Local non-profit stresses the importance of keeping plastic out of the water after recent viral video

NEW HANOVER COUNTY (WWAY) — A moment captured on video of some teenage boaters dumping debris into the ocean in Florida has caused plenty of controversy recently.

The video quickly went viral and it caught the attention of local environmental non-profit Plastic Ocean Project in Wilmington.

Executive Director Bonnie Monteleone said while the video is unfortunate, it’s a learning moment for everyone.

“It’s never a good idea to let our man-made debris end up in the ocean because it can cause such problems for marine life. So, especially with plastic as it breaks up into smaller and smaller pieces, it becomes bio-available for all animals in the ocean from plankton, which is the smallest animal; all the way up to blue whales which are the largest.” Monteleone said.

Monteleone and her organization have been studying plastics in the ocean since 2009. They recently visited the North Atlantic Gyre, which is a large, rotating ocean current. They brought back some samples and what they found could be harmful for marine-life.

“Looking at these plastics on the surface of the ocean and of course there are a variety of things here. This is a plastic bag that has bite marks all over it, a plastic balloon,  bottle caps, rope; it’s everything. All of the things that we touch in life are ending up in the ocean and that’s why it’s never a good idea to intentionally put it in,” Monteleone said.

Monteleone said it’s important to educate people about the dangers, so we can all do better when it comes to the ocean.