To the editor: Lila Seidman’s piece underscores a very salient problem: Plastic pollution is choking our rivers and oceans (“L.A.’s ultra-urban rivers wash tons of trash out to sea. There’s a plan to change that before the Olympics,” May 15). However, the proposed solution is misguided at best and a greenwashing stunt at worst.
The Ocean Cleanup’s technologies are expensive, ineffective and distract from real solutions to the plastic pollution crisis. These cleanups can harm the very ecosystems they are designed to protect by failing to distinguish between aquatic life, plastic and organic debris. The presence of green sea turtles in the San Gabriel River should signal the need for extra caution.
Angelenos deserve better than an Olympics that leaves behind a pile of plastic for cleanup. The Games are a monumental moment to showcase real solutions — including reuse and refill systems at scale — to prevent single-use plastic pollution in the first place.
Kristen McDonald, Nevada City, Calif.
This writer is senior director of the plastics program at environmental nonprofit Pacific Environment.
