Help stop plastic pollution

We hail from one of the most beautiful places on the planet, but our nasty plastic addiction is slowly choking our precious coasts and marine life. Together, we must start saying ‘no’ to unnecessary plastic in our daily lives as it ends up in the sea. Reduce the use of plastic shopping bags, reject straws and replace plastic bottles with filtered water.

Plastic is a substance the Earth cannot digest. Our oceans cannot wait any longer and we need to dramatically reduce marine litter and the harm it causes. Plastic is inexpensive, and it is one of the most widely available and overused items in the world today. When disposed, it does not decompose easily. Ending plastic pollution is about avoiding plastic in the first place and if unable to, reusing or recycling the material, as opposed to tossing it into the garbage. Can an ocean full of plastic sustain life?

Not only are we severely harming the land, air and water around us, the rest of the world has to pay the price for our thoughtless over-consumption. Soon, our children and the generations to come will be tirelessly cleaning up our mess. Though we cannot solve this problem by collecting all the plastic that is in ocean, we need to stop it at its source.

It is time to connect governments and industries to conservationists to urgently reduce the production and excessive use of plastic that is polluting the Earth’s oceans, damaging marine life and threatening human health. Plastic pollution is an environmental and social justice issue.

Plastic is a petroleum product. We use million barrels of oil each year. That is a lot of resources for something that is completely unnecessary. Surely, this precious resource should not be wasted on producing plastic products.

- The reader is a freelance writer based in Dubai.