Plastic bags and straws, two of the most popular disposable plastic items in society today, have become extremely detrimental to our ocean and its marine life. These items easily find themselves in the ocean and eventually get eaten by marine animals. 

Bags

Sources: 1) The average plastic bag is used for only 12 minutes before being discarded. 2) Omnivorous turtles are 62% likely to consume plastic films when they see them. 3) 5 trillion plastic bags are used per year. 4) Reusable bags or paper alternatives prevent this type of ocean pollution.

Globally, there are about one trillion plastic bags made each year – that’s two million bags a minute. In fact, at one stage plastic bags were referred to as “South Africa’s national flower”. These bags are often only used for a few minutes and end up blowing out of bins and landfills and ultimately landing in the ocean, where they remain for hundreds of years. 

Thankfully, it’s actually quite easy to rid the world of plastic shopping bags. Here’s how:

• If you don’t already have reusable shopping bags, get a few on your next shopping trip or repurpose what you already have.
• If you already have a collection of single-use shopping bags at home, reuse them as much as you can before discarding them.
• Form good bag habits - eg. store your bags in the boot of your car, keep one in your handbag, wash them every so often, etc. These habits make using these bags much more convenient.

Straws

Source: 1) Up to 8.3 billion plastic straws pollute the world's coastlines. 2) Plastic straws are one of the top 10 beach litter items found during coastal cleanups. 3) Turtles often mistake straws for food. 4) 90% of seabirds have ingested some kind of plastic. 

Hundreds of billions of plastic drinking straws are used globally. They are lightweight, non-recyclable, and are easily blown away by the wind and into our oceans. They are easily mistaken by sea animals as a source of food and can result in death and injury for many.

The vast majority of people use drinking straws solely for convenience, so it should be a very easy habit to break! Here’s how:

• Sip with your lips whenever you can! If hygiene is a concern, then that is another reason to use a reusable bottle.
• In situations that absolutely require a straw, consider bringing your own reusable one.
• Let your server know that you don’t want a straw when you place your order. Otherwise, they will bring you one automatically, which is such a waste.

The Flipper Effect: Protect Bob's Home

While Bob is being readied for release after eight years of difficult rehabilitation, we realise we won't be able to protect him anymore. The reality is simple: The ocean is not safe for turtles. Together we can change that. Bob will be facing many of the same human-caused threats that resulted in his stranding in the first place, and which are the cause of harm to the overwhelming majority of distressed sea turtles.

In order to create an ocean that is safe for Bob and all other creatures that call it home, we must continuously take small actions towards protecting it - these small actions compound into big change. This is #TheFlipperEffect!