​Who else can relate to this?

Bella and Maddie - we think you "accidentally" left your plastic Starbucks drinks at the sink area outside the toilets on the way to Shelly Beach in Manly. Next time, it would be great if you carried your plastic rubbish to the closest bin instead of just leaving it behind. ​

Turtle killers used at "NewsLink" to promote junk food. Balloons are in the top three most harmful waste items to wildlife. Birds and turtles not only ingest balloons, they actively select them as food. This is because a burst balloon often resembles a jellyfish, the natural food sources of many marine species like turtles.
Ingesting balloons, and the clips and strings attached to them, can cause intestinal blockages and results in a slow painful death through starvation. Marine animals don’t have the gastrointestinal pH levels to breakdown a balloon and for turtles, it may also cause floating syndrome. Trapped gases in the gut can cause a turtle to become buoyant, unable to dive for food—making them vulnerable to boat strikes and leading to starvation and severe dehydration.
Wildlife, both terrestrial and marine, can also become entangled in balloon ribbons or strings, causing injury or death through drowning, suffocation, or an inability to feed and avoid predators.
Even if balloons are disposed of "safely" they go to landfill where it may take up to 1,000 years to decompose, leaching potentially toxic substances into the soil and water. Why are some organisations like this so stubborn in regards to using balloons as "advertising fun?

Who can relate? 😅⁣
When you get served that nonconsensual plastic, don't blame your server, habits are hard to break. And not everyone is as aware or as educated as you may be on the dangers of single-use plastics.  Change is not born out of confrontation, but of compassion. So if the place isn’t busy, you should strike up a conversation and ask your server, “Have you considered serving straws only upon request?”  You could even ask if the manager is available for a few minutes to discuss a Straws-On-Request policy. Take the time that you have, in-person, to spread awareness and teach a thing or two.  Afterwards, send a message over social or email to continue to the dialogue. So Suckers, be the change that you want to see in this world! And let us know, have you gotten into any constructive conversations around single-use plastics lately?⁣

A dead baby Blind Shark found with a rubber band around its gills. Elastic bands should be cut before thrown out. Who would have thought that an elastic band could kill a shark?
Millions of animals die every year because of our plastic pollution and waste. Cleaning up a beach can save the lives of thousands of animals. Not using single use plastic can save the lives of thousands of animals. Educating your friends about single use plastic and what changes they can make to their everyday lives to reduce plastic can save the lives of millions of animals. The change starts with you.

The world’s deepest ocean trenches are becoming “the ultimate sink” for plastic waste, according to a study that reveals contamination of animals even in these dark, remote regions of the planet.
For the first time, scientists found microplastic ingestion by organisms in the Mariana trench and five other areas with a depth of more than 6,000 metres, prompting them to conclude “it is highly likely there are no marine ecosystems left that are not impacted by plastic pollution”.
The paper, published in the Royal Society Open Science journal, highlights the threat posed by non-biodegradable substances in clothes, containers and packaging, which make their way from household bins via dump sites and rivers to the oceans, where they break up and sink to the floor.
“If you contaminate a river, it can be flushed clean. If you contaminate a coastline, it can be diluted by the tides. But, in the deepest point of the oceans, it just sits there. It can’t flush and there are no animals going in and out of those trenches.”
The effects on deep-sea species are as yet unclear, though scientists speculate they will experience the same problems of blocked digestive tracts and restricted mobility as creatures at higher depths. They may also be more vulnerable because the trenches are food-scarce ecosystems, which prompts scavengers and predators to gobble up anything they can find.

Twice a day, every day of the year, weather balloons are released simultaneously from almost 900 locations worldwide. The balloon flights last for around 2 hours, can drift as far as 200 km away, and rise up to over 100,000 ft. (about 30 km) in the atmosphere! Weather balloons, which are made of latex or synthetic rubber (neoprene), are filled with either hydrogen or helium. An instrument called a radiosonde is attached to the balloon to measure pressure, temperature and relative humidity as it ascends up into the atmosphere. 
By tracking the position of the radiosonde, we can also calculate wind speed and wind direction.
The radiosonde is powered by a small battery. A parachute, attached to the end of the balloon, allows the radiosonde to fall slowly to the ground at speeds less than 35 km/ph after the balloon bursts. Each radiosonde contains a mailing bag and instructions on what to do if you find one. About 20% of the 657,000 radiosondes sent up each year worldwide are found and returned. That's a lot of litter that can potentially kill previous wildlife. 
Pic: Mandy Beaumont, April 2019, Terrey Hills 

Let's do this!

If your litter goes away when you throw it away or you don't see it anymore, you're wrong. Litter causes tremendous suffering to animals and are polluting their habitats.
Pics: David Warren Noble

​Balloons are in the top three most harmful waste items to wildlife. Birds and turtles not only ingest balloons, they actively select them as food. This is because a burst balloon often resembles a jellyfish, the natural food sources of many marine species like turtles.
Ingesting balloons, and the clips and strings attached to them, can cause intestinal blockages and results in a slow painful death through starvation. Marine animals don’t have the gastrointestinal pH levels to breakdown a balloon and for turtles, it may also cause floating syndrome. Trapped gases in the gut can cause a turtle to become buoyant, unable to dive for food—making them vulnerable to boat strikes and leading to starvation and severe dehydration.
Wildlife, both terrestrial and marine, can also become entangled in balloon ribbons or strings, causing injury or death through drowning, suffocation, or an inability to feed and avoid predators.

​A dead baby Blind Shark found with a rubber band around its gills. Elastic bands should be cut before thrown out. Who would have thought that an elastic band could kill a shark?

Millions of animals die every year because of our plastic pollution and waste. Cleaning up a beach can save the lives of thousands of animals. Not using single use plastic can save the lives of thousands of animals. Educating your friends about single use plastic and what changes they can make to their everyday lives to reduce plastic can save the lives of millions of animals. The change starts with you.