Mermaids Swim In A 10,000 Plastic Bottle Ocean To Show How Much Average Person Pollutes Earth
Rokas L BoredPanda staff
Montreal-based photographer Benjamin Von Wong (previously here and here) is fascinated with water, but the artist kept his lense above the surface for his latest project Mermaids Hate Plastic to highlight a serious problem.
Statistically, an average American uses about 167 plastic bottles each year, so by the time he’s 60 the total will be around 10,000. Because of that, Von Wong borrowed 10,000 plastic bottles from Tomra waste management center, took everything to a warehouse and began working with a large group of collaborators. The end result is series of captivating aesthetically pleasing images about an environmental issue, done in a really unique way.
Plastic in the ocean causes much more than water pollution, it releases toxins that can potentially contaminate water sources and this also negatively affects air quality. To get more information about the project and its cause, check out #MermaidsHatePlastic.
More info: vonwong.com | Facebook | 500px
Photographer Benjamin Von Wong put mermaids in a 10,000 plastic bottle sea to raise awareness about pollution
Plastic in the ocean causes much more than water pollution
It releases toxins that can potentially contaminate water sources and this also negatively affects air quality
“If the average American uses 167 plastic bottles a year, in 60 years they will have used 10,000 plastic bottles”
“Over the course of a few days, a small army of volunteers came to help de-label, un-cap, and clean our 10,000 bottles”
“Change happens when individuals come together to fight for something they believe in,” the artist said
If you love this project, consider going to MermaidsHatePlastic.com and signing Von Wong’s Change.org pledge to reuse your bottles
For more information, check out the video below:
Popular on Bored Panda
![“Pugs Are Not Cute, [They’re] Malformed, Sick Animals That Shouldn’t Exist”: This Tumblr Thread May Change The Way You See Pugs](https://static.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/pugs-malformed-inbred-animals-not-cute-tumblr-thread-latest.jpg "“Pugs Are Not Cute, [They’re] Malformed, Sick Animals That Shouldn’t Exist”: This Tumblr Thread May Change The Way You See Pugs")
What do you think ?
Litter bugs are one of my biggest pet peeves. I understand the article, but it fails to mention how many Americans recycle. Most Americans have special trash containers to put their recyclable materials in to be taken to the proper disposal site. AND a lot of Americans (including myself) personally take our plastic bottles and aluminum cans to the recycle site and receive cash back in return.
yet...recycling use A LOT of energy, and not everything is really recycled (sometimes just "treated"). You have totally drinkable water at the tap in America, why use plastic bottles?
Actually some douche dropped super toxic foam in the water supply where I live and I'm trying to save up for a water filter :'D
Yvonne, that's THE problem! I use a reusable bottle every day at work, I fill it at the tap and don't buy any plastic bottles anymore. if you don't like that taste there are filters or you just let the chlorine evaporate. I'm really astonished to learn that tap water in cities isn't reliable (of course I don't speak about remote places). When you know the money and energy going to bring water directly to everyone's home I don't understand there are places where this water contains toxic substances. This should be your priority!
i agree with your point, but i do want to point out that not all of us have drinkable water at the tap. A lot of us live in the country, where the tap water comes from a "filtered" well or from the city's water, which isn't always reliable, and there have actually been several scandals where the water provided from American cities have had substances in them that made people very sick. There's also the matter of drought in some areas of the country that makes drinking from the tap impossible. I'm not arguing with your point; if you can drink from the tap you should instead of wasting your own money and creating more plastic waste, but not all Americans have that option.
Oh also you can reuse water bottles to pretend you're drinking water and not vodka
In some cities, such as my own, they use well water and I've tested my water and found extremely high levels of nitrates on and off. High nitrates can cause blue baby syndrome. Not to mention the tap water often has high nitrite levels which are extremely toxic to my fish so they only get bottled water. Granted I use the same 5 gallon jug over and over again, but I can see how other people would just buy bottled 1 gallon jugs
We use plastic for MANY things. For instance if we travel, we take portable water in plastic bottles - to work, to the gym, to the beach, biking, etc. And other beverages come in plastic, not just water. People use water in plastic in their homes if the tap water isn't very good. There are many reasons we use plastic.
You forgot mention something important - The world isn't only Americans you know. There are also other kind of Americans and suprisingly other people of other nations.
