SARASOTA – A simple idea that was started over 15 years ago. June 8th is known globally as World Ocean Day.
Established by the United Nations in 2008, the day serves as a reminder of our role to preserve and rehabilitate oceanic ecosystems around the world.
“I think we’ve all seen it ourselves with our own eyes unfortunately that plastic trash is accumulating in our oceans,” said Sandra Harris.
World Ocean Day is a reminder of the role we play when keeping our waters clean or quite the opposite, polluting it.
It’s easy to forget at times the significance and crucial role our planets water plays in our survival. After all experts say at least 50% of the oxygen we breathe is produced by the ocean.
But new reports state we are polluting the ocean with around 12.7 million tons of plastic a year; and the damage we are doing to marine life and our ecosystem is becoming irreparable.
“Mostly all of this plastic that we’re talking about is under the surface in tiny little particulate matter,” said Harris.
Harris, a plastic pollution activist and author of Say Goodbye to Plastic, says the plastic trash we find on our beaches and coastlines is being broken into tiny little pieces called micro-plastics.
Which at times carry chemicals that are linked to harmful health effects. However, Harris says part of the solution is adapting to a plastic free lifestyle.
“I think people get excited about the idea of scooping up all of this plastic out in the ocean. The best thing that we can do is to reduce the amount of plastic that we use, and reduce the amount of plastic that we dispose.”
Harris’ book is more of a guide to living a plastic free life rather than it being an instruction manual. She says the hardest part of making the switch in lifestyles is realizing just how many of the products we use are in fact plastic.
“There’s so many options that I talk about in the book that it doesn’t need to be a linear journey or if you’re reading the book do you have to read it from front to back you just kind of dive into ocean conservation, pardon the pun, wherever you want.”
Harris’ book is available for purchase on Amazon, as well as on her website.
Harris made the switch and decided to ditch all products made of plastic when she founded the ECOlunchbox after discovering of the harmful material plastic lunchboxes left behind on the food she’d make for her kinds lunch.