Updated on July 26th, 2024
AD – In collaboration with Oceans Plastic Free | Hollywood movies from Jaws and Aquaman to Finding Nemo and The Little Mermaid portray oceans as crystal clear and litter-free, but that is sadly not the case as microplastics have been found even in remote waters. Oceans Plastic Free newest campaign Reimagining oceans: movies in polluted waters depicts the reality of our oceans that movies fail to capture. However, there are actions you can take to help reduce plastic pollution in our oceans.
#1 Reduce Plastic Use
An effective way to reduce plastic pollution in our oceans is to reduce your use of plastic. I recommend starting with one area of your home and going from there as it can be overwhelming trying to make a ton of sustainable swaps at once.
Plastics in the oceans come from a variety of sources including cosmetics. Microbeads are tiny pieces of plastics often found in face scrubs and cleansers, toothpaste, body washes, sunscreen, and makeup that end up in the water and harm sea life and the environment. Microbeads are banned in some countries including the US, the UK, and Canada, but in many countries, microbeads are still allowed. You may want to start with making sustainable swaps with your cosmetics and personal care products.
You can look for products that do not contain microbeads as well as plastic-free and eco-friendly beauty and personal care products that come in recyclable or sustainable packaging, are refillable, and are reusable. Some swaps you can make are using a bamboo toothbrush instead of a plastic toothbrush, toothpaste tablets instead of toothpaste in plastic tubes, period pants or a menstrual cup instead of tampons and pads with plastic, shampoo and soap bars instead of shampoo and soap in plastic bottles, and refillable makeup.
In the kitchen and around the home, you can swap kitchen sponges for loofah or coconut sponges, plastic dish brushes for bamboo or wooden brushes, dish soap in plastic bottles for solid dish soap, dishwashing tablets and laundry detergent tablets for plastic-free versions, and plastic cleaning products for refillable cleaning bottles or solid cleaning products.
Single-Use Plastics
You can also focus on reducing your use of single-use plastics. Single-use plastics are plastic items that are used once and then thrown away. Some swaps you can make include:
- Plastic straws – reusable straws made from stainless steel, glass, or bamboo
- Plastic water bottles – reusable water bottles
- Plastic lids and cups – reusable travel mugs
- Plastic shopping bags – reusable tote bags
- Plastic produce bags – reusable mesh bags
- Plastic-wrapped produce – loose produce
- Plastic cling wrap – beeswax wrap, reusable food covers, or reusable glass containers
- Plastic sandwich bags – reusable food bags
- Plastic utensils – utensils from home or bamboo utensils
By reducing your plastic use and making sustainable swaps for single-use plastics, you will help reduce the number of plastics that end up in our oceans.
#2 Reuse Plastics
When you start your journey to reduce your plastic use, you will most likely still be buying some items with plastic packaging or you will have items that you cannot find or have a plastic-free version of. However, instead of throwing away the plastic in the trash, you can look into upcycling plastic containers, which is where you take the plastic container and turn it into something new that you will use. There are many reasons to upcycle including helping the environment, and you can find plenty of DIYs on Google for organizers, planters, jewelry, accessories, and decorations made out of upcycled plastic.
#3 Recycle Plastics
As a last resort, you can still recycle your plastic after use instead of throwing it away. Depending on the country and city you live in, the types of plastic you can curbside recycle vary, but generally, you can curbside recycle PET (plastic water and soda bottles) and HDPE (milk jugs, juice bottles, ice cream containers, shampoo and conditioner bottles, soap bottles, detergent, and cleaning bottles).
This also pertains to recycling industrial plastic components where applicable, such as those from hot runner systems used in plastic injection molding processes. These systems often involve components that can be made of recyclable plastics. Recycling these components correctly can prevent them from ending up in landfills and oceans.
Other plastics including LDPE (frozen food bags, bread bags, plastic grocery bags, and squeeze bottles) and PP (yogurt and butter containers, ready-to-eat and microwavable meal trays, and plastic straws) are recyclable, but it depends on your city’s recycling program if they are accepted curbside.
