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Scientists are very worried about plastic that ends up in the ocean. Old clothes made from polyester and acrylic create toxic microfibres in the ocean. Porters Wood, St Albans, Yet another danger is harder to see. Plastic rubbish can be incredibly harmful to fish and other sea life. And because plastic takes 400 years to break down, it stays there for a long, long time, putting our friends beneath the waves in serious danger. Here’s just how long it takes for some plastics to break down in the ocean: Plastic bottles for water and fizzy drinks are typically made from PET (polyethylene terephthalate). It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. Plastic pollution facts for kids. different species of animals are believed to be severely threatened because of plastic pollution in the ocean. When plastic bags end up in our oceans, animals (including seals, dolphins and seabirds) can get tangled up in them. Floating in the ocean, a plastic bag looks like a delectable jellyfish to sea turtles, tuna, rockfish, sharks, swordfish, salmon, penguins, and a variety of seabirds. These guides will cover how plastic enters the environment, it’s impact on wildlife, microplastics, and even how it effects on our health. James checks out a big scientific study where researchers with the help of some school kids are tracking the movement of plastic in the ocean. Whales have been entangled in discarded plastic fishing nets. of sea turtles worldwide have accidentally eaten plastic rubbish in the ocean. 22 million… tonnes of a gas called carbon dioxide (CO 2) is absorbed by the ocean each day because of rubbish. 2. Greenpeace says that 12 million tonnes of plastic enter the ocean each year, the equivalent of one rubbish truck every minute. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. This website uses cookies (not edible ones!). Every minute, about a dump-truck load of plastic goes into the oceans, sullying beaches, hurting … 8. Plastic left on the ground as litter often blows into creeks and rivers, eventually ending up in the ocean. Sea birds often eat these plastics, which can cause them serious harm or even kill them. Toothbrushes and other things made from hard plastics like PA (polyamide) can take more than 500 years to decompose. So, we’ve compiled a load of visual resources that will hopefully help you bring the ocean, and some of it’s glorious inhabitants, into your classroom or onto your screen. The rest comes from marine businesses like shipping and fishing. Experts think that by 2050, the amount of plastic in the ocean will weigh more than the amount of fish in the ocean. This plastic garbage is caught in the best known of 5 giant rotating ocean currents called gyres. Join the mission and check out our 10 tips to reduce plastic pollution! Broadcast: Tue 18 Sep 2012, 10:00am Transcript 3. THE OCEANS AND PLASTICS POLLUTION KS2 ACTIVITY HANDBOOK FOR TEACHERS Ocean plastics can harm marine life. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Learn about plastic and how to reduce your use. There is an island of garbage twice the size of Texas inside the Pacific Ocean: the North Pacific Gyre off the coast of California is the largest oceanic garbage site in the entire world. An estimated 8 million tonnes of plastic entered the ocean in 2010(Supplied: Jambeck et al/Science 2015). Plastic is an amazing man-made material – it’s cheap to produce and has many uses! Get messy, explore and appreciate nature, all from the safety of home! Plastic packing bands have strangled sea lions. Plastics in the ocean cause a lot of damage to sea life. Ask a parent or guardian to check it out first and remember to stay safe online. Most of the plastic waste in the ocean sinks, which means they don’t get the light they need to break down – causing some plastics to remain for 1,000s of years. These cookies do not store any personal information. Instead, plastics need sunlight to degrade (photodegrade). Greenpeace estimate that 12 million tonnes of plastic enters the ocean every year. Unlike natural materials such as wood or paper, plastic breaks down very slowly. Fact: Plastic rubbish doesn’t biodegrade. It can stay in the ocean for thousands of years if it isn’t recycled. A great deal of plastic waste winds up in the oceans, where it can hurt animals. The ocean has always sucked up CO2 from the air as part of nature – but our waste means more is being absorbed than before. Plastic bags can also smother corals and other seabed communities. Kids vs. Kids vs. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Microplastics are particularly dangerous. Cigarette butts, plastic bags, fishing gear, and food and beverage containers are the most common forms of plastic pollution found in the oceans. While you wait for it to be checked and approved why not to add They can take between 10 and 100 years to decompose. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. The answer: at least 8 million tons. Animals can become entangled in fishing nets and plastic rings. We are dedicated to ending plastic pollution and fostering sustainable communities worldwide. How to make a plastic-free cutlery holder. 9. of all dead animals found in beach cleanups worldwide have been entangled in plastic bags. We’re here to help! Click on our Recycling for Kids page. You can help fight pollution! Plastic. Its a boring topic for some kids and yet it’s so important to discuss the devastating impact of water pollution. Birds have starved, with bellies full of plastic straws and bottle caps. of seabirds eat plastic rubbish, mistaking it for food. Here’s a video from Blue Planet which shows what plastic pollution can do: Are you interested in recycling? It floats in the surface layers of the ocean forming a sort of thin 'soup' (yuk!). Plus see all our fun ocean kids activities here.. