The top major contributors to the world's ocean pollution are plastic bottles. With food wrappers and sweet packets in second place and cigarette butts in third. All of these litter eventually ends up in the ocean which causes major problems for fishes and other sea wildlife. Once the litter enters the ocean, it becomes harder to get clean up.
Recent studies show plastic bags only make up 1% of the total rubbish that's present in freshwaters. This is a positive reflection of the efforts put to minimize the use of plastic packaging. In fact, the extra charges that is put on those who want their groceries or items put on plastic in the UK and in many other countries in Europe has contributed to the minimizing of these plastic containers. Such efforts have indeed encouraged many people to minimize if not totally stop the use of plastic bags.
Consumers must be made aware that they can do something to prevent the waters from being polluted. There are so many things they can do to prevent the use of plastics that could be harmful to the environment. They could opt to use cotton buds with paper sticks for their grooming or put the wet wipes in the bin instead of flushing them, or maybe bring food receptacles when they eat out or what to order take out food.
According to the report provided by the Plastic Rivers from Earthwatch Europe and Plastic Oceans UK, the products that people buy every day are the biggest contributors to the problem on plastics in our oceans. "The discarded plastic containers enter the rivers brought about by people's on-the-go lifestyle," sais Jo Ruxton, the Plastic Oceans UK chief executive. "This type of throwaway approach come with more serious consequences and the study shows that there are more ways to put a stop to these plastic pollution problems."
Although most efforts are focused on how this water pollution is affecting the oceans, it is important to note that the plastic rubbish that reaches the oceans usually come from rivers and streams. Many experts believe that if the governments truly want to clean the oceans, they should start at cleaning the rivers. While putting a stop to what is causing the problem is tackled, it is best to double the efforts in cleaning the rivers.
The EU Parliament has already agreed to ban the use of single-use plastics including items such as plastic plates, straws, and other cutlery. They want this implements by 2021. However, the original plan was to phase out single-use plastic products this year. Yet again, the deadline might just slip.
