Plastic Waste and Its Impact On Our Lives

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Have you ever paused to think about how much plastic your buddy uses every day? From Plastic-wrapped McDonald's burgers, straws from friends' favorite restaurants, and Aqua bottles. Most of these objects are used once and then discarded.

Disposable plastic makes up 50 percent of the plastic waste in our oceans. The problem is once plastic enters the ocean, it becomes almost impossible to obliterate and the animal ends up eating or entangled in plastic. They can also die from being caused by harmful chemicals coming out of plastic. And this impact is not limited to just one type of animal. Whales, turtles, sea lions, fish, birds, and the smallest plankton are affected. Even humans! A recent study showed that most sea salts contain microscopic pieces of plastic.

Do friends want someday our children or our grandchildren can not see again the beauty of the sea as friends see? It is possible that marine animals will become extinct and the sea is filled with plastic waste.

Here are five easy ways that your friends and family can reduce plastic pollution and help protect marine animals.

1. Avoid plastic water bottles

There are 4,000 plastic bottles used every second. Why is this such a bad thing? Because plastic never really goes away. It simply breaks into smaller, smaller pieces called microplastics. It takes 450 years for one plastic bottle to break into an ocean or landfill. Using a reusable water bottle is a simple change with a big impact.

2. Bring a reusable grocery bag

In Canada, people take home 55 million plastic bags every week, or 2.86 billion plastic bags each year. Mimin was surprised when he saw the television a few days ago, the sea turtle died and was split, apparently, the cause of death of the turtle was due to eating plastic bags. To the turtle, the pouch looks like a jellyfish.

3. Stop using plastic straws

In Canada alone, 57 million straws are used and discarded every day. In the US, 500 million straws are used every day. Maybe Indonesia is much more. If you really need it, use an eco straw or an iron straw that can be washed and reused.

4. Eat Without Waste

Diverting the use of plastic wraps and plastic bags to store your lunch, choose a glass container that you can use over and over again.

5. Eco-friendly birthday party

Balloons may be fun for children's parties, but did you know that some marine animals mistook balloons for eating? Switch to more eco-friendly and reusable decorations at your next birthday party and start spreading that trend! Encourage your guests to use recycled paper as a gift package. Avoid putting plastic trinkets into your decorations and birthday gifts. Avoid using plastic cups and cork plates or Styrofoam. Can use materials from recycled paper and glasses.

There is no doubt that plastic has contributed and tremendous benefits to society. For example, plastic car parts make cars lighter and more fuel-efficient, plastic insulation can make our homes more energy-efficient and thanks to the plastic, progress is being made in space exploration.

But, pieces of plastic waste are everywhere in our oceans. About 8 million metric tons flow into the oceans each year. If things like this continue, there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050! Recycling helps, but not all plastics are recyclable. If we want to make the world a healthier place for all of us, the best thing to do is reduce the amount of plastic we use every day.