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Sea turtles and other animals may eat the plastic. That's similar to emptying a garbage truck of plastic into an ocean every minute. This particular video called " Kids take action against ocean plastic " shows children from Hawaii, who diligently work to make the ocean cleaner, as it’s a home for many amazing creatures, without which the ocean will be dead. You can help fight pollution! Plastic bags are made from high-density polyethylene (HDPE). Scientists are very worried about plastic that ends up in the ocean. Kids Take Action Against Ocean Plastic Shockingly, researchers estimate that by 2050 the oceans will contain more plastic—by weight—than fish. Our materials are produced by scientific researchers and build on our 10 years expertise as leaders in plastic and the oceans. These particles (tiny bits) of plastic get into water sources like rivers, lakes, and oceans. Much of our unwanted plastic ends up in the ocean – around 8 million tonnes of it every year, in fact! Yearly, up to 12.7 million tonnes of plastic enters our oceans. What is a 12-year-old boy doing to reduce the amount of plastic in our oceans? As these degrading plastics leach potentially toxic chemicals into the seas, they pose a serious threat to ocean animals, as well as to humans. At least 8 million tons of plastic enter the oceans each year. The main problem with plastics is that they don’t biodegrade. A picture of a plastic “microbead” from facewash taken with an electron microscope. But half of the plastic we produce is designed to be used just once and then thrown away – and even plastic that can be reused or recycled gets chucked out, too! And, as they take a long time to degrade, it’s really important that plastics are recycled properly and don’t go to landfill. 3. tonnes of a gas called carbon dioxide (CO2) is absorbed by the ocean each day because of rubbish. of fish found during a recent expedition had plastic in their stomachs. Teaching children about marine pollution can be difficult. Discover how a young eco-activist from Sweden inspired a global movement…, The six-year-old has planned a project to help protect the world’s rarest rhinos…, Discover how to make a groovy cutlery holder for your reusable utensils…, Join the mission to protect our beautiful planet and the amazing animals that call it home…. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. Kenburn Waste Management Limited, Inside: Teach kids all about ocean pollution and the marine ecosystem with this hands-on pollution sensory bin. About 80 percent of ocean plastic starts out on land. More than 80% of plastic pollution in the ocean comes from land-based sources. B efore we can expect anyone to protect the natural world, we need help them learn to love it first. Ocean Plastic: a Kids Guide. Teach your kids about the species of sea life that feed upon jellyfish and how a plastic bag in the ocean can end up in their respective digestive systems. The good news is that people around the world are working to together to reduce plastic waste. Sandwich bags using low-density polyethylene (LDPE) take up to 1,000 years to decompose. These floating patches of plastic debris have become worrying new ecosystems which scientists call the " Plastisphere ". Drinking straws, bottle caps, nappies and yoghurt pots are made from PP (polypropylene), which takes 100-500 years to decompose. Fact: Plastic rubbish doesn’t biodegrade. Let’s dive in and take a closer look…. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Every half second, this much plastic makes it into the world's oceans: Taken at the UN's Clean Seas Exhibit in New York. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Ideally, that would be done through first-hand experiences, but for obvious reasons that can be quite tricky! It escapes from landfill sites, floats down our drains, ends up in rivers and makes its way into our oceans. In 2015, engineer Jenna Jambeck at the University of Georgia and other researchers did a study. That’s like an entire truck full of plastic rubbish dumped into the sea every minute! Scientists have found tiny bits of it throughout the ocean. They can take up to 1,000 years to decompose in the ocean. Watch the video to find out! Sunlight causes plastic to become brittle. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. The facts and figures are pretty shocking, right? Understanding plastic pollution can feel overwhelming. 24/10/2019 . A common part of this is single-use plastic packaging for food and drink. a pre-selected message and a cool badge. You’re leaving natgeokids.com to visit another website! And there are around 33,600 species of fish, so there’s already a lot of fish in our seas. The bad news: Sea life can’t tell the difference between plastic and food. The animals can also be hurt when plastic fishing lines get wrapped around their bodies. The problem of plastic in nature, particularly in our oceans, is a global crisis. Find out lots of facts about plastic in the ocean. The Ocean Race Sustainability Education Programme, the world's most extreme race, has put sustainability at its heart and is focusing on taking action to ‘Turn the Tide on Plastic’ – the rapidly growing and critical problem of plastic pollution in the ocean, highlighted by … It’s a great example for your kids to follow. Plastic rubbish can be incredibly harmful to fish and other sea life. A lot of plastic waste is invisible to the naked eye, it collects in ocean gyres, where marine life feeds. You can help fight pollution! Plastic in the Ocean – the facts and figures…. Hertfordshire, AL3 6HX. animals and birds were found trapped by marine debris (such as old ropes, nets, mesh and wires) during a recent international coastal cleanup. They wanted to figure out how much plastic trash enters the ocean from coasts every year. As a result, the water is becoming more acidic, which could make it harder for fish to breath and for creatures like crabs, lobsters and coral to grow their shells. Unsightly plastic bottles, bags and other trash give just a hint of the largely unseen problem of plastic pollution. Plastic is also accidentally eaten by many species, including sea turtles, which may mistake plastic bags for jelly fish. Plastic is everywhere. Here are nine shocking facts about how much plastic is in the oceans: 1. These take 20 to 200 years to degrade in the ocean. Plastic litters beaches. Because they do not break down, things like plastic bags, bottles, and fishing lines collect in large areas of the ocean. It can take thousands of years for plastic to break down completely. Plastic in the Ocean – the facts and figures… 700… different species of animals are believed to be severely threatened because of plastic pollution in the ocean. Plastic Oceans International is a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization, founded and existing under the laws of California (Federal Tax ID #81-3778043). 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