We have got to start doing something about this. I know I am just as guilty as everyone else when it comes to plastic. Our society is just made out of the "use it and ditch it" mentality. There is way too much packaging in all the products we buy, not enough recycling. How can we make it better for generations to come and to protect our natural resources? What can we as consumers do with all the post-consumer plastic?
There are a couple of things we can do to help as I found out by reading this New York Times article.
Some of the ways they suggest to cut down on the plastic junk getting into the ocean are:
- Better recycling
- More re-use of containers and packaging
- Less waste in packaging
I for one am amazed at how much trash goes to the curb each week for Waste Management to pick up. I often feel guilty for contributing so much garbage.
There may be some hope in the future, (some scientists have found a way to get rid of plastic by pre-treating plastic with ultraviolet light and heat, and then exposing it to three kinds of fungi — including white-rot fungus, which is already used to help clean up environmental toxins. How long can we wait to make sure our oceans are free of plastic, and worse yet how long can the wildlife wait?
