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Think about this question for a moment, how much plastic are you using? Whether it's the zip lock bags you carry your lunch in, the glad wrap you use for a sandwich, or the plastic bags you put your shopping in, most of us are using plastic every single day. But none of us are thinking of the negative effect plastic has on the ocean. Did you know that almost 2 million plastic bags are used globally every minute? And, of those 2 million plastic bags more than half of them end up in the ocean. Plastic has caused death for many marine creatures, has destroyed ecosystems and it never fully breaks down. We need to stop this pollution, we need to cut down on our use of plastic if we want to see magical majestic, marine creatures in the future.
Every year roughly 8 million tons of plastic end up in the ocean. 100,000 marine creatures a year die from plastic entanglement or digestion and these are only the ones found. When animals swallow plastic it blocks their digestive system. They then cannot swallow proper food as their digestive system is blocked. Eventually, they starve to death. Turtles sea lions, fish, whales, and dolphins are the most affected by plastic. If these animals were to become extinct it would destroy the food chain. Is this really what you want to happen, if not you need to not use lots of plastic, and if you do make sure to dispose of it correctly.
Secondly soft plastic never breaks down. Although people say it breaks down after 500 years this isn’t true. What happens is, it breaks down into smaller pieces known as microplastics that contain many toxic chemicals and will never biodegrade.
This means that once it is in the ocean after 10-1000 years the plastic will turn into microplastics. Although marine animals cannot suffocate from microplastics they can still digest it and die from the toxic chemicals. Also, have you thought about what happens when fish and other marine animals accidentally swallow these microplastics, it's not like they can just vomit it up, it stays in their bodies? Now, you might be thinking ‘Why should I care it’s not harming us’. However, when these marine animals get caught and then cooked for us for dinner the microplastics are still in their bodies. We eat these microplastics without even knowing, which is not good for our health. Eating microplastics can cause skin diseases, types of cancer, lung dysfunction, and many other illnesses. This shows that no plastic is fantastic.
Lastly, it is destroying ecosystems. Many marine animals do not have a home anymore due to plastic. Scientists have discovered that there are 200 areas of the ocean where absolutely no living cells will be able to live. One of these main areas is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Many currents have pushed lots of plastic into one area known as the great Pacific garbage patch. It covers more than 1.6 kilometers square. Another place closer to us that is being affected by plastic waste is the Great Barrier Reef. Chemicals from microplastics (tiny bits of plastic) have gone into the coral and have caused it to die. Animals have then had to leave their homes and move somewhere else. How would you like it if the whole of Sydney collapsed and we all had to move somewhere else but everywhere else was full?
So to conclude we must cut down on our use of plastic as it is so bad for the oceans. It is killing animals, and destroying ecosystems, and not only is it bad for them it is also bad for us. If everyone in this world used one less plastic straw or one less plastic bag we would be improving. And just remember The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.
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