We all know that our obsession with plastic is having a major impact on the health of our oceans.
Last week's storms in Melbourne made this very apparent as I walked along Brighton beach, which looked more like a landfill site filled with plastic items as far as the eye could see.
Two reports out this week reinforce the need for something urgent to be done to clean up our oceans.
The findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences report showed that much as 88 per cent of the open ocean's surface contains plastic debris, raising concern about the effect on marine life and the food chain.
Mass-produced plastics from toys, bags, food containers and utensils make their way into the oceans through storm water runoff, a problem that is only expected to get worse in the coming decades unless we figure out a way to divert it or clean it up.
If we don't, it will be our health that it impacts on as much as it does the marine life.
Both this first report and another by co-author Professor Carlos Duarte from the University of Western Australia, highlights grave concern about the fact that whilst they found less plastic items than they expected, it indicates that items have broken down into smaller particles of plastic, known as microplastics, and have been removed by fish, consequently entering the ocean food web.
This of course then ends up on our plates.
Given that humans have created this problem there MUST be a way that we can create the solution.
A recent US conference on the issue of ocean health, which attracted many big name and celebrity advocates, is a great start. Let's hope that efforts in this area continue.
For now, as consumers it is up to us to play our part by making sustainable product choices and choosing non-plastic alternatives when buying goods. We can also avoid plastic heavy packaging and help keep it out of the waterways by recycling the plastic products we do use.
Every small action combined can lead to a big result and keeps the pressure on companies and governments to play their part.
If we don't, it will be our health that it impacts on as much as it does the marine life.
Both this first report and another by co-author Professor Carlos Duarte from the University of Western Australia, highlights grave concern about the fact that whilst they found less plastic items than they expected, it indicates that items have broken down into smaller particles of plastic, known as microplastics, and have been removed by fish, consequently entering the ocean food web.
This of course then ends up on our plates.
Given that humans have created this problem there MUST be a way that we can create the solution.
A recent US conference on the issue of ocean health, which attracted many big name and celebrity advocates, is a great start. Let's hope that efforts in this area continue.
For now, as consumers it is up to us to play our part by making sustainable product choices and choosing non-plastic alternatives when buying goods. We can also avoid plastic heavy packaging and help keep it out of the waterways by recycling the plastic products we do use.
Every small action combined can lead to a big result and keeps the pressure on companies and governments to play their part.