End Marine Pollution

  There is 5.25 trillion pieces of trash in the ocean, according to National Geographic. That’s a lot!

Many animals that live in the ocean are being harmed, thanks to our trash. This trash is called marine debris. People often leave trash on beaches or throw trash into the ocean from boats. Sometimes, trash can get to the ocean from land. This debris can be carried by storms, drains, rivers, and many other things. From dirty glass bottles to aluminum cans, so many different kinds of trash end up in the ocean. But most of that trash is plastic. 

An average human uses 126 to 142 tiny particles of plastic a day, according to the University of Victoria. If you think about it, almost everything that you touch has some type of plastic in it. A few of the worst kinds of plastic materials are, plastic straws, ziplocks, and balloons. Plastic can be very harmful to ocean animals. For example, sea turtles can be found choking on plastic because they mistake for their food. Other sea animals can get strangled by plastic. So many poor animals are dying because of us. 

Another problem with plastic in the ocean is that it does not biodegrade very easily. There are also many types of plastic that are supposed to be biodegradable, but don’t break down in the ocean, because it was built for warmer dumps and landfills, not cooler ocean temperatures. These plastics then turn into microplastics, tiny pieces of plastic no bigger than a grain of rice. These then turn into nurdles. Then, ocean animals swallow nurdles which disturbs their digestive system. These different kinds of plastic are even making animals go extinct. According to WWF Australia, every year we lose 100 million sea creatures due to plastic in their habitat. The animals will eat the plastic, thinking it is food and choke or be strangled. 

There is not one way that we can suddenly stop this plastic issue, but we can all do our part to make a difference. There are many solutions and some are easier than others.  Instead of using plastic bags you can try silicone bags that can be put in the dishwasher to be cleaned. You can also use metal or silicone straws that can be washed in the sink. Another solution is recycling. Recycling takes some types of plastic and creates it into new products. Some things that can be recycled are all types of paper and hard plastic materials, as long as they are clean. Doing this would not only save some sea life but also helps life on land too.