We can all reduce waste

Ocean pollution: two little words for millions of pounds of garbage we dump into the sea.

Ocean pollution is defined as the introduction of toxic materials such as plastic, oil, chemicals, agricultural waste and industrial waste into ocean waters. Studies from Ocean Crusaders show that polluting the water kills approximately one billion seabirds and 100,000 sea mammals every year.

You might be thinking, my garbage is probably 0.1% of all the garbage in the world, so it doesn’t matter if I recycle or reduce my waste.

However, every little amount of trash adds up. You can easily reduce your waste if you simply stop using plastic or paper cups and plates. For example, if you drink coffee from a paper cup every day of the year you use 365 cups, lids, straws, etc. However, if you use a reusable cup then you’re saving 365 paper cups! That’s a lot of cups.

We can all reduce waste and help preserve the oceans by being conscious of our actions and reducing our use of plastic.

Kanako Walker

Spokane