The world is drowning in plastic. This fact is easily ignored, but it is happening and causing our oceans to reach a crisis point. The destructive effects plastic can have on our oceans has been known for decades, yet plastic production is at an all-time high. In the past 15 years we have produced more than half the plastic that has ever existed. I could go on for pages about the effects it is having, you can have a look at some of these effects on my previous blog post here. This months national geographic has a great feature on plastic pollution called 'planet vs plastic' which is an awesome read. What needs to be done to save our oceans from being destroyed by plastic is overwhelming, so much so, that it seems like one person’s actions would be no help at all. However, every small action taken to reduce plastic entering the ocean, will and has made a difference.
The biggest difference an individual can make is to reduce their consumption of single use plastic. Throughout June I shared some tips on Instagram about easy ways to reduce single use plastic in your everyday life which have also been attached below. This was to encourage and prepare people to take part in plastic free July which kicks off tomorrow. Plastic free July is a great challenge to take if you want to get into the habit of reducing your single-use plastic, and it also helps raise money for this great organisation. All the details can be found here: http://www.plasticfreejuly.org
My main mission is to not force people to suddenly start living completely plastic free. It is a hard process and takes time to build good habits. I want to make people aware of how much plastic they are subconsciously using in their everyday live and the simple ways to avoid it. It is all about doing the best you can that works for your life because every small action does make a difference. Refusing that one plastic bag, plastic straw or plastic bottle is preventing those things from entering the ocean and possibly even saving the life of one of the many marine creatures affected by plastic pollution.
It is not too late to save our oceans so let’s do the best we can to make sure the next generation can experience it like it is today.
Check out my full version on my Instagram highlights @lizziewelborn