Made of Plastic
I’m sure you all know about plastic and the massive problem we have with it filling up our seas. When I say massive I am being literal: there is nearly 13 million tonnes of plastic in the seas around the world. This is no small issue, but seems to be talked about very little on our TVs and radios. It is not difficult or complicated to change your routine. All you need to do is care. I aim to convince you to care a little more by explaining what the plastic problem is all about and how it came to be in the first place.
As you can imagine, most of the plastic in the sea got there due to littering. As a society, we are increasing the amount of plastic we use and dispose of weekly at an unimaginable pace. Clearly, this all must end up somewhere, since plastic is not biodegradable. It ends up in the sea because the rubbish in bins goes straight to landfill (which is also bad for the environment). If everyone recycled all of their single use plastics, then this problem would not be here. However, not many people recycle their plastics, and so the plastics and their chemicals end up in the landfill alongside all of the other rubbish. This can cause leakage of chemicals or the plastics being blown (by winds) into drains, seas or rivers. There is also a lot of plastic that is in the sea due to illegal waste disposal, which is where people dump their rubbish and plastic in fields, sides of roads, ...etc. This all ends up in seas and, at the same time, harms the natural environments on land.
Plastics contain toxic and extremely harmful chemicals such as BPA and Phthalates, both of which are classified as endocrine disruptors because they interfere with the endocrine systems of animals. This can cause birth defects, cancerous tumours, and many other diseases. These are only a few of the chemicals that are present in plastics, there are thousands more. When in the sea, plastics release these chemicals, potentially killing animals and plants. They often break into micro-plastics, which are tiny pieces of broken up plastic that are smaller than the size of your fingernails. It is not a surprise that these are eaten by animals and disrupt their health, causing them pain and diseases. Many animals eat plastic containers even before they are broken down. This is because they can’t always distinguish between food and plastic, causing them to suffocate and perhaps obtain an infection. Plastic doesn’t only affect the animals and plants of the sea, they also affect land animals, including us. If we eat lots of fish that have plastic in their systems, through the process of bioaccumulation, we obtain large quantities of toxic chemicals, digesting them and breaking them down. If I am not being clear enough: the more plastic in the ocean, the more marine animals dying from plastic poisoning, the more humans being affected. Everything comes back around.
It doesn’t take very much effort to reduce our plastic footprint. Only if we all try. Simple things like reducing our use of single use plastics like water bottles, plastic cutlery and packaging make such a big difference. There are also many things that people use in their day-to-day routines that they are oblivious to the effect of, examples include gum (made from plastic and frequently discarded on streets) and glitter (tiny pieces of plastic). There are always better alternatives, such as eco-friendly biodegradable glitter that can be purchased online, as well as other sustainable products such as metal straws and reusable coffee cups.
By 2050, there will be more plastic in the oceans than there are fish (by weight). We are heading in the wrong direction, rapidly speeding up on a downhill slope. As a global community, we span 7 continents. There are 7.7 billion of us. We can make a difference, but first we must set our minds to it. Nothing is going to change if the majority are lazy or ignorant, saying that they ‘can’t be bothered’ and that ‘someone else can do it’. This mind-set is what led to this problem in the first place. Let’s make a stand together. Say no to plastics today! You can never know if you’re too late, but it is always worth trying anyway.