How to Celebrate 50 Years of Earth Day at Home

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 A very special holiday is coming up VERY soon and we’re so excited to spend it with our #OceanOlympians. Not only will it be Earth Day, but it will be its 50th anniversary… meaning we have to go big or go home. 

Earth Day History

As we prepare to mark 50 years of Earth Day in 2020, let’s take a look at what it is and its history.

Earth Day is observed around the world on April 22. The first Earth Day was celebrated April 22, 1970, and is considered the “birth of the modern environmental movement.”

Before 1970, the health of the environment was not a typical concern, despite several different industries pumping chemicals and smoke into the air. 

After the 1969 oil spill in Santa Barbara, Calif., Gaylord Nelson, a U.S. senator for Wisconsin, organized a nationwide demonstration against the pollution and the deterioration of the environment with the help of Denis Hayes, an environmental advocate who coordinated the protest. 

The protest took place on April 22, 1970. Approximately twenty million Americans joined the demonstration in support of a healthier and more sustainable treatment of the environment. This approach placed pressure on politicians to act on environmental legislation, which resulted in Earth Day, a national commemoration for this demonstration.

Earth Day Plans

Given the fact we’re currently in the middle of a pandemic, Earth Day activities have been modified. Here are ways to show your love for the Earth:

Indulge in nature webinar series/podcasts/videos

The Rutgers Cooperative Extension is offering an “Earth Day at Home” webinar series. The webinars will air Mondays from April 20 (TODAY) to June 29, and focus on steps to protect the environment, including how to make homes sustainable, environmentally friendly lawn care, and composting to reduce plastic waste.

Wildlands Conservancy has produced a series of wildlife-focused educational pieces on red-tailed hawks, wood turtles and other animals. They also offer a bingo game that grows nature awareness.

In addition to those fun activities, South Jersey Watersavers is holding a virtual rain garden workshop at 6 p.m. on Wednesday for you to learn more about rain gardens and how you can build one at home.

Make Art

Get creative and make some fun Earth inspired art. One of our personal favorites is creating your own Earth. This activity has different variations, the most popular is using shaving cream and food coloring. 

For this project, you will need:

  1. Shaving cream
  2. Paper plates
  3. Green and blue liquid gel food coloring
  4. Baking sheet
  5. Craft sticks
  6. Paper Towels 

How to make your very own Earth:

  1. Fill up two cereal sized bowls with shaving cream. Lightly mix blue food coloring in one and green in the other.
  2. Mix together the colored shaving cream. 
  3. Press a paper plate into the shaving cream and make sure the front is completely coated.
  4. Use a craft stick to scrape off the shaving cream and wipe off the excess shaving cream with a paper towel.
  5. Let dry and display!

Photo: The Simple Parent Blog

For more ideas on how to spend the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, visit this page.

 

Written by Kailyn Hayes, Edited by Sofia Avila

Quarantine: The Life of a Captive Orca

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Our Self-Quarantine/ Social Distancing is NOTHING Compared to the Way Captive Orcas Live

Written by Emily Ram, Edited by Victoria Licona

Whale, welcome back Ocean Olympians!  Continuing off of our blog post, Save the Whales, from earlier this week, today we’re drawing your attention to orcas in captivity.  If you think your going stir crazy in the limited space your house offers during self-quarantine, being a captive whale is basically the same thing but 300x worse.  Lets keep plastic out of our oceans, and keep orcas in them.

10 Reasons Why Whales and Dolphins Do NOT Belong in Tanks - One ...

How would you feel if you lived in a small space, forced to entertain? There are so many things wrong with whale captivity.  At the end of 2019, it was recorded that there are “59 orcas in captivity at sea parks and aquariums throughout the world.”  Of the 59 orcas living captive lives, a third are captive in the U.S.  Seaworld enslaves all but one of the U.S.’s third of the world’s captive whales.  The one whale not living at a U.S. Seaworld is Lolita; She lives a sad, isolated, depressing life in a tiny pool at the Miami Seaquarium. Here are some reasons the ocean is the only place orcas should be living in:

