Single-Use Plastics are Poisoning Our Ocean, Planet, and Us
Plastics are all around us and a part of our everyday lives. They're also increasingly inside us – microplastics have been found in our lungs, blood, and throughout the human body. An estimated 11 million tons of plastic enter ocean waters every year, which is the equivalent of a trash truck dumping a full load of plastics into our ocean every minute of every day of the year. At this rate, the amount of plastic pollution entering our ocean is currently doubling every six years. If these trends continue, the total weight of plastic pollution in our ocean could exceed the total weight of all fish in the ocean by 2050.
What is the Solution?
If your bathtub is overflowing, what’s the first thing you do? You do not grab a towel or a mop – you turn off the tap! We cannot clean up our way out of this crisis until we stop the deluge of plastic pollution into our ocean. We must stop the current flow of plastic pollution by addressing plastic pollution at the source. This includes banning unnecessary single-use plastics, advocating for better product alternatives, and switching to reusables for our everyday needs.
We encourage individuals, businesses, and governments to protect our ocean, waves, and beaches by supporting legislative policies and innovative private sector solutions that move us away from unnecessary single-use plastics.
To this end, Surfrider chapters and clubs lead hundreds of cleanups every year, removing thousands of pounds of trash before it enters our ocean, and collecting data to inform our efforts to make the legislative changes needed to hold plastic producers and polluters accountable.
Surfrider also works with businesses through our Ocean Friendly Restaurants and Hotels. These programs recognize restaurants and hotels that are committed to eliminating the use of single-use plastics in their day-to-day operations and offer a simple, straightforward framework to help them make sustainable choices for the ocean. We’re building an inclusive community of eco-conscious businesses, activists, and patrons that we can promote, support, and lift up as examples of success to influence plastic reduction legislation.
Use the urls below to learn more about our...
Beach cleanups: https://cleanups.surfrider.org/
Plastic Campaign and Policy Resources: https://www.surfrider.org/programs/plastic-campaign-and-policy-resources/
Ocean Friendly Restaurants: https://www.surfrider.org/programs/ocean-friendly-restaurants
Ocean Friendly Hotels: https://www.surfrider.org/programs/ocean-friendly-hotels
