Message in a Bottle: Fun Hobby or Environmental Crime?

It seemed like a cool story- Harold Hackett tossed 4,800 messages in bottles into the ocean over 20 years' time, getting back 3,100 postal replies. Who would have anticipated this response?

"… I just have to wonder, are the authorities going to crack down on this lad for not taking care of his recyclables properly?..."

Or this one: "If I throw one bottle in the ocean it's litter. If he throws 4,800 with a piece of paper in it, in the ocean it is acceptable…"

10 of the first 23 comments on the story assailed Hackett for littering. Then people started coming to his defense. Some were fascinated by Hackett's hobby. Others felt the litter label was out of line.

"You people do realize that if the bottles do sink and break apart they eventually break down to what glass originally was… sand," said James, in defense of Hackett.

Are the green grinches correct that messages in bottles pose a significant litter problem? Here are some facts, both pro and con, to help you form your own opinion:

* Messages in a bottle are typically sent in glass, not plastic bottles. Hackett's were all sent in glass bottles.

* The Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch does contain some glass, but it's primarily a collection of plastics which pose a particular threat because they never completely bio-degrade. The same is true of the more recently noticed Atlantic garbage patch.

* The major trash threat to marine life is from plastics. Sea turtles are particularly vulnerable but other sea animals also may die from ingesting or becoming entangled in plastic.

* Sunlight partially breaks down plastics, releasing toxic chemicals into ocean water; this is not true of glass bottles.

* The oceans have been used as a dumping ground for the most toxic chemicals on earth. Some of the toxins disposed of in the ocean include mustard gas and nerve gases, illegally dumped unprocessed nuclear waste and nuclear waste and other hazardous chemicals dumped in the oceans for years before the practice was outlawed. The effects will be felt indefinitely.

* Since 1986, more than 6 million volunteers have been removing trash from the shorelines. Their haul? More than 145 million pounds of debris.

* According to Science Daily, a glass bottle thrown in the ocean in 1986 would still be decomposing in the year 1,001,986.

* Broken glass poses a hazard to marine life.

* Hackett's success rate in getting return postal messages is about 75 percent, suggesting that the majority of his bottles are found intact and removed from the ocean.

Are the green grinches correct? Is Hackett a polluter and not a harmless hobbyist? Feel free to post your thoughts in the comments section.