Save Marine Life From Single-Use Plastics.
Our oceans face a massive plastic crisis. You've seen the result of plastic pollution: Sea turtles, whales and other marine life killed by ingesting or becoming entangled in plastic debris.
Single-use plastics are made out of material designed to last forever, but they often are used only for a few moments. An estimated 17.6 billion pounds of plastic enters our oceans every year. That's the equivalent of dumping a garbage truck's worth of plastic into our oceans every minute.
New legislation in Congress can help by addressing this problem at its source. This is a huge opportunity to curb the amount of single-use plastics polluting our environment. It has never been more vital that we stop the production and use of single-use plastic - Can we count on your to speak up today?
Prevention is the ultimate solution to the plastics problem. That's why we have to act now to ensure that Congress takes action.
The Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act would:
- Phase out certain single-use plastics that pollute our seas
- Put in place a nationwide beverage container refund program
- Shift the burden of plastic waste from us as consumers to the companies producing it
The threat of plastic pollution is massive and growing. Plastic debris has been found in all parts of our ocean, from floating on the surface to lodged in the Mariana Trench, the deepest point of the seafloor. Plastic pollution affects everything from sea turtles, dolphins, and seabirds to the fish that people eat. Marine life is choking to death or becoming helplessly entangled in plasic debris.
We cannot recycle our way out of the plastic crisis. Only 9% of all plastic waste ever created has been recycled to date. Clearly we cannot rely on recycling alone to solve this crisis. Companies must assume responsibility for addressing the plastic pollution crisis by giving consumers plastic-free alternatives and stopping the production of single-use plastic at the source.
This is a critical moment for our oceans, and we need your support more than ever.
12 March 2020
Oceana