  1. Orcas swim about 40 miles daily in the wild and it is not just because they can, but because they need to, to forage for their varied diets and to exercise.
    • HOW ARE CAPTIVE WHALES SUPPOSED TO SWIM 40 MILES+ A DAY IN CAPTIVITY IF THEY ARE LIVING IN TAKES THEY CAN BARELY EVEN OR CAN’T EVEN TURN THEIR BODIES IN?!
  2. Several times a day, every day, orcas dive 100 to 500 feet.
  3. 70% of captive whales have some sort of damage to their teeth and a quarter of the U.S’s captive whales have severe damage to their teeth.
  4. Orcas aren’t dumb; They have the second largest brain of any animal on the planet.
  5.  Orcas have familial structures similar to the ones we humans have.
    • Orcas in the wild live in pods and research has shown that they share a sophisticated, unique culture that is passed down through generations.
  6. Just like humans speak different languages, so do whales.
    • In captivity, whales are brought in from different pods.  Pods do not speak the same languages so these captive whales are forced to live a life without the ability to understand their surrounding peers.

3 Things Orcas at SeaWorld Never Get to Experience - One Green ...

It’s heartbreaking to continue to discuss the issues that captive whales face but IMPORTANT THAT WE ARE AWARE.  We focused on some lighter realities for whales in captivity in the short list above but highly recommend watching the following films to learn more:

    • Blackfish (Netflix or Amazon Prime)

    • Lolita: Slave to Entertainment (Amazon Prime)

    • The Whale (Amazon Prime or iTunes)

 

Save the Whales

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Written by Sofia Avila, Edited by Skylar Griffin 

 

Whale basics:

You’ve probably heard of blue whales, sperm whales, orcas etc, but did you know that whales are divided into two distinct categories. These categories are toothed and untoothed whales. Toothed whales are hunters, able to consume squid, seals and fish. Untoothed whales, also called baleen whales, strain their food through fringed plates that are useful for eating smaller food, such as krill. With the exception of orcas, whales are also very social creatures that travel in family units, and have the ability to self recognize, which is a sign of high intelligence. All in all, whales are extremely interesting animals that are loving and sweet tempered. If this is the case, why are there organizations calling for their protection?

https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/whales-us

 

Are whales threatened?

According to Save the Whales, an organization aimed at protecting oceans and all their inhabitants, whales face dangers that were outlawed years ago. Whaling, a practice where whales are hunted for their blubber, oil and meat, was banned in 1986 by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) when several species came close to becoming extinct. However, countries like Iceland, Norway and Japan are notorious for continuing their whaling practices, directly violating the IWC law. According to the Whale and Dolphin Conservation, approximately 1,500 whales are killed each year at Japan, Iceland and Norway’s hands alone. In addition to being hunted, whales face threats of habitat loss due to ocean pollution, loss of food sources, climate change, plastic ingestion and net entanglement. Whaling is not the only threat these creatures deal with. 

 

Why are whales important to the oceans?

Whales are an essential part of the ocean ecosystem. One of their main jobs in the ocean is to regulate the food chain, which keeps certain creatures from overpopulating the ocean. For example, a blue whale can consume about 40 million krill each DAY, which just goes to show that without whales, there would be a disruption to the ocean’s food chain. Another reason why whales are important to the oceans is through something a little weirder…their poop actually helps pull carbon dioxide from the environment. By defecating, whales bring essential nutrients to the surface of the water, where phytoplankton grow, and phytoplankton form the foundation of the marine food chain. Phytoplankton also breathe in carbon dioxide from the outside atmosphere to help them grow their body structures, and when they are consumed, they take this carbon dioxide with them, ultimately eliminating it from the environment. It seems incredibly strange that whale poop ultimately helps save the environment, but several studies have been conducted that prove how beneficial it is. 

https://www.livelimitless.net/when-whales-humans-unite/

Whales are such an essential part of the ocean’s ecosystem, as well as to our everyday environment. They are tender hearted creatures, and there are several ways to help protect them. If you are interested, here is a list of 40 different ways you can help save whales, with some fun ones being adopting a whale, and some other ones you can start at home, like reducing consumption of single use plastics and plastic bags. The fate of these creatures lie in your hands!

Coral Reefs: What We Can do to Protect Them

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Coral Reefs: What We Can do to Protect Them

Written by Sofia Avila, Edited by Emily Ram

https://www.azocleantech.com/news.aspx?newsID=26806

How do coral reefs benefit us?

