Costa Rica hosts the most beautiful beaches that´s why we understand that keeping clean our oceans is as important as keeping our house neat and beautiful.
Let’s Keep Clean Our Oceans: 5 Facts about Plastic
At Perfect Sunset School in Playa Hermosa, Santa Teresa, Puntarenas we recognize how important is the ocean for us and for the whole world. It´s a highly essential part of our life, it shows the kind of people we are.
The same happens with the ocean, our planet is mainly made up of water, more than 71% of it is covered with this liquid, most of it is salt water coming from the ocean. So, that why it´s well said that our house is a blue planet, to keep it clean is really crucial.
Plastic a Huge Pollutant
To keep clean the ocean is very difficult since every day many people around the world are polluting it from the beaches in different ways, but the most harmful polluting agent for the ocean has been the plastic and the plastic bags.
That´s why finding ways to control this situation is imperative, especially at the level of pollution we are now.
According to data from Greenpeace every second more than 200 kilos of plastic is discharged into the ocean, it means more than 8 million tons per year.
This is shocking, isn´t it?
But, is there something we could do?
Plastic is a material designed or invented to simplify our life. It has been very useful every day in everything we do. Nevertheless, nowadays we need to find out more uses for it but preventing damage in the ocean as well.
Simple Actions… Big Results
As we just said plastic is a benefit. When we go to the beach for example; we avoid washing dishes that´s why we buy plastic kits or cutlery among others.
Probably; the best option here is to use metal cutlery and wash it to use it again. That´s not what we really want, but if we agree with helping each other and taking turns to wash them. It won´t be a big deal.
Another problem arises when we don´t pick up garbage or we don´t get rid of it properly.
At Perfect Sunset School, we are conscious about these little things; that´s why we try to keep eco-friendly practices as ocean and beach lovers.
If we care about the trash we produce we´ll really help the environment and diminish our negative influence on the ocean; one by one, person by person, family by family… Until the accomplishment of a high positive impact.
Alternatives for Plastic
If we don´t want to harm the ocean we should find substitutes for plastic.
- Use metal straws, a lot of fauna from the ocean dies because of the plastic straws.
- Glass bottles, they not only help the environment but they are a healthier option too since they do not produce toxic substances inside.
- The canvas bags or eco-friendly bags are very useful and they are even stronger than plastic bags.
- Reuse everything you can, not only plastic. Some products or other materials still have inner plastic fibers, for example, clothes and shoes.
Recycling and Reusing
When someone asks you: Do you recycle? You´ll probably try to answer “yes, I do”. But, the truth is: “No, you don´t”. Unless you own a Recycling Plant, you don´t recycle. You probably, classify trash and send it to these treatment plants. Then, that´s the first and most important step.
Classifying and Recycling are important supports to improve this situation.
Reusing is when you find out other uses different than the original, avoiding just throwing away the things that are considered useless.
Funny and Useful Ideas with Plastic Containers
- A phone case made with your shampoo bottle, you´ll keep safe your cellphone while it´s charging.
- You can make a “Tupperware” with a bag and a soda bottle lid to keep fresh your food.
- Big water containers can be used as amazing baskets to carry in a lot of things or even snacks.
- If you are at the beach and you want to listen to loud music, but you only got your cellphone. Just find out a plastic bottle and an empty toilet paper roll, cut the bottle and place the roll in the middle to get a new holder and sound amplifier.
- Or probably if you are at the beach you feel like drinking Tea, but you don´t have a filter, you can create one just cutting a bottle in half.
There are lots of useful ways to reuse plastic, keep clean the ocean and make our life easier, all at the same time.
Here at Perfect Sunset School, we want to make people aware of oceans reality and we are always finding ways to help.
Let´s keep clean the ocean. Let´s take care of it as we take care of our home.