Plastic oceans: it’s estimated that 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic are floating around the world’s oceans and the amount is growing daily.

Commentary by Liza Dicks – Marine Debris Campaign National Coordinator:

Pressure has been mounting all around Australia to ban light weight single-use plastic bags and after years of campaigning this will finally be put in place in all states except New South Wales in 2018. 

But is this enough? Do we need to go further than just banning the bag?

The Western Australian State Government is asking for your feedback on the upcoming ban and has said they are open to extending it to other items. You now have the opportunity to have your say on all forms of plastic pollution that we find in the litter stream and on our beaches.

Straws, coffee cups,  plastic bags and water bottles can all be replaced with reusable items. They are used for a only few minutes but last forever in the environment.

We need to stand up to the plastic packaging industry and stop the single use culture which is flooding the oceans with toxic plastic causing untold damage to marine life and the health of the oceans.

Now is the time to tell the WA Government that you support the ban and want further action to #StemtheTide of plastic entering the ocean.

Around the globe we are seeing the demise of wildlife as a result of our love affair with plastic. Albatross parents feed plastic to their chicks, turtles found on the WA coastline that have starved to death from ingesting plastic. Whales washed up on the beaches around the world with guts full of plastic resulting in a slow painful death. 

We don’t need any more evidence but we do need change and we need it now!

Do you know that 50 per cent of the world’s production of plastic is used to make single use items that are used for an average of just 8 minutes?

Imagine the impact it would have if we stopped using those 4 items. With the global estimation of plastic floating in the oceans at 5.25 trillion pieces and growing daily we don’t have time to waste. Other countries are taking action and Australia needs to follow their lead.

Sea Shepherd Marine Debris teams have been working hard around the nation with monthly clean-ups and we see the evidence at every event with over 80% of items removed being plastic. 

Last year in Cottesloe, WA at just one clean up, over 27,000 pieces of trash was removed by volunteers, all potential killers to marine life. 

The health of the oceans is vital to all life and the more people that make a submission the louder our voice will be. It just takes a few minutes but the result could have lasting results for the future of all marine life and sea birds.

We have joined up with CCWA to make it as easy as possible to make a submission. Click here now to submit your views: https://ccwa.good.do/plasticban/submission/

You don’t have to be a WA resident to do this. It is open to everyone as there are no borders when it comes to the oceans. Together, lets #StemtheTide of plastic pollution.

Thank you.

Liza Dicks
Sea Shepherd Marine Debris Campaign – National Coordinator