OPINION: Save Our Marine Life

by: Cabri Gordon

Imagine someone coming into your home uninvited and leaving behind their dirty trash and filth. How would this make you feel?

For the majority of us, we’d be offended, annoyed and above all else, just plain angry.

Why would an uninvited house guest feel the need to leave trash in someone else’s home?

This is a question I ask myself every time I witness someone litter.

According to Litter, It Costs You, 9 billion tons of litter ends up in the ocean every year. To put this number into perspective, the entire world population is only 7.7 billion. Crazy, right?

The amount of litter accumulating over time is more than the amount of trash produced per year.This is because people have a tendency to throw things anywhere they please instead of in trash cans.

All too often people fail to take into consideration where their litter may end up. This is one of the main reasons why populations of marine life are decreasing each year.

According to the EPA, “it is estimated that about 80% of marine debris originates as land-based trash and the remaining 20% is attributed to at-sea intentional or accidental disposal or loss of goods and waste.”

Nearly one hundred percent of the amount of waste found in the ocean came from trash littered on land. With that being said, whenever we hear about the amount of sea life that is dying, let’s take a step back and see how our actions may be causing the problem.

However, with organizations like the Environmental Protection Agency and Keep America Beautiful, more action is being done to help prevent littering.

This can start with decreasing the amount of trash you produce. The EPA gives tips on what you can do to help decrease your trash footprint.

For example, repairing the items you break or buying longer-lasting products would have a impact on our environment. Even simple tasks such as making sure trash cans are secured properly can make a big difference in litter buildup.

Many people fail to see how their actions can affect change, but it has to start with one person.

Be that first person. Stop littering and keep our marine babies in mind whenever you have the urge to throw something on the ground.

Change can start with you.