Intro

The definition of pollution is, the presence in or introduction into the environment of a
substance or thing that has harmful or poisonous effects. Beaches are one of the most polluted
places on our earth and no matter how many beach clean ups people host there still continues
to be approximately 8 million tons of plastic in our oceans and rivers.

“Plastic pollution is a growing and serious threat to the health of marine life, their homes, coastal
habitats, and other aquatic environments. From the tiniest to largest creatures, and from pole to pole,
plastic has infiltrated a baffling number of nooks and crannies and food chains in our oceans. But our
oceans can’t stomach any more plastic.” (Plastic pollution. (n.d.). “The average American will throw
away 185 pounds of plastic each year. And plastic never truly disappears. Every piece of plastic
that has ever been made still exists. Even when burned, it breaks down into microscopic, toxic
particles. Plastic is not a material that our planet can digest. Like diamonds, plastic is
forever.”(Robert. S, 2018). “For example, when a plastic bottle is discarded improperly, rains
and waterways may sweep it into a gutter and eventually out to sea. Floating at sea, the UV
radiation of the sun makes the plastic brittle. The plastic breaks up into smaller pieces from the
friction of the waves. In due course, the plastic breaks down into micro plastic particles, which
are fragments of plastic smaller than a grain of sand or the tip of a needle. Ocean currents
sweep these micro plastic particles to areas called gyres, where there are high concentrations
of plastic.”(Robert. S, 2018).

“Plastic is as common to see at the beach as seashells are, but plastic litter is more than just an
aesthetic disturbance; it’s a sign that humans are treating the oceans like a garbage bin. Today,
the oceans and marine life are facing the threat of permanent alteration from a number of
sources of pollution, and plastic is among the most significant. Plastic accounts for 60-80% of
marine garbage, and in high-density areas, reaches up to 95%.” (Robert. S, 2018). Every year
there is “around 300 million” (Robert.S.2018) tons of plastics produced around the world. 8
million tons of that 300 million end up in our oceans every year polluting and negatively
affecting the marine animals and us humans. All of that ocean pollution ends up with us
through eating seafood such as fish, crabs, and lobsters not only causing the marine life to be
unhealthy and severely effected but us too. “91% of all plastics made are not properly recycled
that 91% converted is 29670329.67 tons of plastic and 5.2 trillion individual pieces and
counting.”(Copyright © 1996-2015 National Geographic Society.)

“The real solution to the plastic pollution crisis is back on land by stopping the way our societies
have become accustomed to consume, discard, and repeat. The predominant fast-paced,
convenience-centric and “cheap and easy” culture drives the booming demand for throw-away
plastic products, while current business models favour the production of cheap, light-weight,
petroleum-based products, and major plastic producing companies fuel a throw-away lifestyle
with no or limited repercussions or extended product responsibility. If they don’t have to take
responsibility for the waste they create, corporations don’t have any incentive to produce
reusable, sustainable packaging and delivery systems. In addition to all this, inadequate
infrastructure and a lack of alternate product delivery systems mean proper disposal and also
avoidance of single-use products is challenging at best.

Canada is a major offender of plastic waste production, generating around 3 million tonnes of
plastic waste a year, only 10-12 per cent of which is actually recycled. Single-use plastics like
straws, coffee cups, beverage bottles, throw-away cutlery and packaging are increasingly found
on city streets, in storm drains, in ditches, along river banks and ultimately in our oceans and on
our shorelines. While our beaches may not be as polluted as other regions of the world, our
consumption and generation of waste is part of the global plastic problem, and about one third
of the plastic waste we generate is exported to other countries including China, India and
Vietnam, where plastic marine pollution is a more visible problem.

even with proper disposal, people doing their part to recycle and an increase in recycled
content in single-use products, the sheer volume of plastics flooding our market, being used
and being disposed of cannot continue. The major single-use plastic producers need to be held
accountable for the destructive products they are selling and their role in choking our oceans.”
(2017, November 29).