It’s a scary fact – in all of the world’s oceans lurks a silent killer that is endangering the lives of marine creatures everywhere. It is something that we are all familiar with and something that we use on a daily basis. The culprit is plastic, but the true masterminds of this destruction are the human race.
Millions of tonnes of plastic pollution end up in our oceans each year, and the vast majority of this waste comes from our urban areas through our own careless behaviour.
- Almost 90% of the marine debris found on Australia’s beaches is plastic, mostly bottles, caps and straws.- Australians buy 600 million litres of bottled water a year.
- We use 10 million plastic bags a day (that's 3.9 billion plastic bags a year)! [1]
Plastic is a material that never truly goes away; it is a product that just breaks down into smaller pieces. That means that every single piece of plastic that you have used still exists in our world, and more than likely some of it can be found in our oceans. Despite this, we are very quick to use plastic once and dispose of it without a second thought. Since this century began, we have produced more plastic than was produced in the previous century. The use of plastic packaging is a recent trend that is unnecessary and unsustainable.
WE CURRENTLY RECOVER ONLY 5-10% OF THE PLASTICS WE PRODUCE.
50% are buried in landfills and some are remade into durable goods, but much of it washes out to sea. [2]
It’s not all doom and gloom. Even though this is a global issue, the solution lies in our own hands. There are many things that we can do minimize our use of single use plastics, and it all comes down to changing our habits.
Here are some easy ways to reduce your use of disposable plastics and to help keep plastics our of our oceans:
- Say no to plastic shopping bags. Take your own reusable cloth bags. You can make your own or purchase them locally at great prices. Boomerang Bags have a selection available on their website.
- Avoid buying bottled water. Not only is it bad for the environment, it is also a costly exercise. Water from a bottle is 500% more expensive than water from the tap. Metal or glass reusable bottles are a great alternative that will save you a small fortune in the long run.
- Refuse straws, single serve packaging or other disposable plastics when eating out. Carry reusable utensils and straws in your handbag, backpack or car to use at BBQs and take-away restaurants.
- If you’re a lover of coffee, invest in a to-go mug and take that everywhere with you. The same applies if you are a lover of milkshakes or smoothies. Using your own cup is a great way to reduce the overuse of plastic lids, plastics cups and plastic-lined cups.
- If packing your lunch for work or school, don’t rely on sandwich bags, plastic wrap and box juices. Replace these items with reusable lunch boxes and drink bottles.
More Info @ http://www.marineconservation.org.au & http://www.surfrider.org.au
