Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - Who Cares?

Let's be honest, sometimes there's nothing more annoying than carrying around a plastic food bin leaking spaghetti sauce inside your already stuffed backpack.

So, what's the harm in throwing it into your nearest trash can? Or just leaving it next to a bench in the park or on the ocean-side boardwalk? The problem is gone.

Or so it appears.

In the meantime, places around the world are becoming plastic garbage dumps. According to Charles Moore, an American oceanographer, there are about 100 million tons of plastic garbage circulating in the middle of the Pacific Ocean known as the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch". The patch is filled with an assortment of durable plastic items such as water bottles, toys, and other debris.

Plastic debris items such as these might seem relatively harmless at first. However, the U.N. Environment Programme has stated that plastic debris in the world's oceans are responsible for the death of approximately 100,000 marine mammals and more than 1 million seabirds every year.

Charles Moore also warns that over the next 10 years, this toxic “plastic stew” will double in size unless consumers cut back on their use of disposable plastics.

So, the next time you're debating whether or not to throw out a plastic food container, please consider the following questions: Is this container recyclable? Can I rinse it out and and reuse it? Are there any other available options such as ceramic plates?

Overall, we can all take part in those three famous R's (reduce, reuse, recycle), because every little bit can add up to make a big difference.