Other types of plastics are usually not curbside recyclable including PVC (cling film, blister packaging, garden hoses) and PS (some food containers, meat trays, styrofoam plates and cups, and packing peanuts) and you will have to find a recycling center that accepts those types of plastics. By recycling the plastic you use instead of throwing it away, you will help prevent the plastic from ending up in our oceans.
#4 Buy Secondhand
Clothing fibers are another source of plastic in our oceans because many of our clothes are made from plastics like polyester, nylon, and acrylic. When washing clothes, synthetic microfibers are released into the water and make their way into the oceans. There are ways to reduce microfibers from getting into the oceans including using a filter like PlanetCare or a washing bag like GUPPYFRIEND to catch microplastics, washing your clothes less often and at a lower temperature, filling up the washing machine, and air drying your clothes.
When you do need to buy new clothing, you should buy secondhand instead of supporting fast fashion brands that are contributing to the amount of clothing made with synthetic microfibers. The clothing industry also creates a huge amount of waste and consumes large amounts of water and energy. By shopping secondhand, you are helping reduce clothing waste and extending the life of the clothing item. You can also look for toys, electronics, appliances, sporting equipment, and so much more secondhand. The items also usually come without plastic packaging, so do not have to worry about reusing the packaging. You can shop secondhand at charity shops, thrift stores, vintage stores, and online marketplaces, and you can visit garage sales and participate in local swaps as well.
#5 Spread the Word
The last way you can help reduce plastic pollution in our oceans is by telling your friends, family, peers, and coworkers about plastic pollution and encouraging them to start taking action. You can also attend beach or town cleanups with them to prevent plastics from getting into the ocean. To learn more about plastic pollution and its effects on the environment, you can watch A Plastic Ocean (2016), Bag It (2010), The Smog of the Sea (2017), Albatross (2017), and Plastic Paradise (2013). You can support organizations that are fighting to reduce plastic pollution including Plastic Pollution Coalition, The Ocean Cleanup, Plastic Oceans, Plastic Soup Foundation, and Surfrider Foundation to name a few. Lastly, you can sign petitions and support legislation that reduces plastic pollution such as supporting single-use plastic bans.
As a sustainable fashion blogger I love that you have included secondhand clothing!
Gemma x | lifesacatwalk.com
Yes! Buying secondhand is a great way to reduce plastic waste!
I always carry my own steel cutlery, and straws. I also have a cloth bag with me always. It helps me reduce so much plastic waste!
Reducing overall plastic consumption is the best way to keep our oceans also safe
That’s great you use reusable cutlery, straws & a cloth bag!
I agree! It is best to reduce plastic use!
This is a post EVERYONE should have to read. I honestly believe that all households and big businesses should be working towards reducing their plastic use. I work for a big company, one of the biggest in my country, and I see pallets upon pallets coming in wrapped in plastic, with single-use plastics on them. Fruit and veg coming in wrapped in plastic etc. We’ve been trying to cut down, but almost everything that we buy (which is cost-effective to us) is covered in plastic! There’s no need for this anymore and we can easily use reuseable containers in refill centers if my country would hurry up and move forward with that approach while also making it economically viable.
Big businesses should definitely be working towards reducing plastic because even if households want to reduce their plastic use, it’s hard when everything like fruit and veg is wrapped in plastic. I agree there is no use for so much plastic & Denmark has banned plastic straws & they started recyling plastic, but more needs to be done. I would LOVE to go to a refill center, but there is only 1 store in Copenhagen which isn’t practical or economically viable
There is plenty of ways to start reducing plastic here. Great post! I reuse a lot of plastic materials in my crafts.
Thanks! That’s great you reuses in plastics in crafts!
Very interesting post and very inspiring. Definitely be minimalistic to what you bring to the beach. Special plastic bottles are my solution..
Thanks and I agree!
This is a very interesting read. I never associated reducing plastic pollution and the clothes we wear (polyester and acrylic). Thanks for these awesome tips.
I’m glad that you learned something new and how just washing clothes made from plastics can lead to pollution in the oceans.
