Скачать или смотреть Green Island residents make art with Chinese fish-net floats washed ashore

Green Island has long been a magnet for ocean litter, but in recent years, there’s been an influx of blue fishing-net floats from China, dubbed “Zhejiang Blue” because of the word “Zhejiang” written on them. A local group has collected the floats and turned them into art. But there is just so much marine waste that keeping the coast clean is a task with no end in sight.

A team of beach cleaners pick up waste from the sand. In no time, their bags are full.

The litter is loaded onto a truck. In recent years, countless blue fishing-net floats have washed up on Green Island, all the way from China. Each float bears the word “Zhejiang,” a province in eastern China, and locals have taken to referring to them as the “Zhejiang Sea” or “Zhejiang blue.” The plastic balls are used to keep gillnets afloat. Lower quality netting breaks easily, releasing countless floats into the sea. There’s so many that a local cultural group is making them into art.

Look closely at the mural, and you’ll notice it’s all made with marine waste collected from the beach. There is so much stuff it’s hard to process it all. There’s foam shoes, plastic bottles and plastic basket bits. But the bulk of the artwork is created with blue floats.

Mickey Zen
Green Island tour guide
When these floats are blown over on the surface of the sea, we call it the “Zhejiang Sea.” There are a lot of them. Look here. We’re in the Pacific Ocean, so here they are used to represent the blue sea, with white waves.

Of course, it’s not just the small blue floats. The island also receives larger plastic buoys in red and blue. The sheer amount of waste drifting in from China can’t be converted into art fast enough. Locals urge the general public to not be part of the problem.