Plastic pollution: it all adds up

Plastic pollution: it all adds up

#Act for the Wild, #Taronga Conservation Society Australia

Posted on 18th December 2017 by Media Relations

Every piece of plastic ever created still exists somewhere.

It’s a scary thought, and a reminder of why it’s so imperative we all do what we can to reduce the amount of plastic we use.

Figuring out where to start can be tricky business, so we’ve developed a few turtley awesome tools to help you get on your way.

Why is it important to reduce our single-use plastic?

Marine Turtles are living dinosaurs. They have been living in our waters for as long as 100 million years. Six of the world’s seven species of marine turtle call Australian waters home, and they’re vital for the maintenance of sea grasses and coral reefs.

Marine Turtles are voracious eaters. Hawksbill Turtles can consume half a tonne of sponges per year,and are an essential part of maintaining the health of coral reefs. Leatherback Turtles can consume 200 kilos of jellyfish per day! Because of this, these ocean giants often mistake plastic bags for food.

8 million tonnes of plastic enters our ocean on an annual basis. This is set to increase – every 11 years the amount of plastic we’re producing doubles.  But we can stop plastic entering the ocean, by stopping it entering our own lives.

Often it can be difficult to contextualise the impact we’re each having as individuals, but if we all said ‘no’ to the big 4 single-use plastic items, we would have huge collective impact!

Subtract plastic from your life

Plastic is so integrated into our daily routines, it’s hard to know where to begin when it comes to reducing it. That’s why we’ve developed an impact calculator, to help you visualise the incredible difference you can make simply by changing a few habits.

Our impact calculator will show you how many single-use items like plastic bags, take-away coffee cups, straws and water bottles you can save from landfill or our environment every year, simply by swapping them for reusable alternatives.

One person can make a huge difference every single day when it comes to plastic pollution. If every person replaced disposable with reusable, these small actions add up to create a word of change for marine turtles and our oceans.

We want to help you be the solution to plastic pollution, so once you’ve signed up and calculated the amazing impact you can have, we’ll send you tips and tricks to guide you along the way.