Oceans
Name one plastic item that can be found in the ocean.
Plastic water bottle, Plastic utensils, Plastic bags, 6 pack rings, Bottle caps, etc.
What is a landfill?
A landfill is a place where trash, garbage, and rubbish is dumped.
Name one alternative to plastic.
Metal items, Reusable items.
Plastic affects animals negatively, and it can hurt them.
What does biodegradable mean.
It means that something can be broken down into smaller pieces by bacteria, or that it can be decomposed.
Name one animal in the ocean that can be affected negatively by plastic.
Sea turtle, Sea otter, Seal, Crabs, Fish, Octopus, etc.
What do landfills do for us?
They give us a space to store trash and garbage to slowly decompose.
Why should people use metal items as alternatives to plastic items.
So we have less plastic on Earth, and so we can have a cleaner environment.
What happens when animals eat plastic?
Animals cannot digest plastic, and when they eat plastic items their digestive system becomes damaged, and they can die.
How long does a plastic bag take to decompose?
A plastic bag can last up to a millennium, (1,000 years.)
How does trash end up in our Oceans instead of in the trash and recycling?
People litter or miss the trash can and the trash ends up in our oceans.
How long does trash in a landfill take to fully decompose?
Plastic items can take as long as 1,000 years to finally decompose in a landfill.
What happens when we use alternatives instead of using plastic items?
When people start to use alternative items instead of plastic items, we limit the amount of plastic we are putting into the world. We also throw away less plastic items that can end up in landfills.
Why do animals eat plastic?
Animals eat plastic because they cannot decipher plastic from food. They can't tell whether or not plastic is edible, they will just eat it.
How many tons of plastic are produced yearly.
300 million tons of plastic are produced yearly.
What is the most commonly ingested plastic debris by sea turtles?
Plastic bags are the most commonly ingested debris by sea turtles.
Trash can get out of landfills and end up in oceans and out in nature.
Why are tote bags/reusable bags a helpful alternative to plastic bags?
Tote bags and reusable bag are a helpful alternative to plastic bags because they are able to be used again and again instead of tossed away after one use.
Why does trash and plastic end up in animals habitats?
Trash and garbage can end up in animals habitats by humans littering and throwing trash on the ground. It can be as simple as throwing a soda can out of your window while you are driving.
How long does it take for an orange peel to decompose?
It can take an orange peel up to 6 months to decompose.
In what year will plastic outnumber the number of fish in our oceans?
2050.
What does runoff from landfills cause?
Runoff from landfills carries toxic chemicals from the waste and can end up in our water supply.
Why is using alternatives such a hard thing to do?
Even though we know that using alternatives is a good and helpful idea it can still be hard to commit to using them. Though plastic items are not so helpful to the environment, they are however helpful to us. For example plastic bags make it so much easier to carry groceries. Or when you are in a rush you can grab a plastic water bottle quickly because it is already filled up.
What can we do to help the animals in nature.
To help animals in the wild we can try not to litter as much, and we can make sure not to throw trash on the ground.
What do marine debris transport?
Marine debris can transport non-native species and invasive species from one ocean to another which can be dangerous.