Did you know that plastic bags, plastic bottles and plastic straws are hurting animals and messing up the planet?
An estimated 100 million marine animals are killed each year due to plastic debris in the ocean. Around 26 million tons of plastic end up in the ocean each year.
Most of these plastic items are used for only a few minutes, but they take 500 to 1000 years to break down in a landfill. In fact, these plastics never really fully biodegrade, but turn into toxic microplastics that continue to pollute the earth and water.
Show some love for your little turtle bud:
You can help in a big way by following these tips:
- Say no to plastic bags.
- Bring your own re-usable bags to the store, mall…wherever. They now make these awesome, strong bags that fit into your pocket.
- Bring your own refillable water bottle and coffee mug for buying beverages.
- They make amazing reusable bottles that keep cold drinks cold and hot drinks hot for 12 hours or more. Plus, they won’t leak.
- Don’t have access to clean drinking water? Invest in a water distiller. It is much cheaper in the long run, and gives you unlimited access to clean water.
- Straws are for suckers:
- Ditch the straw altogether.
- Or if you must, use a paper/compostable straw or a reusable straw.
- Ziplocks are for losers:
- Dine with style. Pack your lunch or leftovers in a reusable airtight stainless steal, or microwave-safe glass container.
- Ziplock bags are nearly impossible to recycle.
You can get a special Snoop and Love edition Mizu insulated beverage 22 oz bottle here:
For more information on what plastic is doing to our planet, you can check out and share OPEN YOUR EYES, a short, informative video narrated by Jeff Bridgesand brought to you by the Plastic Pollution Coalition.
David Suzuki lays it out plain and simple…
Here are some more facts about plastic pollution:
Four to five trillion plastic bags are manufactured each year worldwide. America consumers, alone, consumed 380 million of them. Although these bags are seemingly free or of very minimal cost, they collectively add huge energy and environmental burdens.
- Production of plastic bags contributes to air pollution and energy consumption
- It takes 1,000 years for polyethylene bags to break down in a landfill or ocean
- As polyethylene breaks down, toxic substances leach into the soil and enter the food chain
- Plastic bags are easily carried by the wind into forests, ponds, rivers, and lakes
Americans developed a love affair for bottled water but, as yet, not for the recycling of plastic bottles yet. From 1997 to 2007, the sales of bottled water have grown by more than 10 fold, but the recycling rate for plastic bottles dropped by 4%. The energy and environmental costs of the bottles, again, is significant.
- Production of the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) water bottles used in the United States (about one bottle per person every four days) requires more than 17 million barrels of crude oil annually
- Every ton of PET produced releases around three tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The bottled water industry added more than 2.7 million tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere in 2006.
You can learn more about how plastic harms animals like sea turtles by visiting:
https://www.unenvironment.org/interactive/beat-plastic-pollution/
https://conserveturtles.org/information-sea-turtles-threats-marine-debris/
https://www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org/
http://www.onegreenplanet.org/environment/stats-about-marine-plastic-and-how-you-can-help/
