Sculpture made out of waste collected from Marmara Sea

ISTANBUL

The divers seeking to draw attention to plastic pollution have collected 15 sacks of garbage from the depths of Marmara Sea, while Bülent Çınar, a professor from Işık University, has made a sculpture out of the waste, naming it the “Marmara monster.”

In the event organized by the Turkish Fishmen Club (TBK) and the Marmara Sailing Club, 12 volunteer divers collected plastic waste under the water on Kadıköy district’s Caddebostan coast, where pedestrian and boat traffic is very intense.

Diving to a depth of 7 meters, the divers took out 15 sacks of garbage, eight vehicle tires and a scooter, while some children participated in the organization with their parents.

The pile of waste brought by the two teams was exhibited for a short time at Caddebostan Pier, Çınar made a symbolic sculpture called the “Marmara monster” by placing vehicle tires, disposable plastic bottles, metal grill, boat parts and the scooter on a metal skeleton.

Stating the fact that the plastic waste that people left behind loutishly cause the death of many living things, Çınar said, “In my eyes, people’s waste is a monster that destroys the world. This much waste left behind consciously causes great harm to nature and the planet we live on.”

It is regrettable that these wastes that need to be recycled come across under the water, said Gündoğdu Saruhaoğlu, the chair of TBK, adding that nearly 7 million tons of human garbage is added to the plastic waste load of the ocean every year.

“Plastic waste is now a global problem frequently,” he said.

Plastic wastes, which cause great harm to the marine ecosystem, emit poison even as they gradually decompose, Vedat Özcan, the head of the Marmara Sailing Club, noted.

The event was organized to make people more sensitive about protecting the seas and the environment, he stressed.

While it is estimated that around 150 million tons of plastic waste floats in the world’s oceans, the unknown amount of waste in the depths worries scientists.