A turtle with a straw up its nose is a horrifying sight. They are not the only species affected by plastic however.
Sea life of all sizes is hugely affected by plastic debris; among that debris is 1000's of straws and bottle lids, cigarette butt ends and billions of other tiny pieces of plastic from all around the world, all mashed together so much that is has become habitat for tiny ocean flora and fauna and at the same time, food for the ocean animals that end up in the stomach of the fish that humans love to eat.
Every single day people with money are buying items that are single use plastics. Bags, packaging, take-away cups, cutlery and plates, sauce packets, cosmetics.. a myriad things I don't even realise exist since I have long been aware of reducing my use of resources and live fairly simply.
Plastic items that are going to be reused many times or will have a long useful life are better. If you don't like the idea of leachates in plastic containers there are many glass or stainless steel options around these days too.
Less is More
My dad was young during WW2 so he was always frugal and I grew up with the habits of using soap for my hair (thereby avoiding many shampoo bottles) and not buying sugar water drinks (no single use plastic bottles). I'm not really boasting, more saying how easy it is to not make rubbish. I've never been into cosmetics either, so that's a whole lot of stuff I never bought or bought into.
It's really easy to get yourself a set of reusables of whatever you think you need. Good water is available for refilling bottles and there's no reason not to have a reusable bag by now, surely! In parts of Australia, boomerang bags are being made by communities so the public can get the idea and the habit of bringing bags when they go shopping.
And of course, if we all do good things and keep on lobbying governments and corporations we really can make some difference.
Eventually the coal barons will have to die off, surely.
