Spastic Plastic

Plastic. I hate it. It's everywhere. But I still use it. Because it's everywhere and you can't escape from it. BUT you try and use as little as possible. 

Watch this little video in what happens to plastic after we use it. 

Too many times while out freediving or surfing I see plastic bags, candy wrappers etc floating by..... I pick them up but after my pockets are full and there's still more you get a bit discouraged and fed up.


Now have a look at this simple food chain (in reality, food webs can be much more complicated).

http://climatekids.nasa.gov/ocean/

As you can see, plankton are at the bottom of the food web in the ocean. Lots of other organisms feed directly on plankton; filter feeders such as sponges, clams and krill, and even the big stuff like manta rays, whale sharks and baleen whales. If you've been in the ocean before, you've probably swallowed a mouthful of seawater with plankton in it. And let's see.... what other organism is at the top of the food chain, and likes to eat clams, small fish, big fish, mackerel and tuna? Oh, humans.

Well there you go, what goes around comes around... I haven't heard of any studies on the impact of plastic ingestion on humans, especially micro-plastics, but I bet the picture's not pretty.

So if you would like to reduce the amount of plastic we are putting into the environment, here are some tips  (I didn't make them up, just gathered them from elsewhere).

- Bring your own bag to the store. Don't be lazy, make an effort to remember. Leave reusable bags in your car or hanging near the door if you're really prone to forgetting.
- Don't use plastic utensils. Use reusable ones and wash them after use. Don't be lazy. Throwing a big party? Serve finger food.
- Don't buy bottled water. This can be hard in some countries where clean drinking water isn't readily available. In that case, bring your own small portable water bottle, buy the largest bottle of water possible and refill your smaller bottle from it. Larger volume of the bottle, smaller surface area to volume ratio, less plastic used proportionally. Every little bit helps.
- Pick up plastic when you are at the beach, in the ocean, walking down the street... Just like all roads lead to Rome, all drains lead to the ocean. Plastic will find it's way there. Stop it before it does! When I was in Fiji last year, I picked up every bit of plastic I could find while walking around the island I was on. I got a nice "Thank you" from the staff working on the island and hopefully wherever you are, if locals see you doing it, they will too.
-Don't buy individually packaged items. It really gets to me when I see excessive packaging, like a bag of biscuits with every single piece in it's own packaging. It's so unnecessary.
- Recycle. Make the effort to chuck recyclables in a recycling bin.
- Refuse a plastic bag if you don't need one. More often than you think, you don't actually need one.

More tips here: http://reefrelief.org/2013/01/51-ways-to-reduce-plastic-use-or-completely-eliminate-it/

If you are reading this blog, it's quite likely you are an ocean goer. I know lots of people who like the beach, scuba diving, freediving, surfing... but still use don't make the effort to reduce the amount of plastic they use. Strikes me as a little odd, maybe hypocritical. Don't be like that! Help protect what you love.