Marine Animals Are Choking on Plastic Waste – Let’s Act to Help Them!

Did you know that 50 percent of sea turtles have plastic in their stomachs and by 2050, 99 percent of seabirds will have ingested plastic waste? These mind-blowing numbers represent only a fraction of the harm posed by the increasing ocean trash problem. According to scientists, more than 8 million metric tons of plastic is entering our ocean every year … and it’s growing. Within the next decade,  we could be faced with a pound of plastic for every three pounds of fish!

If you think those numbers are as crazy as we do, then we NEED you to sign the petition on Care2 started by the World Wildlife Fund in Support of the Save Our Seas Act. This vital piece of legislation is an important step in the global fight to save our oceans, animals, and the planet. This bill has already been passed unanimously in the Senate, which is great news, BUT, it also needs to pass in the House of Representatives. Please use your voice to ask your representative to co-sponsor bill HR2748 and encourage the House to see the Save Our Seas Act through.

Concerning plastic waste, in particular, WWF is a part of the Trash Free Seas Alliance and is searching out new ways to manage plastic waste, especially in developing nations. WWF has also introduced the Cascading Materials Vision, a movement that encourages the reuse of our natural resources. By simple strategies like recycling more plastic materials a whopping $80 to $120 billion can be saved annually, which in turn can be used to clean up the mess we have made of our oceans. Through projects like these and doing your own due diligence at home, we will all be working towards the common goal of protecting our oceans, animals, and planet.

To learn more about how you can curb the plastic problem in your own house join our #CrushPlastic Movement.

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