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A new report shows that common plastics are polluting shorelines. With the Fourth of July holiday coming up, an environmental group is calling for the US to declare its independence from single-use plastics.
The report identified the top 5 plastics polluting beaches and waterways around the world. Dr. Anja Brandon is the Associate Director of U.S Plastics Policy at Ocean Conservancy.
“These five items include things like cigarette butts, which are actually made out of plastic. Plastic bags, plastic straws and stirrers, plastic faux food ware, and of course plastic cutlery.”
The report claims that eliminating these five would cut 450 billion pieces of plastics from circulation annually.
The study cites local efforts, such as straw bans in Seattle and foam food ware bans in California that they feel the country should adopt.
And on a smaller scale, Dr. Brandon says everyone can help out going into this holiday weekend.
“Everyone has an important role to play in stopping plastic pollution. You can do your part by joining formal beach cleanups, or simply picking up trash that you see when you’re out there celebrating the holiday with your family.”
You can read the full report of oceanconservancy.org
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