When I was in fifth grade, my class and I visited our local recycling center. When I arrived I saw plastic everywhere I turned and I started to wonder how much plastic the entire world uses if I was only seeing the amount of plastic my city uses. I questioned, “Where does plastic go once it arrive to the recycling center? What is done to it?” I have always been informed to recycle but I never realized how much plastic is polluting our world, specifically the ocean, until I was introduced to the documentary, A Plastic Ocean. This film made me aware of how deeply plastic is affecting not only the wild life found in the ocean but us as consumers and human beings.
The thing that affected me the most and that made me want to care a lot more about plastic pollution was when the topic of sea turtles was brought up. As previously noted in my first blog, my favorite animals are sea turtles. Seeing the sea turtles in the documentary and seeing how their lives are in threatened by plastic, I wanted to find more information. I found out about the Hawaiian native turtle, the hawksbill. These turtles are currently endangered and are active members of the ecosystem because they eat unwanted sponges found on coral reefs. The knowledge I gained from the Vortex Swim about the tons of microplastic found in the surrounding waters of Hawaii allows me to conclude that these animals are endangered because of the toxins in the plastic found in Hawaiian waters. It makes me sad because Hawaii is also the central breading ground for these turtles which means that when a turtle of this species is born they are not only at risk of being eaten but seagulls but at being affected by the immediate exposure to plastic. If you would like to learn more about this species of turtles, click the link below.
As I continued to watch the documentary, I started to learn how plastic is affecting us as human beings. From one perspective, plastic is affecting us because more and more sea animals are being exposed to plastic and it’s toxins which means that when we consume sea animals, we are also being exposed to these toxins. The other perspective is how plastic toxins are entering our bodies at a faster rate because we constantly use unsafe plastic containers. Mentally, I was making notes of how I could reduce my use of plastic in order to reduce the amount of plastic enter the oceans and my body. I learned that to accomplish my plastic waste goal, I have to: invest more time in recycling, use glass jars for drinks, and use paper when I need to use disposables. For me, knowing this information is also useful because I plan to open my own restaurant, and if by using these simply tips I can reduce plastic waste, I want to be able to also encourage my consumers to do so as well. So in order to start my encouragement, I strongly suggest that you take a look at the links below where I have provided some products you can invest in to reduce your own plastic pollution.
Works Cited
Bee, Eva. “The Guardian.” The Guardian, 28 Mar. 2018, http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/28/plastic-crisis-urgent-recycling-bottles-no-fix.
Noaa. “Hawaiian Hawksbill Turtles: One of the World’s Most Endangered Sea Turtle Population.” NOAA Fisheries, 14 June 2018, http://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/video/hawaiian-hawksbill-turtles-one-worlds-most-endangered-sea-turtle-population.
“A Plastic Ocean Official Trailer.” Performance by Craig Leeson, and Tanya Streeter, YouTube, YouTube, 2 Feb. 2016, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zrn4-FfbXw.
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