For the sake of our oceans we must use less plastic

There’s no shortage of causes around the world. Some can seem smaller than others. From dietary fads to viral campaigns, it seems there’s a new movement every day, and their value tends to vary. Not everything has the power of Me Too or the incredible, inspirational young people calling for gun law reforms in the US.

But I did find myself drawn to the discussion about plastics. I have resolved to make a contribution.

A few days ago, CBC News (Canada’s version of the BBC) published a fascinating, yet concerning, article about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, based on a study by the Ocean Cleanup Foundation.

Here are some numbers. The relevant area of ocean is 1.6 million square kilometres. It contains more than 79,000 tonnes of plastic. Much of the plastic is in pieces less than half a centimetre in diameter. There are believed to be more than 1.8 trillion pieces.

The headline: the garbage patch is 16 times bigger than previously believed.

This is terrifying. It’s having a real effect on marine life, which is ingesting – and being killed by – the smaller pieces, while the larger pieces slowly degrade until they’re small enough to be swallowed, too.

Organisations like the Ocean Cleanup Foundation are doing what they can, with netting projects and other technologies to remove plastic pollution, but the problem is at source: we use too much plastic.

Last year, a study by three US research groups estimated humans have created more than nine billion tonnes of plastic since the 1950s. Less than a third of it is still in use and, of the plastic no longer needed, only 9% was recycled.

The solutions start at grassroots level. Take, for example, Plastic Free Perthshire, a project asking businesses to change their approach to single-use plastics. There are lots of ways we can all join in: paper straws, refillable bottles, conversation and a good example.

As I type this, I’m drinking Diet Coke from a plastic bottle. I’m going to do that less often, I think, and I’d invite others to join me, even if it’s just a drop in the ocean.

The problem is at source: we use too much plastic