How It Is Harming Us

Plastic pollution is a worldwide problem harming sea creatures and surprisingly, humans too. When individuals litter anywhere, all that rubbish reaches the ocean due to bad weather conditions. Scientists have shown people what the future will look like in 2050. Plastic will triple by 2050 and will slowly turn the Earth into a rubbish land. 

Organizations that we know now are taking action.

People are doing many things to help the oceans like reducing plastic usage and doing beach cleanups, supporting organizations that help the oceans, and recycling more often. Scientists created an enzyme that breaks down plastic in days. Scientists also discovered that wax worms have a chemical that breaks down plastic. In 2018 people from 122 countries picked up 23 million pounds of trash, most of it containing plastic. International Coastal Cleanup Day in September is when people from all over the world participate in a beach cleanup at their local beach, collecting trash and picking up trash from the oceans.

Many plastic pieces have ended up in the ocean for various reasons like not being properly disposed of, getting blown away from landfills and littering. In 2050 there will be more plastic than fish, so we need to act fast. Instead of using landfills we could recycle, upcycle and reuse trash like making puppets or collages. Also a load of laundry could release about 700,000 microplastic fibres, less than a millimetre in length, and washing machines can not filter it, so they end up in the ocean where birds, animals and fish eat them and we eat the fish so we also get sick. When plastic goes into the ocean it can cause serious harm like animals eating the plastic and polluting the oceans and causing water pollution. If water is polluted, drinking water may be toxic to drink leading to starvation.