Planet or Plastic?

DISCLAIMER: I am not a scientist, I do not have any qualification that says "I know what I'm talking about," I am simply just a girl trying to save the planet that I live on.

Many of us live in denial that we are killing our planet. The entire population are ignorant to the fact that we may not have a planet left to live on if we keep doing what we're doing. First of all, plastic pollution is not the only thing we have to worry about. There's climate change and there's shitty politics and there's the use of palm oil and there's so much more!

But, today I want to focus on plastic pollution.

Two thirds of plastic in the ocean comes straight from our lazy asses. It comes from people leaving litter at the beach, chucking empty plastics into rivers and lakes. It comes from landfill spills because apparently we've decided adding our garbage to our hills and countryside is a good idea and horrible people who flush non-recyclable stuff down the toilet.

A rough estimate has been given that 269,000 tons of plastic is in our oceans and it will last forever! That's what we are doing to our oceans? The place we, and many many marine animals and plants live? It's time to stop this.

Here's what you can do to help:

Support companies that are trying to get rid of plastic pollution!

4Ocean is a company that are turning plastic waste found in the ocean into bracelets that equates to one pound of trash being pulled out of the ocean! They also do beach cleanups that you can attend and assist with.

Pela is a company that creates phone cases out of "flaxstic" which is a plant based material that is free from BPA —as a side note for those who are unsure BPA is a chemical used with many plastic items such as baby bottles and containers, BPA can actually mix with your food and enter your body. Their mission is to keep 1 billion pounds of plastic from ever being made and lower the rate of BPA being used!

Surfers Against Sewage is a company that leads beach clean ups, educates schools about plastic pollution and how to be ecofriendly. They also campaign and they are also trying to fight climate change. You can join this group and take part, or you can simply donate. Either way you're helping the environment.

Sand Cloud donates 10 percent of their profits to saving marine life. They sell towels, notepads, water bottles that are 100 percent BPA free, metal straws to stop the use of plastic AND they sell clothes. A good company with a range of things to help save marine life. Their motto is #savethefishies

Recycle and Reuse!

If you know it can be recycled then do it! Don't be lazy and throw it in the normal bin, put it in a recycling bin. For things that can't be recycled: reuse! Reuse plastic bottles and turn them into plant pots or turn them into reusable bottles in your kitchen or bathroom. GET CREATIVE!

Reuse your plastic bags. Do not use it once and then throw it away because it will still be in landfill sites years after you've died. Keep your plastic bags and stop buying new ones.

Buy eco-friendly gifts!

Christmas is on its way and only now have I realised how much plastic I'm using and how much damage I'm doing to the world. Try to buy eco-friendly gifts, buy from local companies that make handmade gifts. Change from buying things that come in lots of plastic to buying things that involve no plastic at all. Currently LUSH have created shampoo and shower gels as a solid which requires no packaging. What a great idea! Try to seek out amazing and eco-friendly gifts such as this.

Also, let's think about wrapping paper. I didn't know until recently that wrapping paper isn't recyclable in most places. It's just seen as another waste that could end up in landfills or in the ocean. So, this year I will be using plain brown paper that can be reused and recycled. It may look plain but it's better than killing our planet!

If this post is a hit, I'll create another one on what more you can do to save our planet but this is the basic gist of it. Please take responsibility to what you're doing to this planet. We can save it together.