“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” – Jane Goodall, English Primatologist and Anthropologist
This week is Discovery Channel’s Shark Week, and we are huge proponents of protecting sharks, and all marine life, from polluted waters. Whether you live in a coastal city or are landlocked, there are simple measures you can take to protect our ocean and keep it free of pollution.
Fact: Grease Hero is headquartered in Hawai’i.
Properly dispose of cooking fats, oils and grease.
When cooking fats, oils and grease are rinsed down the kitchen sink they create havoc for your home’s plumbing, sewer systems and treatment facilities. With enough grease being rinsed from different homes in your neighborhood, fatbergs can quickly grow. The grease that doesn’t stick to the inside of your plumbing makes its way into the sewer network where it joins up with wastewater from your neighborhood.
Fatbergs in the sewer network grow very rapidly and eventually end up blocking entire portions of the sewer network. They grow so fast because that one pan of oil or grease you rinsed down your sink, met up with other oil and grease your neighbors rinsed down their sinks. You can see how the issue grows exponentially. Once all of these fats, oils and grease meet up with food particles, wet wipes and other items flushed, it becomes hard as concrete and a major problem for water companies.
Once a fatberg has blocked a section of a sewer line, wastewater then gets pushed upward and flows out of drains and manholes into local neighborhoods, homes, the environment and ultimately the ocean.
- 17 million gallons of sewage discharged from Hyperion treatment plant, closing some beaches to swimming (Los Angeles Times)
Reduce your use of single-use plastics.
Single-use plastics include plastic bags, water bottles, straws, cups, utensils, dry cleaning bags, take-out containers, and any other plastic items that are used once and then discarded. By carrying reusable items with you, it is easy to say no to these single-use items and protect the ocean.
“Plastic pollution is one of the greatest threats to ocean health worldwide. With skyrocketing plastic production, low levels of recycling, and poor waste management, between 4 and 12 million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean each year—enough to cover every foot of coastline on the planet! And that amount is projected to triple in the next 20 years. Let that sink in for a moment.” (Oceanic Society)
Recycle and upcycle household items.
Commit to recycling household waste. Those delivery boxes, food cans and milk jugs can all be recycled. Upcycling is also another way to get creative with your waste. With upcycling you find ways of using discarded items—a quick internet search for upcycling shows you thousands of ways people have got creative and found innovative ways to repurpose items.
At present, just 9% of plastic is recycled worldwide. Recycling helps keep plastics out of the ocean and reduces the amount of “new” plastic in circulation. (Oceanic Society)
The ocean shapes our planet, and it is our job to protect it and all its inhabitants. By taking these simple steps we can keep pollution and trash out of the ocean. Let’s pass on a healthy planet to future generations. Join us on our mission to protect the ocean from pollution.
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Join our mission to save the environment. We aim to promote environmental, social and economic benefit, all while prioritizing the environment over our product life cycles… from the initial manufacture using recycled materials until final disposal.
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