This week, I am choosing to highlight an environmental issue that is all too familiar in today’s society: the use (and abuse) of plastic. We all use it, we all dispose of it in one way or another, and some of it always ends up in the wrong place.

The biggest impact that this incorrect way of throwing out plastic is having can be seen in our world’s oceans. I am not sure about anyone else, but the first thought that comes to mind when I see soda cans packaged in that ringed plastic is one of a sea turtle tangled up in that plastic. This is because it is, unfortunately, a very real and very common issue.

At the moment, an estimated forty percent of the world’s ocean surfaces is covered with plastic pollution, and if this problem is not solved soon, by 2050 it is projected that the amount of plastic in the ocean will actually outweigh the weight of the fish in the ocean. Aquatic animals can be seriously harmed or even die due to ingesting or getting tangled in pieces of plastic. Besides the fact that disposing of garbage in a way that reaches the ocean is irresponsible, it also has extremely sad effects. This article tells us a little more about exactly what we are doing to our planet’s wildlife.

Since I am certain that this issue is not a new piece of information to anyone with the slightest knowledge of what is happening in the world, why is it still an issue? We have all seen that image (in one form or another) of that poor aquatic creature tangled up in plastic, and yet the abuse of plastic continues to impact the oceans. The answer is simple, yet sad. Responsible ways of using plastic or avoiding it altogether are available almost anywhere, but it requires some extra effort, or maybe an extra cost. Plastic bags at the grocery store are handed out freely, but if you want to use reusable grocery bags you have to buy them first. In order to recycle your plastic you have to first determine what exactly is recyclable, which takes some more effort. We do not actually need plastic straws to sip our drinks, but it is a societal convention, so we get them at every restaurant, every coffee shop, every smoothie stand, and anywhere else we order a beverage. Reusable water bottles can be found just about anywhere, and yet so many of us still choose to use disposable ones. The ability to reduce our impact on the environment is there, but sometimes we are just a little too lazy to take advantage.

There are however, a growing number of efforts in order to raise awareness for the amount of plastic we use as well as an increase in the opportunities we have to lessen our impact. This is happening all over, but especially on college campuses across the country. Yes, this includes good old PSU. You know those bins in the HUB that say words like hard plastics, paper, metal, glass, compost, etc.? The ones that you usually ignore because figuring out which is which is too much of an effort when you have to get to class? Yes, those were put there by people of our great university that decided Penn State would contribute to the greater good in the world. And even if lots of us still just use the trash, it is enough to still reduce the amount of waste we are creating. The trash cans even say the words “Are You Sure?” in order to make you think twice about mindlessly throwing everything away; I do not know about anyone else, but it actually works on me. Penn State also has a number of water bottle refilling stations attached to the water fountains. It provides drinking water for reusable water bottles and eliminates that annoying need to attempt to stick your bottle under the stream of water in the water fountain, which makes reusable water bottles more attractive to use. Some of them also tally the amount of water that they provide, telling you how many disposable water bottles were not used by using these filling stations, which always makes me feel good about using them. Our campus, as well as many others, is really making an effort to help the planet, so it would be a great idea to take advantage of all these opportunities around us.

It is so important that more of us recognize exactly what we are doing to our environment by using plastic irresponsibly. There are so many easy solutions to this problem, and it would be wonderful if more people could participate in them. So the next time you are in the HUB and decide to go straight for the trash can, maybe give it a second thought and take one more step towards ridding our oceans of harmful plastic and protecting the turtles. 🙂