We vacationed at the beach this weekend and were reminded of the growing problem of plastics on our beaches... bottles, bottle caps, straws, bags, toys, toothbrushes, etc. The problem with plastics is that they never biograde, virtually every piece of plastic that has ever been made still exists. According to marine researcher and Surfrider Foundation activist Captain Charlie Moore, in certain areas of the ocean the amount of plastic particles in the water outnumber plankton six-to-one. Once in the ocean, plastics can be mistaken for food by marine animals. Over one million sea birds and hundred thousand marine mammals die each year from ingestion of or entanglement in plastics. Surfrider Foundation launched a new educational program called Rise Above Plastics (RAP) to educate the public on the impact plastics have on marine environments, and how to make changes in their daily lives and within their communities that will reduce the flow of plastics into the environment. The program calls upon people to reduce their plastic footprint by reducing or eliminating their use of single-use water bottles and single-use plastic grocery bags and when they need to use plastics to be sure to recycle them. Visit www.riseaboveplastics.org for more information and take the Rise Above Plastics Pledge:
I pledge to rise above plastics and reduce the amount of plastic waste I generate on a daily basis by doing one or more of the following:
Stop using single-use plastic grocery bags and use reusable bags instead
Use a refillable bottle instead of buying single-use plastic water bottles
Buy products with the least amount of packaging
Pick up at least one piece of trash or litter of the ground every day
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