Coral reefs are underwater ecosystems that are not only beautiful, but extremely important to marine life. Not only do they serve as homes for marine animals, they are actually beneficial for human life as well. Coral reefs serve as barriers and buffers to coastlines and shores, protecting them against large waves, floods, and storms. Without the reefs, coastal communities can experience devastating damages to their property. However, coral reefs are being devastated every day by water pollution.  Water pollution allows for damaging algae to grow on the coral, as well as making it more susceptible to disease. Preventing water pollution comes back to the same basic principle: be aware of what you dispose of, how you dispose of it and be mindful of your plastic consumption habits.

 

Coral Reefs vs Sunscreen

Something that harms coral reefs that isn’t as publicized may come as a surprise to you. Have you ever thought of yourself directly impacting coral reef health just by swimming in the ocean? According to the Coral Reef Alliance, sunscreen has a direct link to decaying coral health. Most sunscreens have a chemical called oxybenzone, which is used to protect skin from the Sun’s UV rays. While it might benefit us, it doesn’t necessarily do the same for these coral reefs. This chemical has a direct link to bleaching coral, causing coral deformities, damaging coral DNA which affects reproduction, and disrupts natural coral hormonal processes. Some alternatives to popular yet damaging sunscreen are listed by Travel and Leisure. One that I’ve tried personally is Kokua Sun Care, which is a natural, zinc based cream that doesn’t harm marine life!  

https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/news/sunscreen-corals.html

 

What can you do to protect coral reefs?

The EPA lists several ways you can help save coral reefs, and many of them start at home. First, when you’re on vacation and visiting these magical reefs, be mindful of your snorkeling and diving habits. Do not touch the reefs, and avoid anchoring boats to them, seeing as they are delicate and this can kill them. At home, there are plenty of ways you can help the reefs. One is by minimizing the use of fertilizers. Some of the nutrients found in these fertilizers, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, are harmful pollutants and can destroy coral when introduced into the ocean. Another way to help is to reduce stormwater runoff. Using rain barrels to collect rainwater not only helps prevent flooding and diverting water to storm drains, but it is a resourceful way to water gardens and indoor plants.  Finally, a last method is spreading the word. People are aware that ocean pollution affects all kinds of marine life, but coral reefs are rarely mentioned. These reefs, while they don’t make up a big portion of ocean life, are extremely important ecosystems that are home to sea sponges, crustaceans like crabs and shrimp, and starfish, just to name a few.

Do your duty as a human living on this beautiful planet and help out as much as you can!

 

Fast Fashion’s Contribution to Ocean Pollution

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Written by: Kailyn

Edited by: Victoria

Rows of jackets at Zara’s headquarters in Arteixo, Spain, October 2018. Business Insider/Mary Hanbury

What is fast fashion?

Fast fashion is when clothing designs are moved quickly from the catwalk to stores in order to meet new trends, according to Investopedia. It allows the everyday consumer to purchase trendy clothing at an affordable price.

Major clothing brands are trying to keep up with the high demand for clothes, so they are constantly producing pieces that are oftentimes made with cheap material, hence why fast fashion is sometimes called disposable fashion.

While there are a few benefits to fast fashion, the negative aspects stand out more such as pollution, poor workmanship, and poor working conditions in developing countries. Today we’ll think about ocean pollution.

How does it impact our ocean?

Microfibers are commonly found in fast fashion. These are tiny bits of plastic less than five millimeters in length and as we’ve discussed on this blog, plastic + the ocean = big trouble. These plastics are found in fabrics such as polyester and acrylic. The fashion industry contributes about 20 percent of wastewater and 10 percent of carbon emissions globally, according to the UN.

A 2017 report from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimated that 35% of all microplastics in the ocean came from synthetic textiles like polyester. So many items are made from polyester which is shaping up to be a significant problem. The fashion industry is also the second-largest consumer of water worldwide, according to the UN Economic Commission for Europe.

“Well, it can be quite surprising to know that a majority of the clothes that we wear and that we buy are made out of plastic,” said researcher Imogen Napper at the University of Plymouth to CTV News.

Vancouver-based marine conservation organization Ocean Wise released a report in October 2019 that estimated U.S. and Canadian households released more than 870 tons of plastic microfibers into the ocean annually from laundry alone. Let that sink in.  870 tons is equivalent to the weight of ten blue whales.

A blue rectangular piece of microplastic is visible on a researcher’s finger on Wednesday, May 19, 2010 in Tacoma, Wash. New research suggests North Americans eat, drink and inhale tens of thousands of tiny plastic particles every year. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Ted S. Warren

Research has found that microfibers have been adding to overall microplastics pollution and accumulating in the food chain.

