PLASTIC WATCH: Sky News drawing attention to plastic pollution
Watching Sky News yesterday was a real eye opener as to just how serious the plastic pollution of our oceans has become. The shocking statement that by the year 2050 the weight of plastic in the oceans will exceed the total weight of all the fish in the sea may sound impossible but even if this figure were to be only half of that prediction; it is time for us all to start taking the threat seriously.
At the bottom of this post we have included some Sky News Ocean Rescue links to various articles, all certainly make interesting reading as to the serious threat not only to the fish and other seafood we consume but also to our health and something even more important, something we cannot live without, Oxygen.
And we have to start now! Today!
Possibly a good place to start is to stop supporting the government’s plastic bag fund which after all is probably lining a few cadre’s pockets instead of being used for what it is intended. This could spawn an whole new industry with the local production of cloth / cotton shopping bags. How many sewing machines are lying idle in people’s cupboards that could be donated or loaned to a group of Sea Vista ladies to produce these bags? Spar and other outlets could purchase these and sell them on to customers and in the long run there is little doubt that saving the 50c one pays for each plastic bag would soon pay for the linen bags.
Take-away food containers should be next on the list. All pizza’s are sold in cardboard boxes but virtually all other take-away produce is supplied in polystyrene containers. Balobi’s Seafood Market and Deli, whether by design or accident are already setting a good example by supplying all their take-aways in cardboard containers and others should follow their lead.
And so we come to St Francis Today’s hobby horse – RECYCLING!
We simply have to motivate the municipality to create a drop off zone, or better still, strategically located zones, even if only for plastic waste initially. Glass and paper do in a relatively short period, certainly if compared with plastic, recycle themselves although in the longer term disposal of all recyclable waste products should also be addressed. But at least let us start with plastic.
We must start today. A simple exercise of putting all your plastic waste in a separate bag to your normal garbage will soon illustrate just how much more plastic waste you generate in a week compared to ‘’wet’ garbage. If you don’t already set you plastic waste aside try it for a week or two. It will shock you how much plastic you dispose of every month.
Start today and in two weeks you will have formed a habit that will significantly reduce the the tons of plastic waste that is generated in St Francis alone.
You can take your plastic waste to the Rotary sponsored recycling depot at God’s Acre on Tarragona Road, Sea Vista on the first Thursday of each month.
Sir Richard Branson backs Sky’s Ocean Rescue campaign
The ocean plastic problem: 10 key statistics
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