Plastic in the Ocean

     

Thirteen million tons of plastic goes into the ocean every year. That is a
massive truckload of trash every minute. Humans are taking over and ruining
our marine life. We have to remember that the sea animals were there first.
Most of the reasons why marine life is dying are because of plastic. When a
rubbish bin overflows, not many people really know where it goes. 

Plastic is made of very toxic chemicals. Twenty-nine per cent of the
ocean is now made up of plastic. That is two hundred and sixty-nine
thousand tons are now in the ocean. There are millions of landfills in
the world. Buried beneath each one of them, toxic chemicals from
plastics drain out and seep into the ground, making ground groundwater,
flowing downstream into lakes and rivers which they need to sea. Do you
really want to be swimming in that?

When a rubbish bin overflows or some rubbish from the landfill blows away
eighty per cent of the rubbish goes into the ocean. This is because
plastic is very light weighted. Winds, rain can blow rubbish into storm
drains which can travel through sewer pipes and waterways finally go into
the ocean. The fish will think it is food but really it's not. Sadly they eat it.
The plastic makes them full but really they're hungry and they starve to
death or drown.

A grey whale died after stranding near Seattle in 2010 with more than
20 plastic bags, a golf ball, and other rubbish in its stomach. A seal pup
found dead on the Scottish island of Skye, its intestines had just a small
piece of plastic which killed the seal. This shows you how harmful plastic
really is. This is what we are causing. Were ruining their lives.  

Plastic in our oceans affects creatures large and small. From seabirds,
whales, and dolphins, to tiny seahorses.

We can help by every time we go to the beach to put five pieces of
rubbish in the bin. Never litter and tell people if they drop some rubbish
and leave it, tell them to pick it up, Because that bit of rubbish could kill a
marine animal. 

By Troy