I remember traveling to Morocco three years ago. And while I was in the cab on my way home, the first I noticed was camels. It’s pretty common to see them in the desert. A lot of us have heard about them in tales like Thousand and One Nights. These animals are known for their resistance and their capacity to live in arid conditions. Indeed, it’s a wonderful animal that can overcome the desert during nights and days without drinking water. However, I would never have imagined that this animal was affected by plastic pollution too. Can you imagine that plastic bags that you use for vegetables at the supermarket can end up in the middle of deserts?
A scientific expedition
Marcus Eriksen, a researcher who travels around the world to study plastic pollution, discovered something he would never have imagined. Indeed, he went to Dubai to study the impact of plastics in the Persian Gulf region. There, he met Ulrich Wernery who works at the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory. Ulrich suggested taking Marcus to the desert to show him something. And, it was a shocking discovery indeed.
Indeed, they discovered a dead camel buried in the sands and found a mass of plastic bags « as big as a large suitcase » Marcus revealed. According to him, there were at least 2000 plastic bags in the stomach of the dead animal.
Not only this, but Marcus’ team of scientists found out that more than 300 camels around the region of Dubai had died from eating waste, accounting for 1% of dead camels in the region since 2008.
Plastic pollution, a global issue
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said that “oceans are filling with plastics”. But this is incomplete. He should have drawn the audience’s attention to the fact that plastic is a global issue. Indeed, not only are our oceans filled with plastics but our soils too. Researchers found plastic debris in soils, farmland, food, and drinking water. And, camels are only an example among many others of animals hurt by plastic pollution.
So, plastic is a global issue that harms life everywhere. From the top of the artic to the Earth’s orbit, plastic is everywhere.
How can we save them?
Small steps are the key. Indeed, the future is all about doing beterre. It’s all about building a beterre future, having a beterre impact, and leaving a beterre legacy. But more importantly, refusing plastic bags is the easiest step you could take, and its impact would be bigger than you can imagine. So from now on, you can start taking your favorite mesh bag everywhere to avoid plastic bags while shopping.
As for your trash bags, please try to reduce your waste and compost so you won’t need plastic bags. And if you do, please choose an eco-friendly alternative such as biodegradable or compostable trash bags. But, always keep in mind that it’s one step at a time!
