How does plastic affect the ocean and its inhabitants?

At this moment in time an estimated 12.7 million tonnes of plastic – everything from plastic bottles and bags to micro-beads – end up in our oceans each year.

Our oceans are slowly turning into a plastic soup and the effects on ocean life is chilling. Big pieces of plastic are choking and entangling turtles and seabirds and tiny pieces are clogging the stomachs of creatures who mistake it for food, from tiny zooplankton to whales.

Plastic is now entering every level of the ocean food chain. The oceans are getting more and more congested with plastic.

Is plastic harmful to humans?

Plastic affects human health. Toxic chemicals seep out of plastic and found in the blood and tissue of nearly all of us. Exposure to them is linked to cancers, birth defects, impaired immunity, endocrine disruption and other ailments.

What can we do about it?

Avoid plastic of all kinds, which can be achieved by buying plastic-free reusable bottles, food containers, straws, skincare and beauty products sold in plastic-free containers, reusable cotton bags and that is just to list a few. Or even better, treat someone close to you to a plastic-free reusable gift and improve not only your own but their plastic use too.