Around the globe environmental campaigners are highlighting that ‘if people don’t stop plastic pollution, or continue to use it without recycling there will be catastrophic consequences for the aquatic and even terrestrial ecosystems.
In The Gambia plastic is found everywhere from our street sides, in our local markets. However, people tend to forget that all this plastic waste has a massive impact on our local environment as well as our incredible oceans.
This week, representatives from nearly 200 countries are meeting in Paris for the latest talks on a global treaty on plastic pollution.
According to the Ocean Conservatory, 8 million metric tons of plastic waste enters the oceans every year. That means more than 550 pounds of plastic trash enters our oceans and seas every second.
This is indeed worrying looking at the impact of plastic on sea creatures and other marine resources.
However, we should be mindful of the fact that the plastic waste communities are disposing of in the ocean is not sustainable and sound environmental practice.
Plastic also affects our own health and the health of ocean ecosystems and marine creatures. Few years later, the National Environment Agency placed an embargo on the importation of plastic related items in the country. People first criticized the move, but within a short period of time we saw the difference. People should realize that plastic waste through exposure to sun and other action, is broken down into pieces. This in turn easily finds their way into the food chain and into our organs.
Plastic pollution is also a huge issue for marine creatures and ocean ecosystems. The World Wildlife Foundation found that more than 100 million marine creatures die every year of plastic waste alone. They may get trapped in floating plastic or impaled by waste or maybe mistake plastic pieces for food, which block their system and starve to death.
To make our communities safe from plastic pollution, we all have a role to play. These include limiting the use of plastic related items and encouraging use of recycling and reusable items.
We can play a part in making the Gambia free from plastics, thus contributing to environmental cleanliness.