We and our addiction to convenience is destroying a marine ecosystem which ultimately affects us, our health, our economies, and the millions of people who rely on seafood. What can you do to help combat this problem?

• Say no to plastic straws.

• Use a reusable water bottle.

• Avoid plastic bags.

• Snack on fruit instead of snacks in plastic packaging.

• Eat your ice cream from a cone and not use a plastic spoon.

• Use paper lunch bags.

• Bring in reusable utensils from home.

You can start by avoiding single use plastics. Half of all plastic used are single use plastics. Grocery stores in our neighborhood have stopped using plastic bags to encourage the use of reusable bags.  If you bag your lunch, don’t use a plastic bag and bring your own reusable utensils from home.  Avoid plastic water bottles; the fresh water in your refillable stainless steel water bottle is better for you anyway. These may seem like little steps, but multiplied by all of us, we can move toward a start to reduce the plastic generated in our daily lives. 

Start by actively recycling your plastic. Only 10% of plastic is recycled and most of this recycled plastic is recycled only once before ending up in a landfill or ocean. 

Use plastic alternatives or reuse plastic. 40% of all plastic is in the form of single-use packaging. These are used once and then thrown away. There are increasing numbers of companies researching to produce non-plastic alternatives to single plastic. Notpla, for example, is a company that replaces plastic packaging with a packaging material made from seaweed and plants. All of their products are compostable and biodegradable.

Other companies are promoting the concept of reusable plastic products. Loop is a company that provides reusable plastic packaging made from recycled plastic. The packaging is not thrown away or simply recycled but returned to their company to be cleaned and reused, thus eliminating waste.  Their products are fully recyclable after 20-100 uses. These products do not end up in landfills or in the ocean. According to the World Economic Forum, reusing 10% of plastic will stop almost half of plastic waste entering the ocean.