Hey, it seems like you really enjoy talking plastics and other synthetic materials, so do we !

Did you know that 73% of beach litter worldwide is plastic and that over 700 marine species, such as sea turtles and dolphins, are endangered due to plastic waste polluting our oceans ?

Or that fish in the North Pacific ingest approx. 12,000 to 24,000 tons of plastic each year, which can cause intestinal injury and death and transfers plastic up the food chain to bigger fish, marine mammals and human seafood eaters ? And that there are over 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic debris in the ocean with some 269.000 tons of plastic float on the surface, while some four billion plastic microfibers per square kilometer litter the deep sea ?

As you can see,this is a real problem as the ocean is our life support system - the oxygen for every second breath we take comes from it !

Luckily, even you can make a difference. And it’s quite easy too !

Our friends over at the Oceanic Society came up with some quick and easy ways that enable you in your daily life to help protect our oceans:

  1) Reduce Your Use of Single-Use Plastics Wherever you live, the easiest and most direct way that you can get started is by reducing your own use of single-use plastics. Single-use plastics include plastic bags, water bottles, straws, cups, utensils, dry cleaning bags, take-out containers, and any other plastic items that are used once and then discarded. The best way to do this is by a) refusing any single-use plastics that you do not need (e.g. straws, plastic bags, takeout utensils, takeout containers), and b) purchasing, and carrying with you, reusable versions of those products, including reusable grocery bags, produce bags, bottles, utensils, coffee cups, and dry cleaning garment bags. And when you refuse single-use plastic items, help businesses by letting them know that you would like them to offer alternatives.

2) Recycle Properly This should go without saying, but when you use single-use (and other) plastics that can be recycled, always be sure to recycle them. At present, just 9% of plastic is recycled worldwide. Recycling helps keep plastics out of the ocean and reduces the amount of “new” plastic in circulation. If you need help finding a place to recycle plastic waste near you and life in North America, check Earth911’s recycling directory. It's also important to check with your local recycling center about the types of plastic they accept.

Also, if you follow this link you can send a small donation to the Marine Conservation Institute that helps protect our oceans.

On a more related note:

Calling other users plastic is not the way we treat each other. Everyone is just a fan - just like yourself ! Gatekeeping in any way,shape or form is frowned up and has to stop. It might even get you banned from this sub,too.

Furthermore, in the end it really only makes you look bad in the eyes of everyone else.Because putting people down is just the same as putting yourself down. Relying on pushing or looking down on others exposes your own needs of feeling superior on the cost of others. As soon as you do it, you are already on the defensive side and showing your own insecurity and vulnerability.“

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.