5 Ways to Reduce Our Reliance on Plastic
1. Avoid single-use plastics
Ninety percent of the plastic we use in our daily lives is disposable or single-use plastic: grocery bags, plastic wrap, zipper bags, coffee-cup lids. Single-use plastics are particularly damaging considering that a single plastic bag can take 1 000 years to degrade.
These plastics can also degrade into microplastics, smaller pieces that are often mistaken as food by mammals, birds or fish. Simply noticing the prevalence of plastic in our lives is the first step to replacing single-use plastics with reusable options: cloth bags, glass storage containers, silverware, ceramic mugs.
2. Recognize microplastics in disguise
Many cosmetics and beauty products contain “exfoliants” that are in fact little plastic beads. These microplastics might seem harmless, but it is precisely because of their size that they can slip through water-treatment plants and end up in the ocean where fish often mistake them for food. Try natural exfoliants, like oatmeal or salt, instead.
3. Carry a reusable water bottle
Disposable water and soda bottles are some of the biggest culprits of plastic waste. More than 480 billion plastic drinking bottles were sold globally in 2016. If placed end to end, they would extend more than halfway to the sun! Drink from reusable bottles instead. In places where the water is safe to drink, you can easily refill your bottle.
4. Say no to plastic cutlery, straws, take out containers
Sometimes we are given plastic without even asking for it. Turn down the offer for a straw. Ask restaurants to pack your food in fewer containers for take-out. Tell them that you don’t need any plastic cutlery, and use your own reusable cutlery instead.
5. Recycle
This might seem obvious, but the majority of the plastic we use is not recycled. Where the option exists, ensure that the plastic you do use gets recycled, but remember, it is easier to prevent waste than to manage it.
Promoting sustainable oceans, rivers, fishing and fish farming practices is a priority for FAO. An estimated 10 to 12 percent of the global population relies on fisheries and aquaculture for their livelihood.
Per capita fish consumption has risen from 10 kilogrammes in the 1960s to more than 20 kilogrammes in 2016, meaning that the demand for seafood is increasing even asthese resources are more and more threatened.
Is the convenience of plastic really worth the future of our oceans and marine life? Let us protect our lakes, rivers and oceans from pollution and its impacts on aquatic life.
There are so many factors, like reducing plastic, that play into a food secure future. We all depend on safe, healthy and nutritious food, and fish is an important component of healthy diets and food security worldwide. The good news is that our actions make a difference. We can all help create a #ZeroHunger world by 2030.
