lessphp fatal error: load error: failed to find /home4/undersea/public_html/blog/wp-content/themes/Underseas/style.less{"id":849,"date":"2017-02-21T11:17:27","date_gmt":"2017-02-21T17:17:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.underseas.com\/blog\/?p=849"},"modified":"2017-02-21T11:23:21","modified_gmt":"2017-02-21T17:23:21","slug":"10-ways-cut-plastic-save-oceans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.underseas.com\/blog\/10-ways-cut-plastic-save-oceans\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Ways To Cut Down On Plastic To Save Our Oceans"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Plastic. \u00a0As humans, we have a love-hate relationship with this man-made product. \u00a0It is the single most convenient material we use, yet the single most detrimental material to the decline of the health of our oceans. \u00a0We love the ease of using it; putting our groceries in it, packing our leftovers and lunches in it, sucking our beverages from it. \u00a0Yet, we hate throwing it away because we know it's not going to ever break down and most likely, will end up in the ocean or sitting in a landfill. \u00a0Right now, there is something called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch<\/a> floating in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. \u00a0It's basically one large floating glob of both visible and invisible plastic trash that is twice the size of Texas!!!<\/p>\n

This dilemma of floating plastic in our oceans is slowly killing marine life, including marine birds, by being both ingested internally and strangled externally by it. \u00a0It is also being ingested by the fish living in those areas; fish that may ultimately\u00a0end up on your plate. Yes, we may be eating some plastic along with those fish, even the ones from large lakes. \u00a0These fish are ingesting what's called microplastics: tiny plastic balls that are made from the breaking down or breaking apart of larger plastic items like bottles, lids, and straws. \u00a0So, unless you like a little plastic with your dinner, try following these easy tips to reduce your usage of plastic!<\/p>\n

10 Ways to stop using so much plastic in your everyday life:<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a>1. STOP using straws!!!<\/h3>\n

Straws are probably\u00a0the number one culprit to our plastic addiction and waste. \u00a0You get one everywhere....with your Starbucks frappuccino, your soda with lunch and every restaurant you visit. \u00a0If you MUST use a straw, purchase your own stainless steel straw and carry it with you!<\/p>\n

2. Bring your own bags!<\/h3>\n

Many people have already gotten really good at taking their own canvas bags to the grocery store but let's take it one step further. \u00a0What about the plastic produce bag you use to gather all of your apples in?? Didn't think about that one, did you? Try either reusing your own over and over again or just stop using them, period.<\/p>\n

3. \u00a0Choose the box version!<\/h3>\n

If a product you need to purchase comes in a boxed version instead of a bottle, choose that instead. \u00a0Products like these include laundry\u00a0soap, fabric softener, juice, drinks, etc.<\/p>\n

4. \u00a0BYOM - Bring Your Own Mug<\/h3>\n

Gotta grab some coffee on the go (or even soda)? Think ahead and bring your own reusable mug or Tervis cup<\/a>.<\/p>\n

5. \u00a0Give up gum<\/h3>\n

Ya, this one is tough, but did you know that gum is made of synthetic plastic?!?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>6. \u00a0Use cloth diapers<\/h3>\n

Ok, so this one may seem super old school, BUT, it makes a HUGE difference! \u00a0Did you know the EPA estimates that we use 7.6 pounds of disposable diapers in the US alone each year?!? \u00a0Once you figure out a system, using cloth diapers is not hard at all, plus you will save a TON of money at the same time!<\/p>\n

7. Use a razor with disposable blades<\/h3>\n

Instead of using disposable razors (which actually contributes to a ton of plastic waste!) use a razor where the blades can just be changed out instead.<\/p>\n

8. \u00a0NEVER drink bottled water!<\/h3>\n

America is basically addicted to bottled water. \u00a0True, not all water tastes great, depending on where you live, but it's more the convenience of grabbing a bottle of water than anything else. \u00a0Plan ahead and bring your own reusable water container everywhere you go. \u00a0No matter where you are, there is free ice and water in every soda fountain to refill at.<\/p>\n

9. \u00a0Avoid frozen foods<\/h3>\n

Yes, a frozen dinner is super easy to pop in the microwave at the end of a long day, but these are the worst culprits. \u00a0Prepackaged, frozen food is always stored in some sort of plastic container. \u00a0Plan in advance and cook your food at home.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>10. \u00a0Say hello to baking soda and vinegar<\/h3>\n

Baking Soda and vinegar need to become your new best friends. \u00a0You can make SO much homemade cleaning supplies and toiletries from them, helping you reduce the plastic packaging you purchase, plus you can save tons of money!<\/p>\n

We really could go on and on about the number of ways to reduce your plastic usage. \u00a0Just google it and you'll find an overwhelming number of ways to live plastic free. \u00a0The main point is to just pick one that works for you and start. \u00a0Once you start with one, you'll notice it's not so bad and add more. \u00a0Find what works with your lifestyle and start saving our oceans one piece of plastic at a time!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Plastic. \u00a0As humans, we have a love-hate relationship with this man-made product. \u00a0It is the single most convenient material we use, yet the single most detrimental material to the decline of the health of our oceans. \u00a0We love the ease of using it; putting our groceries in it, packing our leftovers and lunches in it, sucking our beverages from Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":857,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[154],"tags":[163,246,248,155,156,247,159,245],"class_list":["post-849","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ocean-conservation","tag-conservation","tag-debris","tag-great-pacific-garbage-patch","tag-ocean","tag-ocean-conservation","tag-ocean-debris","tag-plastic","tag-plastic-trash","cat-154-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.underseas.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.underseas.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.underseas.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.underseas.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.underseas.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=849"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.underseas.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":858,"href":"https:\/\/www.underseas.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849\/revisions\/858"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.underseas.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.underseas.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=849"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.underseas.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=849"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.underseas.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=849"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}