PLASTIC REDUCTION AND BOARDSOX REUSEABLE BAGS
The use of plastic in our society has taken a large toll on our oceans and the marine life that dwell within it. Single use plastic is still unfortunately extremely common. These items include plastic bags, straws, coffee stirrers, soda bottles, water bottles, food wrapping or wrapping for products. Only 10-13% of the worlds plastic items get recycled. The need to not use single use plastic and use alternatives such as recycled plastic has never been greater. We’ve all seen plastic in the ocean, maybe at your home break or on a holiday to Indonesia, Central America or another surf rich country that is shrouded in plastic mess. Half of this is made up by single use plastic, approximately 300 million tons of plastic each years enters the ocean. Although most plastic is not biodegradable ( meaning decompose into natural substances like soil) it does break down to a certain extent .Unfortunately plastics petroleum basis means that it is broken down into tiny particles that become confetti sized pieces that are ingested by our marine life. Fish and seabirds eat these tiny pieces of plastic mistaking them for food and it eventually blocks their intestinal tracks and kills many of them or makes them so sick they cannot stomach real food. A study conducted by researcher Moore on necropsies of hundreds of fish that 1/3 had ingested polluted plastic fragments, including one 2.5 inch fish that had 84 pieces in its tiny gut. In 2002 there was a study to indicate there was 2.5 pieces of plastic to every 1 plankton, this number would have only increased to date. These finding are indicative of our oceans wellbeing, plastic is everywhere and only we ocean lovers can do something about it.
The breaking down of these plastics also release toxic chemicals like the additives they use to sharper and Harden plastic which make their way back into our food (fish and other seafood) and water supply. Not only are we damaging our environment we are also damaging ourselves. These toxic chemicals are now being found in humans bloodstreams. And the latest research has linked them to cancer, infertility, birth defects, impaired immunity and many other ailments.
We produce hundreds of millions of tons of plastic every year, most of which cannot be recycled. It’s obvious that we need to use less plastic, move towards sustainable products and services and come up with technology that recycles plastic more efficiently.
It’s for these obvious reasons that Boardsox does not use plastic bags for packaging of our product. We use a reusable cotton canvas bag, the same material that our Boardsox are made out of. These bags are ideal for carrying your surf essentials, wax, sunscreen, extra fins, leashes and anything else you need when searching for waves.
Here are five ways you can reduce your single plastic useage
- Stop using plastic straws (even in restaurants)
- Buy boxes of water instead of bottles
- Reuse containers for storing leftovers etc
- Use reuseable shopping bags, single use bags can take 1000 years to break down
- Use biodegradable plastic products