Richard, I chose Americans because the article IS ABOUT American habits.... "Statistically, an average American uses about 167 plastic bottles each year"
I don't know how it is in other countries, but in Sweden we recycle most plastic bottles. Do others just throw them away? Anyway, beautiful pictures and message!
No we don't in America . This article is only true if everybody were tossing their bottles into the ocean or landfills
Louie, I meant we don't just throw them away. Like Yvonne Bernal said, we recycle. And a lot of the Americans also take their recyclables themselves to the reclaimation centers and collect $$ in return they pay out by the pound
That's too bad! I did'nt really understood if the article was referring just America or other countries aswell. That maybe have to do with my bad english, haha. But yeah, we need to improve a lot here in Sweden too when it comes to the enviroment
Oh ok, then I understand :) Sorry for my misunderstanding!
I know. This is about pollution, but WHERE DID U GET THE MERMAID TAILS?
Those are real mermaids. ;)
This is an amazing public awareness stuff. Hope the message will touch the every soul!
Litter bugs are one of my biggest pet peeves. I understand the article, but it fails to mention how many Americans recycle. Most Americans have special trash containers to put their recyclable materials in to be taken to the proper disposal site. AND a lot of Americans (including myself) personally take our plastic bottles and aluminum cans to the recycle site and receive cash back in return.
yet...recycling use A LOT of energy, and not everything is really recycled (sometimes just "treated"). You have totally drinkable water at the tap in America, why use plastic bottles?
Actually some douche dropped super toxic foam in the water supply where I live and I'm trying to save up for a water filter :'D
Yvonne, that's THE problem! I use a reusable bottle every day at work, I fill it at the tap and don't buy any plastic bottles anymore. if you don't like that taste there are filters or you just let the chlorine evaporate. I'm really astonished to learn that tap water in cities isn't reliable (of course I don't speak about remote places). When you know the money and energy going to bring water directly to everyone's home I don't understand there are places where this water contains toxic substances. This should be your priority!
i agree with your point, but i do want to point out that not all of us have drinkable water at the tap. A lot of us live in the country, where the tap water comes from a "filtered" well or from the city's water, which isn't always reliable, and there have actually been several scandals where the water provided from American cities have had substances in them that made people very sick. There's also the matter of drought in some areas of the country that makes drinking from the tap impossible. I'm not arguing with your point; if you can drink from the tap you should instead of wasting your own money and creating more plastic waste, but not all Americans have that option.
Oh also you can reuse water bottles to pretend you're drinking water and not vodka
In some cities, such as my own, they use well water and I've tested my water and found extremely high levels of nitrates on and off. High nitrates can cause blue baby syndrome. Not to mention the tap water often has high nitrite levels which are extremely toxic to my fish so they only get bottled water. Granted I use the same 5 gallon jug over and over again, but I can see how other people would just buy bottled 1 gallon jugs
We use plastic for MANY things. For instance if we travel, we take portable water in plastic bottles - to work, to the gym, to the beach, biking, etc. And other beverages come in plastic, not just water. People use water in plastic in their homes if the tap water isn't very good. There are many reasons we use plastic.
You forgot mention something important - The world isn't only Americans you know. There are also other kind of Americans and suprisingly other people of other nations.
Richard, I chose Americans because the article IS ABOUT American habits.... "Statistically, an average American uses about 167 plastic bottles each year"
I don't know how it is in other countries, but in Sweden we recycle most plastic bottles. Do others just throw them away? Anyway, beautiful pictures and message!
No we don't in America . This article is only true if everybody were tossing their bottles into the ocean or landfills
Louie, I meant we don't just throw them away. Like Yvonne Bernal said, we recycle. And a lot of the Americans also take their recyclables themselves to the reclaimation centers and collect $$ in return they pay out by the pound
That's too bad! I did'nt really understood if the article was referring just America or other countries aswell. That maybe have to do with my bad english, haha. But yeah, we need to improve a lot here in Sweden too when it comes to the enviroment
Oh ok, then I understand :) Sorry for my misunderstanding!
I know. This is about pollution, but WHERE DID U GET THE MERMAID TAILS?
Those are real mermaids. ;)
This is an amazing public awareness stuff. Hope the message will touch the every soul!