Did you know there are 46,000 pieces of plastic in each square mile of the ocean, harming over 600 marine species? Or that there are more microplastic particles of litter in the ocean than there are stars in the sky? These numbers are sobering and sad. But the United Nations is doing something about them, and you can too.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) launched its CleanSeas initiative in February 2017. The aim is to target the causes of marine litter by limiting the production and consumption of nonrecoverable and single-use plastic such as bottles, bags, and straws. The initiative encourages government, corporate, and community involvement to achieve this goal. International governments currently attached to this massive cleanup effort include Kenya, Sweden, Italy, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The only American governmental support to date is from the government of American Samoa.
Dell computers is one of the notable businesses that has joined the initiative. In fact, Dell has launched a pilot program that turns plastic litter found on beaches into packaging for its laptops. By the end of this year, Dell expects to use 16,000 pounds of recycled beach litter in its packaging.
XYMOGEN, a health and wellness company that produces high-quality professional nutritional supplement formulas, is another corporation that is taking action. The Orlando, Fla.-based, privately held company is currently expected to reduce its use of plastics by moving from plastic bottles for its formulas to thin film dose packs packaged in cardboard cartons. This should reduce its plastic use by 40 percent.
Limiting your use of plastics is one way you can help. No longer using single-use plastic straws and shopping bags are two easy things you can do right now to protect our planet. You can take the pledge to stop using straws by tweeting your commitment and tagging it #StopSucking. To make your own pledge and find out more about the CleanSeas initiative, visit CleanSeas.org.