“With the microplastics, with the smaller pieces, we know from laboratory studies that there’s the potential for those small pieces to cause harm,” said marine biologist Richard Thompson.

The same concerns are echoed in Ocean Wise’s report, which highlights that microplastics and microfibers are mistaken for food by marine life and can work their way up the food chain. This means that we could potentially be consuming plastic as well which can cause health issues for us.

10+ Things To Do While Self-Quarantining

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10+ Things To Do While Self-Quarantining

Written by Emily Ram, Edited by Victoria Licona

Welcome back Ocean Olympians! We hope y’all are staying safe and healthy during this global health crisis.  While we are aware that our mission is not to raise awareness about COVID-19, we want to make sure that all of our Ocean Olympians are doing their part in preventing the spread of this deadly disease. We really encourage all of you lovely people to do the following:

  • Stay home
  • Practice Social Distancing
  • Get adequate sleep and eat well-balanced meals
  • Wash hands often with water and soap (20 seconds or longer)
  • Dry hands with a clean towel or air dry your hands
  • Cover your mouth with a tissue or sleeve when coughing or sneezing
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose, mouth with unwashed hands or after touching surfaces
  • Clean and disinfect “High-Touch” surfaces often
  • Call before visiting your doctor
  • Practice good hygiene habits

We completely understand that staying at home and social distancing may sound so unbelievably boring to you, but it is so crucial in slowing down COVID-19’s spread. Here are some fun, ocean-friendly ways that you can spend your free time during quarantine:

1. Start doing yoga

8 Great Beginner Yoga Poses - Namaste

2. Follow along with an online workout video

  • Our team really enjoys: https://www.youtube.com/user/joannasohofficial

3. Cook or bake something new

  • There are so many great recipes out there! Don’t be afraid to try something new!

4. Learn how to sew

  • If you do learn how, then you can start making fabric masks to donate to local hospitals in need during this outbreak.

5. Upcycle your clothes (EX. tie die old shirts, cut old jeans into shorts)

  • There is so much you can do with a piece of fabric! Make something new from your old!

6. Learn how to juggle

  • Start with two tennis balls and see how many you can add in!

7. Learn a TikTok dance (no matter what age you are, this can actually be kinda fun)

  • Renegade’s is a great first dance to learn. Here’s a tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MvjnpK3Jrw

8. Learn a trick (EX. handstands, back-bends, aerials)

Pin by Emma Lassen on life | Yoga handstand, Yoga benefits, Yoga ...

9. Blow bubbles

  • This may sound childish but boy, it can be entertaining for a bit.

10. Hula-hoop

  • Not only can this be fun, but it can also help you to burn calories and get a smaller waist!

11. Jump-rope

  • This can be fun AND help you lose weight!

12. Chalk your sidewalk

  • Another thing that sounds childish, but once you start, HEY, you might have fun!

13. Sketch/Paint something

  • Here’s some inspiration to get you going: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUSToY5Celk

14. If its sunny, lay in the sun

  • Just because you’re distancing from others doesn’t mean you can’t lay out! Hey, you can even take a nap outside instead of in your bed.

15. Ride a bike (or learn how to…)

  • Here is a link in case you don’t know how to ride (no shame if you can’t, one of our team members is just learning now): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqmzwVrkTU4

16. Learn how to sing or dance

  • Because lets face it, who doesn’t want to be an amazing dancer or singer?

17. Do a group Facetime or Zoom call with friends

  • You can still socialize when social distancing…Just it has to be from a distance!

18. Start watching a new series

  • All American, Tiger King, On My Block, Jane the Virgin, and Narcos are some of the many series our team loves!

19. Learn how to code

  • This article can help you get going towards your coding goal: https://lifehacker.com/top-10-ways-to-teach-yourself-to-code-1684250889

20. Have a themed dinner with your family (ex. zoo theme could have everyone come dressed in animal print and you could eat monkey bread for dessert)

 

 

Aquatic Creatures Living In the Darkness of Our Oceans

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As stated in last week’s blog, the ocean can reach extremely deep depths. The average depth of the ocean reaches 12,100 feet. The deepest part of the ocean is called the Challenger Deep and is located beneath the western Pacific Ocean in the southern end of the Mariana Trench. Challenger Deep is approximately 36,200ft deep. 

