Bag, bottle, and straw have been left on the beach, but they won’t stay there long. The waves can easily carry them out into the ocean where they might endlessly float, sink to the seafloor, or be eaten by marine life. Any of these events cause damage to our ocean ecosystems. It can even happen when they’re left far from the beach.
How can we stop marine litter? Refuse, reduce, reuse, and recycle the plastics you use. And study what’s already happening with the plastic pollution in our seas.
The European Space Agency is “exploring how satellites can help us detect and reduce plastic pollution in the ocean. From spotting build-ups of marine litter to tracking ocean currents, satellites could be game-changing in tackling this enormous environmental problem.”
Watch Keeping an eye on ocean plastic pollution… from space, a forthright animation from the ESA Science Office.
• Ocean Plastics Academy: A variety of curriculum resources—multimedia and hands-on activities—for ages 5-16.
• TRASH TALK webinar: This video demonstration for teachers shares activities for all ages, part of NOAA’s World Ocean Day series.
• Engineering A Fix For The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a grade 6-8 Science Friday activity.
• Mapping Ocean Currents, a grade 3-8 activity from National Geographic
• Follow the Friendly Floatees, a grade 6-8 activity from National Geographic
Learn more about plastic pollution and some solutions next:
• The Life of a Plastic Bottle
• Ocean Confetti, the challenge of micro-plastics
• Is Your Fleece Jacket Polluting The Oceans?
• LeVar Burton explains how trash is recycled
• Milly Zantow: Recycling Revolutionary
• How to fit 4 years of trash into a mason jar, a zero waste experiment
• Recycling plastic waste to make bricks that are stronger than concrete
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