POWERFUL VIDEO: Why we need to stop plastic pollution in our oceans for good | Oceana

Our oceans are being filled and killed by throwaway plastics. But together, we can create a movement to reduce throwaway plastic at the source and save our oceans. Oceana and our allies are already winning plastic-free victories -- victories that aren't possible without your help.
Are you ready to be part of our movement to #BreakFreeFromPlastic? Click here: http://bit.ly/32POrQV

Subscribe to our channel to join our community of Wavemakers!

LET’S STAY CONNECTED:

INSTAGRAM » https://www.instagram.com/oceana/
TWITTER » http://twitter.com/oceana
FACEBOOK » https://www.facebook.com/oceana/

Our oceans sustain life.

An abundant ocean

can feed a billion people
a healthy meal every day forever.

But now they are being filled,
killed by throwaway plastics.

The equivalent of one
garbage truck of plastic

is dumped in the sea every minute -

17.6 billion pounds every year.

Plastic is everywhere in our ocean -

floating on the surface,

mixing in the saltwater,

and sitting on the ocean bottom
miles and miles deep.

And once in the ocean,

it never goes away.

Over hundreds of years,

it breaks down into small pieces,

but those pieces,

even the tiny ones called micro plastics,

are still plastic.

Sea turtles are choking on them.

Scientists say that over 60% of whale
and dolphin species are affected by it.

It's all plankton - the beast
of the ocean food chain eat it -

and so, do we?

It's in the water we drink.

It's in our food.

Microplastics have been found
in our salt, our honey, and our beer,

and sometimes even in the air we breathe.

Companies are choosing to make something

that will be used just once,

from a material that lasts forever.

If you don't like what throwaway plastics
are already doing to our world,

brace yourself.

We face a tsunami of throwaway plastic

in our and the ocean's future.

Four times more plastic will be produced

between now and the middle of the century

than has been produced in all of history.

Four times more.

What can we do?

Recycling?

Of all the plastic ever
generated as of 2015,

only 9% was recycled.

Even when it is recycled,

plastic degrades.

Your plastic soda bottle maybe
becomes a shampoo bottle,

then a floor mat,

even in the best case, it doesn't recycle,

it down cyclists.

And then it becomes pollution

that ruins our beaches
and chokes sea animals forever.

We should not be forced to pollute
the ocean every time we eat,

drink, or go shopping.

We need to be given a choice -

a plastic-free choice.

This is not hard to imagine.

Indeed, some responsible companies
are already leading the way.

There are throwaway plastic-free
aisles in supermarkets.

Beverage companies already offer
plastic-free soda and seltzer water.

Restaurants offer plastic-free service.

There are plastic-free rooms and hotels

And airline is now offering
a plastic-free flight

And Oceana and our allies are
winning plastic-free victories.

Following campaigning by Oceana,

Peru passed the law

that keeps plastic out of
national parks and beaches.

Belize is getting rid of styrofoam.

And the European Union

has mandated reductions
for throwaway plastic

throughout its 28 member countries.

But with your help, we can do more.

Together, we can create a movement

to reduce throwaway plastic.

We can make sure

we're all given real plastic-free choices.

We can help our cities, towns,
schools, and workplaces

establish zones that are
free of throwaway plastic.

Let's stop plastic pollution from
wrecking our beaches and our oceans,

and have healthy oceans. The delight,
the sustenance for generations to come.

Please join our campaign.

Go to oceana.org/plastics today.

Subtitles by Carol Wang