World Environment Day - Concerted effort needed to combat plastic pollution |06 June 2018
On World Environment Day, celebrated yesterday, we highlight the huge and growing impact plastics are having on our oceans and our wildlife, and what we can all do to solve the issues.
Plastic pollution is one of the greatest threats to worldwide ocean health. Seychelles, with its large ocean territory and many remote islands, is particularly vulnerable.
Up to 12 million metric tons of plastic waste enters the ocean each year. If we collected and redistributed this waste, it would cover every single beach and coastline on Earth. With an increasing world population and lack of an agreed global waste management strategy, this problem is growing.
As humans responsible for the health of our planet, it is our duty to change this situation, Now.
What’s wrong with plastic?
Plastic is a very useful material. It is durable, waterproof, light and versatile. It is long lasting – and this is part of its problem in our natural environment. Plastic can never fully compost as wood does. Plastic is forever. It can break down into smaller and smaller pieces called microparticles, but it stays in our soils and our oceans. It is eaten by our wildlife, and unknowingly, by us too. It is a threat to the health and resilience of our natural environment. Researchers are learning more every day about its environmental impacts. Plastic pollution impacts our fish, our turtles, our birds and countless other species. It degrades our coral reef, mangrove and seagrass habitats, making them weaker, less healthy and less able to function.
Remote areas are also threatened, as marine plastic pollution is a global problem. A recent study on Alphonse Island in Seychelles Outer Islands concluded that marine debris washed ashore came from all over the Indian Ocean, in every direction and from as far afield as Southeast Asia and East Africa.
Good waste management practices on land are one way to prevent plastics from reaching the ocean. However we can all do more to reduce our reliance on plastics in the first place, to stop the problem at its source.
What can I do about marine plastic pollution?
We must all care for our planet, so it can continue to sustain life.
There are many small and simple ways we can stop plastics entering our environment, and especially our oceans. Here are some changes you can make now, that can have a big impact. What else would you add?
- 1. Reduce Your Use of Single-Use Plastics
Single-use plastics include plastic bags, straws, water bottles, cups, utensils, takeaway containers and any other plastic items that are used once and then thrown away. Take your own reusable shopping bag, water bottle and takeaway container, refuse straws and other disposables.
- 2. Recycle
Ensure you recycle PET bottles, and dispose of other plastics in PUC bins. Do not burn plastics, or throw them in bush or river, do not leave them at the beach. For more information on recycling in Seychelles, see Sustainability for Seychelles http://www.s4seychelles.com/reduce-waste-production.html
- Participate in a beach or mangrove clean-up
Help remove plastics from the ocean and prevent them from getting there in the first place by participating in a clean-up of your local beach. The Ocean Project Seychelles organises regular clean-ups and they have a lot of fun doing it!
- Avoid Microbeads
Tiny plastic particles, called “microbeads,” have become a growing source of ocean plastic pollution in recent years. Microbeads are found in some toothpastes, face scrubs, and bodywashes, and they readily enter our oceans and waterways through our sewerage systems. They affect hundreds of marine species. Avoid products containing plastic microbeads (listed on “polythelene” and “polypropylene” on the ingredient labels of your cosmetic products).
- Spread the Word
Educate and update yourself on plastic pollution issues in Seychelles and globally, and help make others aware of the problem. Share what you know with friends and family. Perhaps watch a documentary such as Bag It, Addicted to Plastic, Plasticized, or Garbage Island.
Earth needs a concerted effort on our part to reduce marine plastic pollution, and we can do it by Thinking Globally, Acting Locally. The most important thing is that we all do something, no matter how small we think it is.
Contributed