"It's just one bag, what's the big deal?", "why I need to pay for a plastic bag?", "Why we shouldn't use single-use products?" and more... these are common questions people might ask, if you're one of them and If you've been wondering why all the fuss about plastic and single-use products, then this article for you.
A new year is coming, and that might be the time to cut single-use plastics out of our lives and start fresh, here is 3 reasons to refuse single-use plastic.
1- Plastic Can Enter Our Food Chain
Much of the plastic we throw in the ocean is called microplastics, they are defined as plastic particles less than 0.2 inches, it's often too small we can't see it, microplastics enter the ocean from a variety of sources (cosmetics, clothing fibers, industrial processes...).
Microplastics can accumulate in fish and other marine life, and because it doesn't break down rapidly, and we're still wasting more and more plastics, there will be more microplastics in the ocean, more plastics in the fish.
Seafood is the greatest source of microplastics in our food chain, this may result in humans ingesting high levels of microplastics, leading to health problems
These reasons is included but not limited, there is several reasons to refuse Single-use products, I didn't mentioned that it takes up to 1000 years to biodegrade, or that chemicals in plastics can leach into food or drink and cause cancer (source: Cancer Research UK) and more information that will help you to decided if you're going to refuse single-use products and plastics in general, and also there is variety of benefits of taking action, as I mentioned: health issues, to save other creatures, to save our planet...
Life is a miracle, we're always looking for more without noticing that we're just wasting everything, time and materials, and even causing suffer for others, I hope that this year we will be more conscious about the environment issues, climate change, plastic pollution... and we'll be ready to change.
I pledge to reduce my waste in 2019! Join me?
Happy new year!
A new year is coming, and that might be the time to cut single-use plastics out of our lives and start fresh, here is 3 reasons to refuse single-use plastic.
1- Plastic Can Enter Our Food Chain
Much of the plastic we throw in the ocean is called microplastics, they are defined as plastic particles less than 0.2 inches, it's often too small we can't see it, microplastics enter the ocean from a variety of sources (cosmetics, clothing fibers, industrial processes...).
Microplastics can accumulate in fish and other marine life, and because it doesn't break down rapidly, and we're still wasting more and more plastics, there will be more microplastics in the ocean, more plastics in the fish.
Seafood is the greatest source of microplastics in our food chain, this may result in humans ingesting high levels of microplastics, leading to health problems
2- Kills birds, marine animals, other creatures...
From getting stuck in plastic nets, bags, other plastic parts... to eating plastic because they think it's food, creatures worldwide are dying because we need to use these materials for a few hours or even minutes and then throw it away.
Here is a heartbreaking video uploaded to YouTube showing a biologist on a boat off Costa Rica uses pliers trying to extract a straw from a sea turtle's nostril.
We know now that humanity has wiped out 60% of animals population since 1970 (source: WWF report), our actions affect the whole planet because we're one, we're not separated from each other, we can always help by doing a a few changes, refuse the next platsic bag, say no to single-use, we're harming innocent animals, and even leading them to extinct.
3- If you really want to fight to stop plastic pollution, the next step to take is to reduce waste, because we already have a huge amount of plastic.
But why recycling is not the best solution? A few percentage of plastic waste is recycled, the rest end up in our oceans and in the landfills, and even when waste is recycled it will be mixed with other plastic products, and it will always end up in some low quality plastic stuff, or it will end up discarded, harming the ecosystems.
These reasons is included but not limited, there is several reasons to refuse Single-use products, I didn't mentioned that it takes up to 1000 years to biodegrade, or that chemicals in plastics can leach into food or drink and cause cancer (source: Cancer Research UK) and more information that will help you to decided if you're going to refuse single-use products and plastics in general, and also there is variety of benefits of taking action, as I mentioned: health issues, to save other creatures, to save our planet...
Life is a miracle, we're always looking for more without noticing that we're just wasting everything, time and materials, and even causing suffer for others, I hope that this year we will be more conscious about the environment issues, climate change, plastic pollution... and we'll be ready to change.
I pledge to reduce my waste in 2019! Join me?
Happy new year!