These are great ways to reduce plastic. We like that there are now straw alternatives, like paper and metal.
I agree! They banned plastic straws in Denmark so businesses use paper straws instead. They aren’t always the best becase they fall apart so easily while drinking, but metal is a great alternative!
Some great tips here. I think there’s always something that each of us can do to help, it’s unlikely we’ll be able to do everything but every little change does help and posts highlighting these things is really helpful!
Thanks! I agree we can’t do everything, but even just doing small changes like using a reusable water bottle can help.
An excellent post and one for awareness as well. My 5 yr old when we are praying before bed always prays for people to stop littering the ocean to kill the fish (he doesn’t even like fish) and recently he started putting figures on it e.g 7 million tons of rubbish in the ocean. I think they learn it from school but the passion he has for it is touching, thanks for sharing a great cause, and am doing my bit, no plastics!!
That is so sweet and also great that at such a young age he is aware of all the trash the oceans.
You’re welcome!
I try and do these things… the hardest I’ve noticed is not buying food in plastic at the supermarket – everything is wrapped in it!
I agree! It is hard to buy plastic free when even individual cucumbers are wrapped in plastic here. It is good you are aware that so much food is wrapped in plastic though
Hi Karalee,
Those are some great tips for us all to follow. The rate at which we are destroying the planet that we live on is truly frightening – future generations will, no doubt, marvel at our stupidity and selfishness.
I also think that it would be a big help to stop the problem at its source – ban manufacturers from using plastics, that way there is no need to rely on end users recycling and re-using.
It is terrible that we are destroying the planet.
Yes in an ideal world, manufacturers would be banned from using plastics, but the demand for the items would have to decrease and legaslation would have to passed to ban them. Until then, we have to do our part.
Yes to all of this! It’s amazing how simple every day changes can positively impact our planet. Bringing reusable bags, refusing plastics whenever possible, educating ourselves and others is so helpful. Thank you for sharing!
You’re welcome! If we all did our part, it would positvely impact our planet!
These are great ideas. We’ve been trying to buy more plastic free products, like lotion bars.
That’s great you’ve been buying more plastic free products!
These are all great tips and all things we’re trying to implement as a family. You’ve done a great job of number 5! Such an interesting and powerful read.
Claire.X
http://www.clairemac.co.uk
Thank you so much! That’s great you’re implementing some changes with your family.
It is so sad that this is the state of the oceans and how unsafe it is for humans and animals. Whenever my family and I visit the beach we always have a rubbish bag and never leave any rubbish on the beach, to ensure we are not contributing to the ocean bound plastic. Reading that about the clothing I didn’t even know about this was so interesting. Where I can I always reuse any plastic products and anything I do not need will go in our recycling bin. Thank you for sharing this informative blog post.
Lauren. X
That’s wonderful you & your family do your part & don’t leave trash on the beach!
I’m glad you could learn something new about clothing & that’s great you reuse & recycle plastics!
I like your insights on how to combat plastic pollution. I believe this will help many people out there with strategies on how to reduce plastic pollution that is negatively impacting our water bodies systems.
Thank you! I believe it will be helpful too and if everyone did their part, we would have cleaner waters.
This is a great reminder about reduce, reuse and recycle — something so simple we can all get into doing it. I like that you mentioned going secondhand too; this is always a great option and one we should make much more use of!
Yes! It is so simple to do our part to help reduce plastic pollution. Shopping secondhand is a great option!
I want to do more to help microplastics getting into our water and into the food chain. I’m currently trying to find a filter to stop them getting into the water through my washing machine
That’s great you’re looking for a filter to stop microplastics from getting into the water!
These are brilliant ways to reduce plastic, I like to use reusable straws, bags etc x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
Thanks and that’s great!
These are great, easy ways to impact the reduction of plastics in the ocean. Thanks for sharing.
They are easy to do and they can help so much with reducing plastic in the ocean!
This is amazing idea, its good to reduce it and make the environment clean from plastic. Thank you for sharing!
You’re welcome! It is good to do our part to ensure that plastic doesn’t get into our water.