We can stop plastic deaths!

 On World Environment Day, with the theme #BeatPlasticPollution, we posted about an elephant that died from consuming plastic. Sadly, it wasn't alone. In Sri Lanka, a trash heap has been attracting wild elephants and six have died from eating the trash, including a significant amount of plastic. The landfill isn't fenced or maintained. It's a nuisance to local residents, and a serious threat to elephants and other wildlife.

Eight elephants died in Africa two years ago after eating at the trash dump near Victoria Falls. This is a glorious natural treasure and well worth visiting. Unfortunately, when humans visit they leave their trash behind, and deadly trash it is. We think of our plastic packaging as innocuous. It is not.

Poaching poses such a serious threat to elephants, but encroachment on their natural habitat is also a danger. These large mammals are a precious natural resource and we are pushing them off the planet with our rubbish, our harvesting, and our industry that has raised global temperatures and increased desertification.

The good news, is that we can end this devastation rather easily. Simply stop using plastic. And for goodness' sake, don't leave it behind when we go somewhere! We can choose not to use plastic wrap, plastic straws, or plastic bags. And we can choose to buy products that come in biodegradable or reusable packages rather than plastic ones. Companies are entirely responsive to consumers' demands. If we stop buying products in plastic containers, companies will stop packaging them that way. Thankfully, the power to stop these deaths are in our hands!


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