Greenpeace wrote an alarming article lately addressing the issues with non-recycled bottles when they get to coastal waterways. The article focuses directly on the the beach clean of Freedom Island in the Philippines' plastic polluted shores. Volunteers reported that there "layers are so thick in some places that you can dig down for a meter and come across layer upon layer of plastic waste mixed with sand" (Greenpeace, 2017). The volunteers worked tirelessly to rid the beach of this hazardous material, but they found it's too late for some unlucky creatures. They remark, "There was so much plastic pollution on the beach that we were startled to find actual wildlife on the beach. It doesn’t look like anything can thrive in this environment and from the numbers of dead fish we found washed ashore – including one wrapped in a plastic bag – they aren’t" (Greenpeace, 2017). Since sea creatures maintain no natural defense to plastic, they are susceptible to it.

Although solid waste is bad enough for the environment, plastic breaking down naturally shows ill effects as well.  Marine microbiologist Dr. Richard Kirby, caught a video of the moment a sliver of micro-plastic enters the food chain. The video is a close up of plankton swimming around eating small specks of plastic floating in the water, and the link will be provided below. Most disturbing about the interview with Dr. Kirby was to find out that this was not rare. In fact, he stated, "this incident was not an isolated occurrence, saying that the sight of plankton ingesting plastic was a relatively common sight in the sample he had collected from British waters" (BBC, 2017). So now, plastic is physically harming wildlife and slowly working its way into food webs everywhere.

So, food for thought (just a suggestion): Since plastic is becoming a part of the food web, people should just eat the plastic themselves. Each person should eat the plastic they use, so its not a problem for the fish and the environment.

References: (First one has the video)

BBC. (2017, March 11). Video captures moment plastic enters food chain. Retrieved September 26, 2017, from http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-39217985

Greenpeace. (2017, September 22). Welcome to Ground Zero of the Ocean Plastic Pollution Crisis. Retrieved September 26, 2017, from https://www.greenpeace.org.uk/welcome-g … on-crisis/

I think that plastic waste does have a very negative effect on the ocean's ecosystem, however I feel as if we can take other, less drastic actions before we ourselves consume the plastic. If plastic is harmful for animals to eat, then chances are it's not too healthy for humans either. Instead of eating our plastic we could recycle it. That way there would be less waste in the ocean, we won't have to keep making more, and people wont have to spend more money on health care after they eat plastic.