We were taught to throw garbage,
but garbage must be recycled.
Do not hesitate to clean the waste.
Be cramped to leave dirt!

If you digress from football, pensions, taxes and other information noise... yes, listen carefully, you can hear how rustling millions of plastic bags, every minute used by man.

On average, the life expectancy of each package is a few minutes, and less than 1% of them goes into recycling. The fate of others is to poison our world for hundreds of thousands of years.

In the spring of 2018, Japanese scientists discovered a one-off package at the bottom of the Mariana Trench!
And shortly before that, Spanish ecologists were examining a dead sperm whale stranded on the shore - there were 29 kg of garbage in its stomach, including plastic bags! And there are many such examples.

Biodegradable plastic is a myth, a marketing ploy. Under the influence of sunlight, it decomposes into microplastic particles, clogs the soil, poisons air and water, kills millions of animals and becomes a member of our food chain.

And harmful chemicals that impregnate some plastics are transported to soil and groundwater, harming those who use this water. Most plastic products are designed for single use and under certain conditions (heating, washing, long-term storage), they release toxic substances that are hazardous to health. In addition, some of the substances can cause dermatitis in contact with the human skin.

For today in the world the critical situation with pollution by plastic. Do you know about the Great Pacific trash? More than 80% of the world's ocean is covered with plastic garbage! You are shocked by this video shot in the waters of the Indian Ocean.

Sweden, Austria, United Arab Emirates, Japan. Developed countries have made great progress in processing and processing, turning this business into a lucrative business. In many of them, the practice of separate waste collection at the consumption stage has long been implemented. After that, the recycled material is sent for recycling or disposal.
The received energy and materials can be used for various purposes - heat supply of cities, production of biofuel, creation of clothing, building materials and much more.

In our country there are no effective legal mechanisms to solve this problem, and at the same time it is not covered. People simply do not know about the plastic catastrophe and do not think about its consequences, sending tons of plastic every day to the dump.
Steps taken by activists, environmentalists, volunteers or private companies are insignificant. Add here the lack of state support and the traditional Russian stagnation of views (from 19.30 minutes).

What can we do to help ourselves and the planet?

The first and most important is to reduce the consumption of plastic.

Take a couple of bags of tissues, and you do not need to store a huge packet with packages. In net bags you can buy vegetables and fruits by weight, without excessive packaging. Cucumbers, lemon and potatoes are naturally perfectly packaged in the skin, and there is no need to wrap them with a film.
We use all packages as long as possible, and after losing their suitability - we put it into processing together with other material suitable for recycling.
Thank you for this monthly event "Green Squirrel"!
If you often take coffee or water on the road, take yourself a hot mug or a reusable bottle. You make a huge contribution to saving the resources of the earth and first of all maintain cleanliness in your city. In addition, disposable glasses can be hazardous to health!
Today we have access to many alternatives to disposable and non-processed products!
About the life style of "zero waste" you can learn from the short, but capacious video of Bea Johnson, in which she answers 13 popular questions.

The second is to form a demand for safe packaging and goods.

Address manufacturers with requests to replace the packaging for suitability for reuse and safety for the environment and the consumer, as well as mark it correctly. Thus, you will encourage them to be held responsible for garbage disposal.

Thirdly, you need to start a separate waste collection at home.

Do not dispose of waste in general rubbish! Find out by using a convenient map of reception points where and how in your city you can use recycled or unnecessary things for recycling.

And the last is to exchange information!

Tell others about the problem of plastic contamination! Information is a powerful tool. Warned - almost saved. Tell your friends, family, and friends about the correct approach to recycling. How important is the contribution of each person to the conservation and restoration of resources.

Thus, large (and not very) movements and projects in support of the environment are born all over the world. For example, now the Swedish sports trend "plugging" is gaining popularity. A 20-year-old student from the United States came up with how to effectively collect garbage in the ocean.
Once in the Indian market, we happened to get acquainted with these guys who embroidered from juices, beer cans, rubber tires, purses, backpacks and other interesting things.
Here a little information about different eco-projects of Russia.

Tell us how you feel about the problem of plastic debris and what solutions do you know? Maybe you have some useful advice on the topic of a separate collection, processing or reduction of plastic? How in your country or your city are coping with the current problems of garbage disposal?