Saving the Beach
The beach. It’s a place where people go to cherish and enjoy moments with friends and family. A place where people go to get away and relieve themselves of the constant stress weighing down on their shoulders. A peaceful place. A place like no other.
If you are aware of how important the beach is and the benefits it brings to our lives, you MUST read this blog post.
The ocean is in danger and we humans are to blame. Plastics have been infiltrating the world’s ocean and littering our beaches more and more each year. Much of this toxic chemical ends up in landfills and in our oceans, harming the environment and human health. Plastic trash is entering the world’s oceans at an alarming rate of as much as 12.7 million metric tons a year, contaminating the waters and harming marine life. Corporations and Individuals who chose to ignore the impacts that plastic pollution has on us and our environment are to blame.
Corporations around the globe use plastic in their packaging material and in the products they produce. About 280 million tons of plastics are produced annually for the manufacturing of products such as storage containers, packaging material, or even automobiles. A majority of these plastics end up in the ocean, harming marine life and impacting ocean biodiversity. Additionally, many of these plastics end up washed up onto the sand and pollute our beaches. In order to stop this horrendous act from continuously occurring, corporations must change their ways. We as individuals must stand up and prevent these corporations from continuously harming the environment and ruining our beaches. However, corporations are not the only ones to blame.
We as individuals have been making the issue worse by constantly using these plastic products and disposing of these chemicals in all the wrong ways. As individuals living on this pristine planet, I believe that we have a responsibility to preserve its natural habitat and prevent man-made objects, like plastics, from harming its ecosystem. The Ocean Conservancy’s Trash Free Seas program has been conducting studies each year to see what top 10 trash items are found polluting our beaches on International Costal Cleanup day. In 2017, they reported that it was the first year that they found all 10 items on the list to be composed of plastic material. Below is a chart illustrating these items by volume:
The items listed above are all plastics that are made by corporations and used by us as individuals. Therefore, in order to prevent these numbers from growing we must take action. First, we must impose sanctions on corporations so that they will feel more inclined to reducing the production of this harmful pollutant. Second, we must reduce our use of plastics on an individual level.
Here is a list of six things YOU can do to stop plastic pollution and preserve our beaches:
1. Try to reduce the amount of single-use disposable plastic products you use
2. Be a selective consumer. Try to chose products that consist of less plastic packaging
3. Try to back businesses that are reducing plastic production and making it an initiative (i.e provide them with positive feedback)
4. Take part in beach cleanups
5. If you use single-use disposable plastic products, recycle or throw it in the trash
6. Cut the loops from any plastic products that might entangle marine life (i.e six pack holders)
If you enjoy the beach, take the initiative to protect it. Because if you don’t, there won’t be any beaches left for you or your potential future children to enjoy.
