Deep sea greens, ocean blues, a North Sea green-grey and foamy whites all reminding us today that “the ocean is not an ashtray”. And if you’re taking part in a beach clean up this month, we salute you!
Lest we forget: “Please tread gently, we live on a fragile planet”.
WATCH: “A MILLION PLASTIC BOTTLES A MINUTE”
So shocking I can hardly get my head around this…
We buy a million plastic bottles a minute
(worldwide)
- Fewer than half of the plastic bottles purchased in 2016 were recycled – only 7 percent were made into new bottles
- The number of plastic bottles sold yearly is expected to increase by 20 percent by 2021 and reach more than half a trillion plastic bottles sold every year by 2020
From Dr. Mercola’s website: “While most plastic water and soda bottles are made from highly recyclable polyethylene terephthalate (PET), most such bottles end up littering oceans and landfills. The Guardian reported that fewer than half of the plastic bottles purchased in 2016 were recycled, and only 7 percent were made into new bottles.3 In the U.S., one of the top waste-generating countries, littering is a major issue, especially in the form of single-use plastics, like soda bottles, drinking straws and potato chip bags.
According to environmental advocacy group Ocean Conservancy, some plastic products persist for so long, even in salty ocean water, that they’ll still be recognizable after 400 years.4 “The amount of unmanaged plastic waste entering the ocean — known as plastic-waste leakage — has reached crisis levels and has caused significant economic and environmental damage,” they state.
According to the Be Straw Free campaign, Americans use 500 million straws daily, which doesn’t even account for all of the straws that come attached to juice and milk cartons (including those handed out in school cafeterias).10
Straws are also commonly found littering coastlines and beaches (along with plastic bags and bottles), which isn’t surprising when you think about how often and widely they’re handed out. While some zoos and theme parks (such as Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom) have banned their use to protect animals, straws are available for free at virtually every U.S. restaurant, movie theater and coffee shop.
Sadly, marine mammals are often found with straws lodged in their stomachs and sea turtles have been found with straws wedged in their nose. Slowly, cities around the U.S. have taken notice, with California’s Manhattan Beach enacting a citywide disposable plastic ban. Others, including Berkeley, California; Miami, Florida; and New York City, as well as 1,800 restaurants, are considering bans on straws or at least have pledged to only hand them out if customers request them.11 “
Let’s take a hard look at how we can drastically reduce (even better, eliminate) plastic from our lives (and on a similar note, excess packaging, something The Beauty Shortlist will be campaigning to reduce, it’s one of our main themes for 2018).
“Stone” by Aussie free-from brand Kester Black
Sparkling surf (not the name of this shade)
Because summer was made for new nail shades
#DiveIn