How Can YOU Keep the Oceans Clean?

About: Learn four easy steps that you can take to help reduce the amount of plastic pollution in the ocean.

After reading the other blog posts in my series, it’s obvious that something needs to change! Companies aren’t the only ones who can make a difference though. You can too! If everyone began to change their plastic using habits then we could begin to change the oceans for the better.

STEP ONE: Do a self-check.

Think about what type of material you are using on a daily basis. Do any of these materials include straws, plastic cups, plastic bags, plastic utensils, plastic water bottles, take-out containers, or any other forms of plastic that you only use once and then throw away? If the answer is yes, then you are a single-use plastic user. The bad news is that you are contributing to the increased death of marine life, and the increased pollution in the ocean. Don’t feel too bad though! You’re not the only one contributing to the problem. About half of the plastic that we use is for single time use, and then it’s thrown away.

The sad part is that every piece of plastic that was ever made is still on the earth, just broken down into smaller pieces. This is because our earth cannot digest plastic. Because of this, plastic makes up ninety-percent of all trash in the ocean.

Looking on the bright side, by reducing your use of single-use plastics you can become a part of the solution instead of being a part of the problem!

Check out this link to learn about easy ways to reduce your plastic use.

STEP TWO: Recycle any plastic you can’t avoid using.

Sometimes, using plastic is unavoidable because of the sheer amount of plastic that our country produces (three hundred million tons of plastic a year). I know you’re probably sick and tired of hearing the same old tired line “reduce, reuse, and recycle!”, but obviously it needs to be said more often. Why? Because only nine percent of the world’s plastic is recycled. Yet, we throw away enough plastic a year to circle the earth four times!

If you are unsure where your closest drop off location for plastic recyclables is, then you can follow the link and find it here

STEP THREE: Check the products you buy for those pesky plastic microbeads.

Face-washes, toothpastes, and other hygiene products can contain up to three hundred thousand plastic microbeads. Due to their small size, they are unable to be filtered and all of them end up in the ocean. It is estimated that the United States alone used to release eight billion plastic microbeads into the environment every day until President Obama banned the use of microbeads in the United States! Until other countries follow suit, we have to keep checking for microbeads in the products that we use.

Why is this a concerning statistic? Because plastic microbeads soak up pollutants found in the ocean that are linked to human health problems.

STEP FOUR: Volunteer to clean-up our beaches along the coast line.

Feeling motivated to leave the oceans a cleaner place? Then check out the link to find a clean-up project near you.

Citations:

D’Alessandro, N. (2018, September 28). 22 Facts About Plastic Pollution (And 10 Things We Can Do About It). Retrieved November 4, 2018, from https://www.ecowatch.com/22-facts-about-plastic-pollution-and-10-things-we-can-do-about-it-1881885971.html

Hutchinson, B. (n.d.). Oceanic Society. Retrieved November 4, 2018, from https://www.oceanicsociety.org/blog/1720/7-ways-to-reduce-ocean-plastic-pollution-today

Plastic Microbeads. (2018). Retrieved November 4, 2018, from https://www.5gyres.org/microbeads

Plastic Pollution Coalition. (2018). Retrieved November 4, 2018, from https://www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org/

The Facts About Plastic. (n.d.). Retrieved November 4, 2018, from https://plasticoceans.org/the-facts/