Ever since I can remember, the ocean has held a huge place in my heart. Being a surfer and lover of nature, the ocean is my safe place. It is a sanctuary of happiness and tranquility. To some it can heal and soothe pain. It holds an important role in our ecosystem and is the lifeblood of our planet. Sadly, I have seen more plastic and other trash piling up in our seas than ever before. I was shocked and outraged to find that at least 88 percent of our ocean surface is polluted with waste. Part of the huge issue of this enormous amount of waste is that it is mostly made up of plastic. Plastic makes up most of our packaging today and takes years and years to break down. Because it takes so long to break down, it stays in the ocean and continues to build up, trapping and killing animals and damaging the ecosystem. Looking at the statistics made me feel hopeless. Could our ocean ever recover from this? Is there any type of solution to reduce the amount of waste in our seas? If we want to save our ocean, our ecosystem, and marine life it is vital that we reduce the amount of plastic we use in our day to day lives and that we take up a sustainable approach to packaging.
If we ever want to reduce the amount of waste in our oceans, more companies should take on an environmentally safe way of packaging. The only way we can do this is by limiting the amount of plastic we use and instead creating a biodegradable method of packaging goods. Because plastic is used to cover most products in our world, it is nearly impossible to completely eliminate it. Also, most companies do not care enough about the environment, but more about momentary and monetary gain. However, if more companies take on a sustainable approach to packaging and more people make small changes in their daily lives, we could save our ocean and ecosystem from the catastrophic toll it has taken from human ignorance. Some little adjustments you can make to reduce the amount of packaging waste in our oceans are reusing your old plastic bags and buying reusable bags to take to the grocery store, recycling your plastics at home, and joining ocean cleanup groups. These may seem like they are minor and worthless, but if more people become mindful and intentional, we will eventually reduce the amount of waste in the sea. When more companies come to the realization that, if they keep doing what they are doing, it will eventually destroy our ocean thus killing off our oxygen and wrecking our ecosystem, hopefully there will be a change on a larger scale. Until then, we must do all we can to protect our ocean and our earth, and encourage others to do the same.
Essay by: Mackenzie Lee Robertson
Calvary Online School