Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Oceans littered with 171 trillion plastic pieces
Think of single-use plastic items you use daily: the toothbrush you grab first thing in the morning, the container your lunch comes in, or the bottle you drink water from after your workout. All these things get used and, eventually, thrown out. Many plastic products are single-use items that are designed to be thrown out, like water bottles or take-out containers. If this waste isn’t properly disposed of, collected, and recycled, it can end up in the ocean. These larger pieces of plastic break down into smaller and smaller pieces and are eventually reduced to microplastic particles due to sunlight or mechanical degradation. Then all marine creatures, whales and fish of any size, take this microplastic into their stomachs. Recently, a group of scientists has estimated that as many as 171 trillion pieces of plastic are floating in the world’s oceans, a significant increase from 16 trillion in 2005. They also estimate the number could triple within the next two decades if no effective action is taken. As more people shop at supermarkets and convenience stores and eat and drink at fast food restaurants, more single-use plastic is going to be used and discarded. That is where immediate action should be taken to save marine creatures and the oceanic environment.
Read the article and learn about how numerous plastic waste in the oceans is.
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-64889284
Oceans littered with 171 trillion plastic pieces
Think of single-use plastic items you use daily: the toothbrush you grab first thing in the morning, the container your lunch comes in, or the bottle you drink water from after your workout. All these things get used and, eventually, thrown out. Many plastic products are single-use items that are designed to be thrown out, like water bottles or take-out containers. If this waste isn’t properly disposed of, collected, and recycled, it can end up in the ocean. These larger pieces of plastic break down into smaller and smaller pieces and are eventually reduced to microplastic particles due to sunlight or mechanical degradation. Then all marine creatures, whales and fish of any size, take this microplastic into their stomachs. Recently, a group of scientists has estimated that as many as 171 trillion pieces of plastic are floating in the world’s oceans, a significant increase from 16 trillion in 2005. They also estimate the number could triple within the next two decades if no effective action is taken. As more people shop at supermarkets and convenience stores and eat and drink at fast food restaurants, more single-use plastic is going to be used and discarded. That is where immediate action should be taken to save marine creatures and the oceanic environment.
Read the article and learn about how numerous plastic waste in the oceans is.
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-64889284
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