How Can We Help Reduce Water and Ocean Pollution In Our Day to Day Lives?

Water must be the one item that the majority of us take for granted. Remember when you used to be asked what three items you would bring to a desert island when you were younger? Well, I don't really ever recall water being chosen as one of those three things.

 The majority of us don't bat an eyelid when we are thirsty because we can just turn on the tap. The reality of it though, is that water is the foundation of everything we do and need to live. This World Water Day had me thinking long and hard about our impact on the world and our water supply and how our actions mean more than we think. So here are some everyday things we can all do to not just help ensure water is available for everyone, but to also allow our water to remain as clean as possible.

Clothing

 You may have heard the word micro-plastics floating around a lot recently. It's a scary prospect that the majority of bottled water has microplastics. These microplastics can come from many sources from plastic breaking down in the ocean to our clothes. Our clothes are where we can have the highest impact in reducing how many microplastics we release in the water. So what can you do? Well, we aware of how many synthetic fabrics you're buying. When possible try to keep to natural products like 100% cotton. If you own synthetic products such as sports leggings and swimwear which most of us do, firstly reduce how often you need to wash these items, secondly, wash them at a colder wash and thirdly ensure that your washing machine is full. Will more items in the wash, this reduces friction and therefor reduces the shedding of the unwanted particles. Last but by no means least, if you wash with laundry powder, switch to laundry fabric. The powder can have a scrubbing effect which loosens the fibres and thus releases microplastics. Should you want to go further, there are now bags where you can place your synthetic garments in the wash so that the microplastics are caught such as the guppyfriend which you can also check out should you wish.

Glitter

I'm a big glitter fan which is why I have included it on the list because in reality, glitter is very harmful for the environment. Why? Well, most of us when wash glitter straight down the sink with water or in the shower and so, an already small piece of plastic enters the water system and then continues to be broken down which can prevent it from being filtered out. The glitter issue has become something I am very aware of and there are so many fantastic alternatives available now instead, such as glitter made from eucalyptus trees and other biodegradable brands. So this summer when you're getting ready for festivals, I hope you can hear my nagging voice telling you to get something which doesn't have a detrimental impact on our water and ocean life.

Tea and Coffee

As a nation of tea lovers and fast living, tea bags and disposable coffee cups are an every day occurrence. Tea bag however have plastic infused fibres in the bags themselves and coffee cups are lined with a polyethylene which just as in teabags, breaks down into tiny pieces which disposed of. What can you do, well there are now some tea brands that don't use plastic in their bags, or you can opt for loose tea leave which is an easy and guaranteed alternative. For coffee cups its simple, start carrying your own or choose to have your drink actually in the cafe instead of as a takeaway, meaning you also take a 5 minute brain break as well.

Organic

Last but by no means least is about shopping organic. Whether this is in your food or your clothes, organic simply means that no pesticides and herbicides where used to treat the item before hand. This means that these items haven't contributed to chemical run offs which effect water ways, soil but also human health if you live in an area where high levels are used (there are cases of whole villages in India who grow cotton, having highly disabled children due to the chemical run of used on the cotton and land). 

As consumers, we have to take responsibility of our own actions to help keep our oceans and water systems as clean as possible. We don't yet know the true extent of the damage caused by our actions but if microplastics are anything to go by, we need to all help in what ever way we can to reduce our impact.

If you'd like to find out more information about the plastic problem, SloActive have written a fantastic guide here that I'd recommend having a scan of. 

Love

Erin