Sadly, there is no shortage of scenes like this one, showing wild animals forced to live among our waste — and that’s because there’s plenty of waste going around. Every year, roughly 14 billion tons of plastic enter Earth’s oceans, putting countless animals’ lives in peril. But hope is not lost.
“We need smart policies that encourage manufacturers to move away from throwaway plastic,” Elizabeth Murdock, director of the Pacific Ocean initiative for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), told The Dodo earlier this year. “[We need] individuals who understand the impacts our trash has on vulnerable marine life and make personal choices that help reduce the trash in our oceans.”