Plastic is a pretty awesome product. It’s malleable so it’s easy to mould, and it’s incredibly durable. In fact, virtually every piece of plastic that was ever made still exists in some shape or form*.
But here’s the thing: around 40% of plastics consumed are single use. They’re super convenient and they’re discarded after just one use. It just doesn’t add up.
Think about plastic straws. In Australia, 2.47 billion plastic straws end up in landfill every year. They’re lightweight, so once they’re dropped or discarded, they easily blow into waterways and enter our oceans. Once in our oceans, they’re extremely dangerous for our marine wildlife.
Think about cotton buds. 1.5 billion are produced every day, with the average person disposing of 415 a year. Many of these discarded cotton buds end up in our oceans and, once the cotton tips dissolve, all that’s left is a small, plastic stick which is easily ingested by birds, fish and other marine wildlife.
Not to mention plastic drink stirrers, balloons and balloon sticks, plastic coffee cups and lids, plastic cups, plastic containers, plastic plates, plastic cutlery. That’s a lot of plastic, and for every one of these items, there are great – sustainable – alternatives.
Something needs to change. With your help, we will ask our Australian leaders to start fixing this urgent waste crisis by banning single-use plastics. Please sign our petition calling upon our Government to ban single-use plastics. Do it now. Do it for your children.
*by weight Source: www.tangaroablue.org
**Science Advances http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/3/7/e1700782
