Cotton buds...

Marine plastic pollution is damaging the health of our oceans. From plankton to pilot whales, algae to albatross — no ocean life remains free from the effects of plastic waste … it’s even found in the seafood we eat. We might not think that our everyday actions can make a difference. But they do.

Take cotton buds for example. Their stems are made from plastic. And many people are flushing them down the toilet … in their millions. Whilst getting people to stop flushing them is the ideal outcome, the perception of the toilet as a ‘wet bin’ just doesn’t seem to go away. During heavy rainfall our sewers can overflow into our waterways and rivers, meaning anything we flush can get washed out to sea. Being so small, cotton bud stems can squeeze through sewage filters — which is why they make up over 60% of all sewage related beach litter.
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