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Soft Plastics are Serial Killers

Soft Plastics are Serial Killers


Plastic is by far the greatest pollutant of our oceans and the bellies of bird life. 

Plastic bags are commonly mistaken for jellyfish and other food sources. Turtles, whales, birds and many other species ingest plastic bags or get tangled in them. 

When an animal ingests a plastic bag, more often than not, they will die. As their body decomposes, the plastic bag is freed to go on and kill again. (Increasingly micro-plastics are also found in sea life like fish, which when ingested by humans, ends up in us.)

BRIGHTLY COLOURED PLASTIC LIDS AND RINGS ARE COMMONLY FOUND IN THE BELLIES OF BIRDS ALL OVER THE WORLD. OVER TIME, THE PLASTIC PIECES BUILD UP UNTIL THE BIRD CAN NO LONGER DIGEST FOOD AND DIES.

Most supermarkets, such as Coles and Woolworths accept your old plastic bags as well as any kind of soft plastic.  All you need to is put yours in the designated bins at the store front and it will get recycled by REDCycle.

'Soft' or 'hard' plastics separation seems a kind of odd concept, but the reason soft plastics can't be recycled normally (in your recycle bin) is because it tends to jam the recycling machinery. Because of this, it has to be recycled separately.

The easiest way to know if you plastic is soft is the scrunch test. If you can scrunch it in your hand, it's a soft plastic. If you can't it's hard and goes in the recycle bin. A great example of both soft and hard plastic is a biscuit packet. The outside is soft plastic, but the biscuit tray inside is hard plastic.



 

Image: Bird - Shutterstock | Biscuits - Arnotts
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Science Notes

20 million pieces of plastic enter the world’s oceans every day.  All this plastic ends up in the stomachs, wings, fins of birds & marine life.

It suffocates, strangles, deforms and sickens fauna all over the world every  minute of every day. It's all around us in our streets, on our beaches and pathways.

Related Tip

Take 3 is a not-for-profit organisation that began in 2009 with the focus on cleaner beaches.

Wherever we are, we should always take 3 when you leave. Take 3 pieces of rubbish with you when you are at the beach, in the park or in your local neighbourhood, and dispose of them correctly.