Orca Sea Safaris
Go Plastic Bag Free
Plastic bags look like jellyfish to Leatherback Turtles. We need to reduce our use: Marine Conservation Society Plastic Bag Free
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
In the middle of the North Pacific Ocean, 3.5 million tonnes of rubbish covers an area twice the size of France forming a plastic soup. Find out more:The Daily Telegraph
The great garbage patch
What a load of rubbish
Marine litter is at its highest level ever. Most of it is plastic because we use plastic to make EVERYTHING! From cars to packaging to facial exfoliants.- In 1950 we produced 5 million tonnes per year of plastic products
- Today we produce 230 million tonnes per year, which grows around 8- 10% every year
What's the problem with plastic?
1) It harms marine wildlife: Ingestion of plastic mistaken for food resulting in suffocation, entanglement in discarded fishing net
2) It harms us: As plastic breaks down it releases harmful chemicals which very easily get into the food chain through the fish that we eat
3) It looks horrible: Dirty beaches put visitors off so clean ups are paid for by the taxpayer
4) Our use is not sustainable: Too few plastics are recyclable resulting in huge amounts of waste. 37% of plastic is used in packaging which is disposed of within 1 year
What can we do to reduce the problem?
1) Sign the Marine Conservation Society's marine litter petition which calls for the Government to develop a plan of action to deal with marine litter.
2) Join a Beach Clean in your local area to help remove the huge volumes of rubbish washed up on the beaches:
- The BTCV run Beachsweep holidays in Devon and Cornwall which involves a week of beach cleans and marine educational workshops