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You will have all seen the harrowing photos and videos of a Turtle caught in a plastic six pack holder or a bird caught in a balloon.
Over 100,000 marine mammals and over 1 million seabirds die each year due to plastic ingestion. Sea turtles, often mistake plastic bags for jellyfish, and eating just one plastic item can kill them!
It is said that 52% of the worlds sea turtles have eaten plastic waste!
Unfortunately, these facts are real and we are sorry to say only getting worse as each year goes by and humans create more and more waste!
How do we combat this? Let's be honest, it can be hard for us as individuals to reduce the amount of waste going into the oceans, at the end of the day it is the big, massive companies & governments that are contributing to this & need to be doing more to help make a change.
In this blog, we are calling out all the governments and companies out there who seem to not care about their impact on the environment around us. It is time to put a stop to our ocean dumping & in this blog, we will show you how!
How does plastic waste really affect marine life?
Pretty much all of the marine animals, often mistake plastic for food. Turtles mistake them for jellyfish, birds think the coloured bags are fish or squid. When animals ingest plastic waste and plastic bags, it can build up in their stomachs, which blocks their digestive system, often leading to starvation or death.
90% of seabirds have ingested plastic.
The fact that these numbers aren't talked about more regular and that we, as a society don't seem to want to put a stop to this is frightening, let's not turn a blind eye to it any longer.
Plastic waste doesn't just present a choking hazard, many animals like seals, whales & dolphins, may not eat the plastic waste, but they can easily get caught and trapped in it.
Many of these animals get caught up in plastic fishing gear or plastic rings & packaging. This leads to infections, injuries and drowning, as the animals can't move properly.
Each year, it’s estimated that over 300,000 whales, and dolphins die from entanglement in discarded fishing gear,
You all knew it was coming. Our microplastics agenda continues & rightly so.
Recent studies have shown that humans ingest around 5 grams of plastic each week, that is the same weight as that credit cared in your pocket & how does it get in our system? Small marine life are eating them of course! Small fish & plankton love tiny bits of plastic pollution, obviously mistaking it for food.
The small fish then get eaten by the bigger fish, with the bigger fish getting eaten by us, the ultimate destructive mammal. This is how microplastics end up in our bodies, as well as microplastics in food.
Many coastal coral reefs and marine habitats are being damaged by plastic debris. As the plastic settles and drifts to bottom of the coral reefs, it blocks out sunlight which creates harmful bacteria and stops photosynthesis, which allows these plants to breathe.
Corals that come into contact with plastic are 20 times more likely to develop diseases than those in plastic-free environments.
Oil Spillages: Think about the famous oil spills all over the world or the amount of waste that ends up falling off cargo ships due to adverse weather. Any type of oil or plastic waste that ends up in the ocean is devastating for marine life.
When it comes to larger spills, for instance the BP oil spills back in 2010....This created worldwide outrage & the film Deepwater Horizon, which shows the tragedy. The amount of damage caused to the marine life due to this pollution spillage was devastating & the clean up ran into millions & millions of dollars.
BP got fined & had to pay criminal damages, clean up fines & settlements up to 60 BILLION DOLLARS!
Toxic Chemicals: Waste from industrial processes often contains hazardous substances such as: Mercury, Lead, and Arsenic.
When dumped into the ocean, these chemicals accumulate in marine banking's and enter the food chain through plankton!
Reduce Single-Use Plastics: This has to be one of the biggest actions that we can all take to try and reduce the amount of plastic pollution in our oceans. We need to not only reduce but too eliminate it fully. 300 million tonnes of plastic waste is produced every year. Just think about the amount of plastic chucked on the street or in the oceans, not decomposing for at least 200 years or probably longer!
We all need to try and create a better management plan to combat plastic waste. We can always point the fingers at the massive corporations & governments, which we know can be doing a hell of a lot more, but change starts at home (CLICHE ALERT)
Coastal Clean Ups: There are various coast clean up organisations around the world that you can be a part of or get involved in. We understand that you may not live near the coast, especially if you live inland UK, However, if you can't get down to volunteer at help out, you could always donate to the cause to keep the clean ups going.
The Marine Conservation Society would be a great place to start, if you are looking to work your way into volunteering:
https://www.mcsuk.org/what-you-can-do/join-a-beach-clean/
Improve Recycling & Up-Cycling: Look to promote a more circular economy, whether in your business or at home. We know it may just be a plastic drop in the ocean (No Pun intended), but by creating a thriving reusable and recyclable ecosystem at home, you are promoting a better way to live and even if the big corporations aren't doing it, at least YOU are doing your bit to our environment and planet.
International Agreements: Pollution is a massive issue and requires all countries to get on board to combat. There are agreements like the Global Partnership which is fighting Marine Litter, which is trying to promote better waste standards and focus people's energy on cleaning up the ocean.
We aren't calling out all the countries though, as you probably know if you read our blogs (You do, don't you?) Germany, Japan & a few other countries really understand the impact that they have on the planet and as such their waste practices, standards & recycling is up their with the best.
Well, if you asked us this 40 years ago, it would have seemed a lot more simple. Plastic was rarely used or as widely available as it is today.
When you really think about it, plastic has basically invaded and taken over everywhere, due to it being so cheap and convenient. Every home now is filled with plastic, maybe even every stomach is filled with plastic too? What about every animal?
When are we really going to stop and reflect on the damage this lacklustre plastic waste management has caused. The effect is astounding and not in a good way. Ocean plastic pollution is at an all time high.
This needs to change.
So, how do we protect marine animals & marine ecosystems from plastic waste?
Don't just take our word on the impact of effects of plastic pollution. Have a watch of some of these eye-opening videos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yomf5pBN8dY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8cot_b-t6g
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