Did you know that of the 8 billion tons of plastic ever made, every single piece still exists?
 

Really take this in for a second….

Think about every toothbrush, every plastic razor, plastic bag or “disposable” water bottle, every straw, plastic cup…every shampoo bottle you’ve ever used.  Every. Single. One.  

Here in south Florida, so many plastic lollipop sticks have been washing ashore that recently Loggerhead Marinelife Center’s (LMC) conservation department was prompted to take a closer look at these single use plastic items.

What they found was surprising; 452 plastic lollipop sticks on a third of a mile of beach in only 7 days. 

Nurdles. The name sounds inoffensive, cuddly even…. However, nurdles are anything but. "Nurdle" is the name for pre-production plastic pellets; these are the raw material of the plastic industry – the building blocks for plastic bottles, plastic bags, drinking straws, balloons, to-go containers – in fact almost anything you can think of that's made of plastic.

How often do you drink bottled water? Once in a blue moon? Once a week? Several times a day?

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Every single second, Americans go through about 1500 plastic water bottles. Bottled water has become so prevalent in our society, a lot of us don’t give it a second thought. But it was not that long ago that bottled water seemed, well, irrational. I mean… it’s water.

In an effort to reduce pollution, local residents can volunteer at organizations like Boca Save Our Beaches— a non-profit started by Jessica Gray, member of the Green Living Advisory Board (GLAB)in Boca Raton—which encourages citizens to work together to establish goals to safeguard the coast, while promoting a clean marine environment through beach cleanups and green activities.  

Although hurricanes in Florida are nothing new, scientists know that climate change is already fueling slower, larger, wetter and more dangerous storms as a result of warmer temperatures, and they concur that this trend will continue if we don’t act swiftly on climate change.

Consumer demand is what drives plastic sales, and plastic production for that matter. By making small shifts in your lifestyle, you can take a powerful stand against plastic pollution.

The easiest and most direct way that you can reduce plastic pollution is by limiting your own use of single-use plastics.