We are all guilty of damaging the environment through our shopping choices. There are thousands of products now individually wrapped and packaged in plastic bottles to fulfill the consumer’s needs. These types of products are extremely damaging to the environment and the amount of waste per year is having hazardous effects on the global water crisis.

Humans are buying products for comfort without a care in the world the damage they are doing to the oceans. Billions of marine animals have been badly injured or killed by the floating plastic minefields in the sea.

Using plastic has become a daily part of routines and it is hard to go a day without using some sort of wrapper or bottled made from this material. Plastic is not bad all the time as it has some vital uses such as been used for protection helmets, disposable syringes, hip replacements etc. These are important uses though and more than often it is used to create products we could do without or use other biodegradable materials.

When plastic is floating around in our oceans it caused great problems for marine animals. They need access to food and plastic bottles or fishing nets drifting in the sea are a real threat to them. Many sea turtles each year eat bags floating in the sea due to it looking like jellyfish which they eat. Things such as plastic pellets are consumed by seabird due to them looking similar to fish eggs. There are countless incidents of mammals, fish and bird getting entangled in drifting nets making it impossible for them to move and eat. Our plastic consumption rate goes up each year which is putting many marine animals lives in danger.

Plastic poses a serious threat to marine animals as it does not degrade and stays floating on the surface for around 400 years. It is a strong and durable material which makes it dangerous when in our oceans.

There have been attempts to stop the dumping of plastics in our oceans but the law has been extremely hard for authorities to enforce. It is impossible for them to monitor thousands and thousands of drift nets along with each boat that covers the whole of the globe. Political parties such as the Green Party have been shining a light on the industry but it has been a very slow transition and there is still lots that need to be done to put an end to this disgraceful behavior.

What You Can Do To Help Solve The Plastic Oceans Problem

When you are doing your shopping for food and drink make sure that you avoid purchases that use plastic wrapping or bottles. Try to only buy products that are in the biodegradable packaging. If you do use a plastic bag to carry it home, make sure you keep hold of it and reuse it again.

Find out where the recycle bins are in your area and make visiting them on a regular occurrence part of your daily routine. If you live in an area that offers recycle pick up programs make sure you use them. If this service is not available in your local area try connecting the town or city hall and ask that they start one. Even start a petition with others in your community to try to put pressure on the local government to start a recycling program.

When speaking with friends, family or acquaintances bring up the subject and educate them about the problem.