Narrator:
Humans produce about 450 million tons of plastic a year. Most of it is
single-use—we use it once and then throw it away. As a result, more than 5
trillion pieces of plastic are in our oceans and on our beaches. Fish, birds,
and other sea life are eating the plastic. Some people think the answer is
simple. If we stop using single-use plastic, we solve the problem. But how easy
is it really? Marie McGory wanted to find out.
Marie often
travels overseas, and on her trips, she uses single-use plastic like coffee
cups, plastic bags, and plastic straws. Recently, she went to Belize for nine
days and decided to buy these items before the trip: a reusable grocery bag for
shopping, two reusable water bottles, food containers, a glass straw, and a
spoon and fork made of bamboo. So, how did her trip go?
Marie found
that even if you take a long trip, two water bottles contained enough water,
and one bottle of water was enough for a short day-trip. If you carry food
containers, you can put snacks in them, so you don’t have to buy fast food in
plastic. If you go to a cafe and order a drink, tell the waiter that you don’t
need a plastic straw because you have your own reusable glass one. Oh, and they
don’t need to give you a plastic knife and fork, because you have your bamboo
ones.
So, with some
simple planning—and for very little money—Marie found that she avoided using 79
pieces of single-use plastic!