 

While understanding these crazy depths, it’s important to note that sunlight stops lighting up the beautiful ocean when you reach 3,280ft! This dark level of the ocean is known as the “midnight zone.” Also, the pressure here is a little under 6000 pounds per square inch, so it takes some serious specialization to live down here.


These are all cool facts, but how are animals even able to see in complete darkness? Basically, these animals are blind, so they must rely on their physical bodies to feel around them. Due to the blindness, these creatures have no camouflage or bright colors. Because there is so little food, they have slow metabolisms, small muscles and grow very slowly. 

 

Here is a list of a Few Animals Living in the Midnight Zone:

  1. Anglerfish

This angry looking fish lives in the Atlantic and Antarctic oceans deep in the midnight zone. Worn only by females, their most interesting feature is a long piece of dorsal spine that hangs above their mouths like a fishing pole—hence their name. They use this spine to bait prey by using its lure of luminous flesh. Interestingly enough, their mouths are so big they can actually swallow prey up to twice their own size! 

 

  1. The Vampire Squid

Though it resembles both, the vampire squid is neither a squid or an octopus. Scientists have separated the vampire squid into its own special group. This creature has a staggering amount of eight arms and two tentacles. It does not suck or drink blood and instead gets its common name from its dark color and the skin that connects the arms, resembling a cape. It is surprisingly not a carnivore as it devours “marine snow”, which consists of bits of dead planktonic creatures. 

 

  1. Snipe Eel

This eel might be one of the weirdest looking fish you’ve ever seen! It has a long rope-like body with a curved upper and lower jaw. The jaws are covered with small pirate hooked teeth that help capture tiny shrimp as well as other crustaceans

 

Because we have only discovered 5% of the Earth’s Oceans, discovering new species like these incredible ones, are extremely important to the development of our world. As mentioned in last week’s blog, plastic has been found in the deepest parts of our oceans. This is why we need to do our part in stopping this spread and aiding in keeping our oceans clean! 

 

Written By: Skylar Griffin

Edited by: Kailyn Hayes

 

Sustainable Products You Can Use

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Written by: Victoria Licona Edited by: Kailyn Hayes

 

Small gestures, big changes. Recently, people have been finding new ways to keep plastic out of the ocean. New sustainable products are coming out every day and with each one that comes out, less plastic will be needed. Using environmentally friendly products and materials every day is a great way to reduce our carbon footprint. Below is a list of products that could be useful and could help us reduce the amount of plastic being polluted in the ocean. 

 

Stainless Steel Straws 

In 2018, Starbucks announced that by 2020, they would ban plastic straws in their company. Like Starbucks, many other companies have taken the initiative to ban plastic straws from their companies. Stainless steel straws have been the initiative most companies have taken to reduce the use of plastic straws. Below is a list of why you should switch to stainless steel straws. 

  • Safe and Durable
  • Easy to Clean
  • Reusable 

One way to reduce the impact of plastic straws on the environment is to simply stop using plastic straws: You can either drink directly from a cup or use a reusable alternative to plastic, like stainless steel straws. 

Bamboo Toothbrushes

There are many types of toothbrushes, but the most common is the plastic toothbrush. Every year billions of plastic toothbrushes are thrown away. They are dumped into our oceans or end up in landfills, where they sit around for about 1000 years before finally breaking down. The Bamboo toothbrush is often regarded as the eco-friendliest toothbrush option, the Bamboo toothbrush has a lot of qualities that sets it apart from regular toothbrushes Some are listed below:

  • Eco Friendly
  • Preserves oral hygiene the same as a plastic toothbrush
  • Antimicrobial (bacteria won’t grow on the handle)

Reusable Bags

No longer do we hear a grocery store employee ask “Paper or Plastic?”. A growing movement around the world is for consumers to purchase and bring their reusable bags to the store to use to carry their products home. This includes any type of bags, even plastic ones that are being reused for the grocery store. Some beaches around Texas, including South Padre Island, have banned the use of plastic bags in grocery stores. Below are some reasons you should use reusable bags:

  • Save money
  • Useful for more than just the grocery store
  • Protect wildlife


All of these products and techniques can be used to help save the environment. This is only a small fraction of the environmentally friendly options out there, so if you haven’t found what you’re looking for, keep looking!

