Plastic: The Scourge of the Sea

Did you know that by 2050, environmental experts are saying there may be more plastic in the ocean than fish?

The world is producing far too much plastic - about 300 million tons globally every year and a massive 10 percent of that will end up in our seas. At present, there is at least half as much unnatural plastic in the water as there is natural sea life, and if we continue at this rate, plastic will outweigh fish in less than 40 years.

Marine animals that cannot digest it, killing thousands of them each year, swallow the plastic. Chemicals from plastic infect the water, and even humans who eat seafood ingest 11,000 pieces of microplastic each year.

So what can we do about it? Well, for one thing, we must seriously decrease the amount of plastic we use. In several countries, the government has instituted a charge for single-use plastic bags; the goal is to encourage people to use reusable shopping bags.

In the UK, the scheme has been a major success: The use of plastic bags is down by an enormous 80 percent and experts claim the difference is already noticeable in the reduced amount of plastic in the waters surrounding the country. A movement to get all restaurants to stop using plastic straws is gathering pace and UK McDonald’s has said it will begin using paper straws.

More and more countries are doing their part: China, currently, is the country sending the largest amount of plastic into our oceans – about 30% of the world’s total. Taking steps to tackle this was the focus of the recent NPC meeting and China is already reporting a 66% drop in the use of plastic bags.

If the whole world comes together on this, we can make a difference.

June 5 is marked by the United Nations as World Environment Day, a day set aside since 1974 to promote “worldwide awareness and action for the protection of our environment.” The theme for 2018 was “Beat plastic pollution.” This is the pressing issue of our times.

Watch the trailer of Craig Leeson's documentary

A Plastic Ocean Official Trailer

Photo original from National Geographic 

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