We all know there's a plastic apocolypese taking over the world. It's clogging up our oceans, buried in our sands, blowing down our roads, and sadly ending up in the stomachs and other body parts of our most innocent and beautiful marine friends.
Have you seen the video of the turtle with a straw up its nose?! It's just not right and to be honest I don't know what the big solution is, but what I do know is we can all start doing a little something in our everyday life to make even the tiniest bit of a difference.
After seeing that turtle video I decided I was going to start making a conscious effort to pick up bits of trash whenever I stumbled across it.
How many times have you been on the beach and sat down next to an empty bottle or on a windy day had a dirty plastic bag come flying into you and you to just wave it off as it continues rolling down the sand? I see this happen every day regardless of what country I'm in and it makes me seriously mad. All it takes is for you to stop that bag, shove it under your towel, then take it to the trash when you leave. And guess what? You may have just saved some poor dolphin or turtle from choking to death. Plus that beach you're enjoying is now a lot more pleasant to look at.
What I've turned into is this weirdo that never comes out of the water empty handed and chases flyaway bags down the beach. Or when I'm lazy, getting my boyfriend to chase it down the beach for me (that still keeps my conscious clear). This is how my mind set has changed, now every time I pick up a straw, or a bag or a bottle I think to myself, good work (pat on the back) you've just saved a turtle! And selfishly that makes me feel pretty damn good about myself.
Now I'm not saying you should spend your entire life wandering around looking for trash (but hey if you have the time go for it). But what we can do is stop looking at litter and thinking that sucks, but it's not mine, so why should I pick it up?
Instead how about next time you go for a dip in the ocean and see an old coke bottle floating in the water, take it out with you. Or when someones AWOL plastic bag lands in your lap, stop it from whacking your unknown neighbour and put it in the bin. Because although that piece of trash might not be yours, this planet is. It's all of ours, and we need to start working together to fix it, even if it's one floating bottle or straw stuck in the sand at a time. You never know just how many turtles or other amazing creatures you might just save.
