Yet another of the poor soul got washed on the shore; probably breathing last of its breath or dead already. Not a pretty sight to our eyes. Our mind wonders, “what could be the misery?” Turns out, the gut of that creature was filled with plastic debris. It did not allow it to digest any food. Thus, it succumbed to death. But how in the ocean did the creature eat all that plastic? We all are responsible for this question.
Years of single-use plastic has made its way into our landfills and later in oceans. Why? Because it cannot degrade. So it stays, on and on for years to come. The longer it stays, the more is breaks up into smaller pieces. Animals, birds and sea-creatures eat up these small pieces of plastic. But what does that have to do with humans? Why do we care what happens out there in ocean? It is like the saying which goes, ‘what goes around, comes back around’. And this comes back around real hard.
As we all know, plastic is easily mouldable and thus, it is widely used to make products. The plastic products are made up of micro plastics. They constantly releases harmful chemicals like dioxins. When the plastic product is exposed to the heat even for few minutes, it releases harmful chemicals. Now think about all that hot food we buy in plastic containers and the juices we sip from plastic straws in plastic cups on a hot sunny day. We humans consume water, juice, food etc., from plastic products on daily basis. Hence, we do get the fair share of toxins in our system.
Knowing the plastic –
Had we been excreting these toxins as it is, it would have been better. Unfortunately, they temper with our hormones. Yes, you read that right! The chemicals that leech from plastics like BPA or phthalate, enters our body where it mimics the hormone estrogen. It gives rise to estrogenic activity which causes severe health-related problems. Such as early puberty in females, reduced sperm counts, altered functions of reproductive organs, obesity, and increased rates of breast, ovarian, testicular, and prostate cancers. Do remind yourself of what it does to you next when you pick a plastic product.
Understanding the effect –
We still did not understand the reason behind the plastic ending up in the ocean. We might as well think it is better far off. Let’s remind ourselves of that saying. The non-recycled plastic ends up in the ocean. Marine life mistakenly feeds on this plastic. As of now, at least 8 million tons of plastic ends up in ocean every year. Marine life is an essential part of our ecosystem. Due to plastic ingestion, more numbers of sea creatures are dying. This affects the overall ecosystem and the economy. Marine life is also an essential part of the food chain. The same process that happens within us, happens to sea creatures when they ingest plastics. We harvest them to turn them into consumables.. Sadly, you end up eating that plastic too. Hence, we are back to square one.
You might feel overwhelmed by the information. You might not see any alternative. But that’s what we are here for. Today, we stand a chance to save our planet and humanity, with all the technology available. Mother nature provides us with materials that are eco-friendly and biodegradable. These materials mean zero harm to us and to our environment. We need to switch to these products before it is too late to do anything.