Let’s do something about marine plastics
A whopping 80% of marine litter comes from land based sources and most of that is plastic. Every three years we are managing to produce close to a billion tonnes of plastic and it is having a real impact upon our oceans and the life that it supports.
A recent report by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation suggested that by 2050 there will be more plastic in our oceans than fish. Imagine that. However, it is not just the large collections of plastic that can cause species such as whales, fish, marine mammals and sea birds to die that we really need to be concerned about.
We also need to consider the damaged that is caused by smaller plastics (microplastics) - the microscopic grains that you can’t see and are found in shower gels, cosmetics and toothpaste products, or even the artificial fibres that are washed from our clothes.
They leave a lasting legacy by accumulating in the marine environment - studies have shown that zooplankton are mistaking microplastics as a food source and are dying as a result. Now consider which species is top of the food chain and how much protein we gain from fish...we should probably now mention that toxins have also been shown to cling to marine plastics and work their way up the food chain.
(You can find out more about the essential role that plankton play for our planet on Dr Richard Kirby’s excellent website)
Our oceans and the life it supports are really struggling and it is sadly down to us. However, let us stick with the positives, it is an environmental challenge that we can tackle and we can find solutions (see the Ocean Cleanup as a fantastic example), but only if we take proactive action now.
We can all play our part and we’ve outlined below some ways that you can help to make a difference:
ONE | Stop using Disposables: The easiest thing that you can do is to start taking your own shopping bags to the supermarket, stop purchasing bottled water and take your own refillable bottle around with you, and say no to straws when you are out for a drink or two. You can also look at purchasing products with recycled content. Here’s a great list showing 16 ways you can reduce your plastic use.
TWO | Say no to Microbeads: Microbeads are tiny pieces of plastic that are added to everyday cosmetic products, such as face wash/scrubs, toothpaste, abrasive cleaners and lots, lots more. As consumers we can place pressure on companies to stop adding microbeads to their products - there is an extremely information campaign called Beat the Microbead where you can find out details about the products that contain microbeads.
THREE | Recycle: Ok, it is next to impossible to go without plastic in modern day life, but when you do use it make sure you recycle it. Most local authorities will have lists of products that you can and can’t recycle and you can set up recycling initiatives at the workplace and schools to make a real difference there too. The big thing here is that for every piece of plastic you are able to recycle that will be one piece of plastic that can’t end up in our oceans. Here is a great list of 10 ways to improve your recycling.
FOUR | Join a Beach Clean: At the start of this article we mentioned that 80% of marine litter comes from land-based sources, so why not volunteer on a beach clean at your local beach and see how much rubbish you can collect. The NGO Surfers Against Sewage run an excellent campaign to encourage more volunteers to help clean our beaches and keep plastic out of our oceans.
FIVE | Get Educated: Without doubt this is one of the biggest environmental challenges that we need to overcome. The more you learn about the issue the more impact you can have in helping to implement some of the solutions. We have some fantastic Ambassadors who are working to address these issues, including Emily Penn and Lizzie Carr and there are some incredible NGOs promoting the issue, for example Conservation International’s #NOPLACE4PLASTIC social media campaign.