Plastics Journey - Report from Japan. A blog from YWA's Environmental Committee.

This week, in honor of Earth Day, YWA Japanese teacher Yumi Spahn blogs about plastic. Learn how plastics end up in the ocean, the damage plastics cause, and what we can do to help.

“Because of the waves and sunlight, the plastic deconstructs into small harmful objects. Every year over 8 million tons of garbage reach our oceans and by 2050 there will be more garbage in weight than there are fish in the ocean.”

— Yumi Spahn

Approximately 300 million tons of plastic are produced each year around the globe and only an estimated 10% of said plastics are recycled.

On August 5th, 2018 on the beaches of Yuigahama Kaigan, Kamakura city, Kanagawa prefecture Japan a baby blue whale washed up on the shore. From the baby’s stomach plastic debris was found. Why would one find plastic debris in a baby whale’s stomach?

２０１８．８．５　Yuigahama Kamakura city Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan

国立科学博物館収蔵（Collection of　National Science Museum in Japan）

How is it possible that garbage, including store plastic bags, pet bottles, cigarette filters were found in such a faraway place as the ocean?

Garbage from the town reaches the ocean by being blown away in the air, littering rivers flowing into the rivers after rain water washes together into those rivers. All the garbage that reaches the rivers make it to the ocean.

That’s how garbage reaches places like the ocean where unsuspecting animals including birds, whales, fish end up mistakenly eating the harmful plastic.

Animals also get entangled, injured, and their lives endangered by getting plastic garbage stuck to their bodies.

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That’s not all. Because of the waves and sunlight, the plastic deconstructs into small harmful objects. Every year over 8 million tons of garbage reach our oceans and by 2050 there will be more garbage in weight than there are fish in the ocean.

What we can do – how to clean the oceans of plastic.

Bring an eco bag to the store and not use plastic.

Bring garbage home or throw it away in a designated area.

Throw away as little as possible and recycle as much as possible, even get a recycle bucket.

Purchase products that use little plastic or unnecessary wrapping and buy items that can be reused. Also, do not forget to bring your own bag from home.

Take the Oceans and Plastic Pollution Quiz:

https://www.earthday.org/oceans-and-plastic-pollution-quiz/

Sustainable Development Goals

There are UN-mandated goals through 2030 to help with tackling this problem.