The fight against plastic
The need to reduce our reliance on single-use plastics has come to the attention of the nation in a big way in the last couple of years, largely thanks to David Attenborough’s series Blue Planet II.
The major problem with plastic is that it’s not biodegradable, meaning that plastic pollution is around forever. This impacts the ocean ecosystem in numerous harmful ways, including:
- It pollutes the ocean with litter, which in turn seeps toxic chemicals into the water
- It gets consumed by all kinds of sea creatures, causing them major health problems and even death
- By being ingested by fish, it’s likely that harmful chemicals from plastics will enter our food chain, causing potential health problems for us as well as marine life
- Plastic netting traps and strangles sea creatures, including fish and sea turtles
- When plastics are washed up on beaches, they’re not just an eyesore for us – they’re a health hazard for land-dwelling wildlife, too
With these issues now firmly in the public eye, we’ve seen lots of big brands committing to reducing their use of single-use plastics, from the supermarket Iceland’s pledge to be plastic-free by 2023 to McDonald’s switching from plastic straws to paper ones. The Government also plans to ban single-use plastics, notably including straws, as part of its 25 Year Environment plan.
Doing our bit
It’s clear that although there’s still a long way to go, things are at least moving in the right direction when it comes to reducing plastic pollution. At A-Plan, we want to be a part of that change, and that’s what our partnership with Sea-Changers is all about.
As a charity, the Sea-Changers vision is “to create a world where the seas and shores are clean and healthy and marine species are protected”. By partnering with businesses like ours, Sea-Changers hope to make a difference to marine conservation projects that address the threats and challenges faced by our oceans, shorelines and the wildlife that inhabit them.
That includes projects to help in the fight against plastic pollution in our oceans, and we’d love you to join us in supporting this worthy cause. We’ll be passing on any donations from our marine insurance clients and we look forward to joining together to make a difference to conserving the environment that gives us all so much enjoyment.