These Sculptures Artfully Capture How We’re Killing Marine Animals With Plastic Trash

The world’s oceans are in danger. By 2050, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish and every year we produce 300 billion pounds of plastic waste, only a fraction of which is recycled. Most of this garbage eventually makes its way to the oceans where it currently threatens 700 marine species with extinction. While we clearly have demonstrated that we have the power to degrade and destroy the earth’s aquatic flora and fauna, it is rare that we prove to have the power to preserve and protect our waterways. However, The Washed Ashore Project is doing just this.

The Washed Ashore project is an organization that collects trash from the beaches in Oregon and creates beautiful sculptures of marine life in order to raise awareness for these animals and to protect our oceans. Angela Haseltine Pozzi, the founder of The Washed Ashore Project, started the organization in 2010 when she noticed the extraordinary amount of plastic and other waste that was washing up on the beaches just outside of Bandon, Oregon. For the past six years, Angela and her team have been processing tons of plastics from Pacific beaches turning them into informative pieces of art.

Angela and her team have created 66 sculptures from over 38,000 pounds of trash collected from beaches up and down the West coast. 

Angela says, “We create sculptures that will educate people about the problem.”

Six of the group’s sculptures are currently in The Smithsonian.

They have grabbed the attention of some important people …

… and are educating the population about the danger plastic poses to our oceans and their residence.

The project has our stamp of approval . . . and his.

The Washed Ashore is fighting hard to raise awareness about the harm plastic Pollution is doing to marine life and ecosystems and you can help them do it by making a contribution to their organization and sharing this post. But, there are also small changes we can make in our daily routines to reduce the amount of plastic we put into our environment. One of the easiest things is to bring a recyclable tote with you to the grocery instead of using the plastic bags they offer at the store. Another easy trick is to bring a water bottle with you instead of buying the disposable plastic ones. For more tips on how to reduce your plastic waste and inform yourself about this issue check out One Green Planet’s #CrushPlastic.

All image source: Washed Ashore