Single-use plastics are plastic items designed to be used once and discarded. Examples include Styrofoam, plastic utensils, plastic bags, and plastic bottles. The effect of single-use plastics is their contribution to bioaccumulation and landfill waste.
To break it down mildly...
- Styrofoam cups take 50 years to break down.
- Plastic bags take 20 years to break down.
- Plastic bottles take 400 years to break down.
The more single-use plastics are in use, the more we run the risk of improper plastic waste disposal and plastic pollution. Do your part and cut down on single-use plastic and help keep microplastics out of our beautiful San Diego Bay.
Let’s Keep Plastics Out of San Diego Bay: Easy Solutions
A few simple solutions to keeping plastic debris out of our bay include...
- Reduce your usage of single-use plastics.
- Have a reusable solution with you such as reusable lunch boxes and utensils, fabric bags or reusable water bottles.
- Recycle your items appropriately! When your plastic bottle is ready to be discarded, make sure you’re diverting this waste from the landfill and dispose of it in the recycling bin.
Microplastics & Bioaccumulation
Microplastics are plastic debris that have broken off or degraded into small pieces (often less than five millimeters long) from larger plastic pieces.
The effects of microplastics and larger plastic debris to the environment can be catastrophic to human health, aquatic and terrestrial wildlife, and our bay ecosystem. Plastic items do not dissolve. As they are exposed to environmental elements, they break down into smaller pieces, eventually to a microplastic size of less than five millimeters long.
The smaller the plastic gets, the easier it is to...
- Pass through water filtration systems.
- Make their way into the bodies of people and wildlife.
- Run off into our urban landscape.
Urban Runoff
In our San Diego region, our water flows over any man-made surfaces, through our more populated areas, and drains into our 440 square miles of watershed.
As the water makes its way into our watershed, it can pick up any trash or litter such as improperly disposed single-use plastics.
Did You Know: Plastic debris is present in approximately 88% of San Diego Bay intertidal zones.
Effect on Our San Diego Bay Wildlife
The San Diego Bay watersheds encompass 440 square miles and is home to a variety of natural wildlife including turtles and birds.
When plastic is improperly disposed and makes its way into our watershed, it becomes a danger and potential threat to our natural wildlife.
The dangers of plastic to our wildlife include:
- Mistaken Identity: Plastic debris can often be mistaken for food.
- Physical Hazard: Wildlife can become entangled in larger pieces of plastic debris.
Reusable Swaps
Considering the impact of plastic pollution, an easy solution to cut down on disposable and single-use plastics is to switch up our usage.
Try these reusable solutions:
- Food packaging and utensils made from sustainable materials such as glass or metal.
- Shopping bags made from fabric.
- Water bottles made from reusable materials such as stainless glass or stainless steel.
Proper Waste Disposal Practices
With the wide variety of single-use items that we come across in our everyday lives, the thought of proper disposal can be daunting.
Let’s break it down together with these easy steps and tips:
- Empty your items completely before disposal.
- Dry your items out completely.
- Keep your items loose, do not bag them.
- Tip: There are certain items that do not belong in the recycling bin such as plastic bags, soft plastics, or foaming products.
- For additional advice and resources, look no further than your local city or county.
