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Curious children visit the Ocean of the Future. Photo by permission from Ogilvy.com
Imagine a group of school children filing into a marine museum. As they wander through a glass tunnel surrounded by water, they look up, entranced as glimmering blue light streams through the water. What else do they see?
Not fish.
Not otters.
Not octopus or catfish.
They see plastic bags, plastic ropes, and plastic six-pack rings floating aimlessly above them.
Greenpeace produced this scenario in an award-winning public service announcement. If you google Ocean of the Future, you’ll see the commercial, complete with data about how much plastic we’re spewing into our oceans. It’s frightening.
The Problem
According to Environment Health News, about eight million tons of plastic are dumped into the oceans each year. Less than 10% of our plastic gets recycled, and plastics make up 80 percent of all marine debris.
You’ve probably heard about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a floating island of discarded plastics covering over 600 square miles—twice the size of Texas. Every ocean has floating islands of plastic, and if you’ve ever visited an oceanfront beach, you’ve seen some of it washed up on shore. These plastics have a dangerous impact on marine life and, consequently, the entire food chain.
The Solutions
At the end of a discussion or teaching unit, I’d often ask my students, “So what? What does this mean for you?” It’s a question we should all be asking ourselves.
For me, the Ocean of the Future commercial was a wake-up call, a reminder that though I can’t fix the problem, I need to do what I can.
I always (well, usually) haul my own bags into the grocery store, and I started asking checkout people (and managers) why they weren’t using paper bags rather than plastic. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who influenced our local grocer to make the switch, but I’m glad she did.
I recycle plastics and re-use what I can. When I researched plastic recycling a few years ago, I learned that numbers one and two are easy to recycle, but there’s not much of a market for number five plastics, the type used for dairy items. So, what could I do about that? My most commonly-used dairy item is yogurt, so I started making my own and storing it in a permanent container. I made yogurt back in my hippie days, and it’s actually quite easy. Google it.
I avoid plastics when I can, but it’s not easy in this culture. If you want to reduce plastic waste, here are some options to consider:
Bring your own reusable bags to both grocery and retail stores when you shop.
Recycle ALL your plastic. Our community doesn’t take #5 containers, so we stockpile them and deliver them to areas that take them.
Encourage store owners to switch from plastic to paper bags for customers who don’t provide their own.
Reuse plastics whenever possible. I used to chuckle when I saw my step-mother washing out her baggies. I assumed it was because she’d lived through the depression. Well, now I do it, too.
Choose products packaged in glass, cardboard, or paper whenever possible. These products are easier to recycle and have less impact on the environment when they aren’t recycled.
Write your legislators encouraging action to outlaw plastic bags. When we visited my son in Puerto Rico, I was astonished that bags weren’t provided in the stores at all. You have to bring your own, purchase reusable bags, or carry your purchases away in your arms. GO, PUERTO RICO!
Support organizations like Greenpeace and the Alliance to End Plastic Waste.
The Future
Many organizations are looking for ways to reuse the plastics that have become ubiquitous on our planet, and it’s worth a few minutes of your time to investigate them and see how you can help.
I know you’ve heard this before, but we all need to do our part:
REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE.
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