I wanted to raise the importance of recycling, especially plastics. I am a bicyclist who rides three to four times per week in my neighborhood. After reading several articles about plastics and the dire situation of our oceans, I started to take notice of how much plastic is on our streets.
I went out one day last week to collect some of the plastic on the street and I filled up a kitchen garbage can in less then 30 minutes, which was all on my bike.
Please people, it is very important that we recycle plastic. Plastic is not biodegradable; whatever is thrown on the streets will most likely end up in our waterways and oceans. If you notice on the storm drains, it says no dumping because it goes to waterways. As I was picking up the plastic, a lot of it was on the storm drains. There were a lot of plastic water bottles, plastic bags, plastic cups and other types of plastic. So what happens to the plastic once it gets into our waterways? Most likely, marine wildlife and birds will ingest a lot of it and cause the animals to get sick and/or die.
One of the articles I read said that 12,000 to 24,000 tons of plastic is ingested by fish each year. Another article I read told of a green sea turtle who washed up dead on a New South Wales beach in Australia and when the turtle was opened up, 317 pieces of plastic were found inside of it. The turtle died because it could no longer eat regular food to survive; it was filled up with plastic, which an animal cannot digest.
So the next time you want to throw out that water bottle or other plastic from your car, please think about what I just wrote and recycle that bottle or other plastic. And please advise your children to do the same, especially if your children drive, and drive other teenagers around.
And if you walk past plastic on the street, please pick up at least one piece and recycle it. Every little bit helps. Keep plastics off our streets — one piece at a time — and help save our oceans/waterways and wildlife.
Wendy Beyda Marlboro