![]() Plan or participate in a local cleanup.The small piece of plastic film wrapped around a bar of soap may not seem like much (and isn’t really necessary) but think about how much soap we use in a year or a lifetime. Plastic-free packaging is available for products like bulk groceries and hygiene products, including soap, razors, and toothbrushes. When we replace single-use plastics in our daily routines, we greatly reduce our local and global consumption of these materials. ![]() Plastic alternatives exist on the market for everyday products ranging from straws to shopping bags and from drinking bottles to utensils. Refusing single use plastics is one of the best ways we can prevent plastics from entering our waterways and the ocean altogether.Finally, microplastics and plastic compounds have been found in tap water, beer, table salt, and fish these plastics can disrupt our hormones and have other effects on our health, some of which are known and others we are just learning about. Entanglement around the fins, faces, and flippers of marine animals also cause long term damage to animals’ bodies, which can lead to infected cuts or impede their abilities to properly move, eat, and breathe. Plastics, which are made from the byproducts of petroleum, also contribute to the effects of climate change.įor example, plastic shopping bags floating in the water column look just like jellyfish to unsuspecting turtles, who feed on these animals when they eat plastic, whether on purpose or not, their digestive systems cannot pass real food and the consequences are deadly. ![]() Marine debris and plastics entangle wildlife, are mistaken for food and ingested, or make their way up the food chain and into the seafood we eat or the water we drink. This is such a serious threat to marine life and habitats because plastic never fully decomposes, it just breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces called microplastics. In fact, nearly 80 percent of all marine debris that makes its way to the ocean is plastic. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimates more than 300 million tons of plastic are manufactured each year, 8 million of which end up in the ocean. To say this is a problem of global importance is an understatement. ![]() Most of the pollutants that enter the ocean come from land, rivers, and drainage pipes, though abandoned and discarded fishing gear is also a significant source of marine pollution. Marine debris – particularly plastics – is one of the greatest challenges facing our global ocean and the waterways that lead to it. Each year, billions of pounds of trash and chemical pollutants enter the ocean, changing the ocean’s chemistry, harming wildlife, and reducing the quality of beaches and other habitats that are far away from where the pollutants originate. ![]()
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