results in death which accounts for about 50-80% of recorded
deaths. Similarly, sea birds are known to feed on debris which affects about
80% of its population. In particular, plastic debris is fed to the chicks in
regurgitated food from parents. Fish are not left out of this problem, as it is
becoming common knowledge that fish feed on bits of plastic in water bodies.
Studies show plastic fragments in the stomach content of fish and is an indication
of the level of contamination in many water bodies.
Like my friend who threw out his bottle, after a
while, because of exposure to sunlight and the movement of the water, the
bottle becomes brittle and begins to degrade. Fish often nibble on such plastic
materials and appears to be a common occurrence. Indeed with the increase in
plastic materials and our dependency on them, more and more plastics end up in
our water bodies. So there is so much plastic for fish to eat “yum yum”. Sadly
when fish feed on so much plastic, it feels up its stomach and it can no longer
feed, resulting in starvation and death. To make things worse, these plastics seem to take up
toxic chemicals such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons PAH and Heavy metals
from surrounding waters. The question now is this; If toxic chemicals are on the plastics and fish feed
on these plastics, then we feed on the fish, are we being exposed to those
toxic chemicals? Your guess is as good as mine.
It would be important to stress that when aquatic life
is negatively affected because of our swimming thrash, it creates an imbalance
in the ecosystem. In the environment, all life forms depend on one another for
their existence. When an organism is affected by a contaminant like our
swimming thrash, an imbalance occurs in the environment and this creates a
space that would be filled by another organism. Fish that feed on plankton for
example, could be wiped out, leading to an excessive growth of plankton,
causing algal bloom. Imagine waking up one morning to find that the Lagos
Lagoon is filled with so much swimming thrash, plenty of algae and no fish. What
a sad day that would be.
How can we stop teaching our thrash to swim? Are there
practical solutions to this problem of swimming thrash? Well there are and a
few tips are listed below:
- Reduce, reuse, recycle and re-think. That includes food, clothing and furniture as well as plastics, glass, cardboard and newspapers to save natural resources. Again it would be a good idea to think about some of the things we buy. Do we really need them? Can we do without them? My guess is, if we buy only what we need, then maybe we can reduce the amount of thrash we generate
Redbubble.com - Sort your trash based on food waste, general waste and recyclable thrash. Again you can sort out thrash according to local recycling laws; try to compost organic matter and yard waste, and purchase recycled products to support closing the loop.
- Take time out of your schedule to get involved in local clean-ups for your area. There are quite a number of organisations who are looking for volunteers to help with debris in our environment, they would be more than happy to welcome you. In addition, you can help organize recycling in your area. It is easier than you think.
Volunteers at a beach cleanup exercise, cleancoastnigeria.com - Get a few like minded people together and create a recycling buzz.
And remember...give a hoot, do not pollute.
Photo credit: Google images.