A New Species Found in 2020 Named After Plastic- Eurythenes Plasticus

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Image result for a new species named after plasticThroughout our time as humans living on the Earth, we have only discovered about 5% of the ocean. This leaves 95% of the ocean unexplored, as we are finding new species everyday. Most recently a species unearthed was named Eurythenes Plasticus…… sound familiar? 

 

Image result for mariana trenchEurythenes Plasticus is a new species of arthropod. It is a two inch shrimp-like animal found in the deepest trench on Earth- The Mariana Trench. The Mariana Trench reaches depths up to 36,000 ft as this new arthropod was found at a staggering 20,000 ft- This is crazy deep! Think of it this way: Mount Everest is the tallest mountain in the world reaching heights of 29,028 ft and the Mariana Trench is 36,000 ft!

 

Now, this discovery is cool and all, but why is this creature named after plastic? Sadly enough, this arthropod was named after plastic was found inside of its guts. Specifically, this plastic is called polyethylene-terephthalate. Polyethylene-terephthalate is a plastic commonly found in clothing, plastic bottles, and plastic food packaging.

 

The fact that plastic was found in a species 20,000ft deep in the ocean should be extremely alarming to us. In an article in the Earther, Alan Jamieson, the head of research that helped discover this species states, “We decided on the name Eurythenes plasticus as we wanted to highlight the fact that we need to take immediate action to stop the deluge of plastic waste into our oceans.”

 

If it hasn’t been apparent to you, let us just reiterate: plastic is taking over the world. It’s found everywhere, even 20,000 ft down in the Mariana Trench. If we don’t stop this spread of plastic, it will truly take over everything. 

Written by Skylar Griffin
Edited by Sofia Avila

Where Does Ocean Plastic Come From?

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Hey Ocean Olympians! For this week’s blog post, we’re focusing on the underlying issue of ocean pollution: where it comes from. of the ocean littered with all kinds of trash, but have you ever taken the time to reflect on how it got there? Today, we’re gonna highlight some of the ways trash makes its way to the ocean.

  1. Littering

We all know that there’s no excuse for littering, so why do people still do it? We may never know the answer to that question, but as the World Wildlife Fund states, trash dropped on the streets isn’t magically thrown away into a bin. Instead, rainwater and wind drag this waste into street drains, which ultimately is filtered back to the ocean. Remember, all drains lead back to the ocean! So next time you see trash littering the street, if it’s safe to pick up, properly dispose of it in a trash or recycling bin. It only takes two seconds, and your oceans will thank you!

It takes almost no effort to dispose of your litter properly! Image provided by actionforrenewables.org

     2. Products Going Down the Drain

There are so many types of products we flush down the toilet daily, and we probably don’t think twice about it. According to ocean.org , there are four products that are considered sinful to flush. First, wet wipes. Whether it be makeup wipes or baby wipes, this boujee toilet paper is responsible for clogging sewage pipes and releasing thousands of microfibers that are harmful to marine life. Another product is kitchen grease. When poured down the kitchen sink, the oil in your cooking pan forms into a solid, causing another form of sewage blockage. This eventually releases into the ocean as a form of pollution. 

A third waste are, surprisingly, contact lenses, which are made up of a bendable plastic. Sorry to contact lense users (myself included!), but throwing them down the drain causes the plastic to break into smaller plastic particles, invading the ocean. Finally, we have pills. Flushing pills down the drain releases all sorts of chemicals and hormones into the ocean, causing harm to all sorts of marine life.

 

     3. Recyclable Materials That Aren’t Recycled

Okay, we know that everyone is guilty of not recycling something that could’ve been recycled just out of sheer negligence. According to Greenpeace, plastics that end up with regular landfill, are at risk of being blown away into the environment, and can make their way into drains. The best thing we can do to prevent this is simple…recycle! Have a recycling bin separate from regular trash, and be proactive when throwing away waste. Even better, try to eliminate plastic all together! Baby steps include using reusable shopping bags, reusable water bottles, and using glass containers. There’s so many more plastic free alternatives, and if you’re looking for some ideas, check out My Plastic Free Life, as they list 100 alternatives!

9 tips provided by lessplastic.co.uk

Knowing that ocean pollution begins with what we decide to put down the drain, or throw on the street, is something that we can learn to correct. By simply recycling plastics, or being conscious of throwing away contact lenses in the trash rather than down the sink can help clean our seas and keep waste out of our beautiful oceans!

 

Written by Sofia, Edited by Skylar

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