The photograph of the beautiful bird trapped in a plastic bag should be next to the till in every retail shop. I work in a shop and would simply "look" at the customer while pointing that picture every time someone complained about paying 5p for a plastic bag. Just bring your own bag ffs, it's not hard.

Finland has a great way to handle plastic bottles. You pay little bit extra when you buy one, and you get it back when you return the bottle to the store and then it will be recycled. Almost everybody does it, and even when somebody throws one out somebody else always collects it for the money. Some people make free money by collecting bottles semi-professionally and it's thought as good manners to leave your bottles next to the trash cans if you don't want to recycle them yourself.

These images are so horrifying, yet most of the people who see them will say “Oh poor bird/turtle/crab/etc.” then toss out their plastic coffee cup and forget they read the article. We seriously need to start doing stuff, posting more articles like this, and spreading the word.

Before 1990, a lot more things were packaged in paper, wood, or metal. Consumer goods, particularly groceries and toys, didn't always come in plastic.

So tragic. I'm trying to do my part to minimize. When I am away from home, I carry any recyclable home to be properly disposed of. I'm always upset when I am traveling and I don't see any recycling. I still bring home all the plastic bags to be reused or recycled.

We must all stop shifting blame and do whatever it takes.

It's kinda silly that they're usually asking the consumers to make a change when sometimes we don't even have a choice or a say in the matter? Alot of food gets wrapped and wrapped again in plastic, stacked upon more plastic-wrapped food and when it comes off the truck into the shop, it's on a pallet wrapped with more plastic. (sure 5 separate wrapped cookies is handy so they don't spoil but that's a lot of plastic) I don't know any shop here that sells drinks in glass bottles. A friend also just asked a local shop to provide paper bags or maybe reusable crates instead of plastic for the veggies etc but they said that "wasn't doable". -_- Atleast we can bring our plastic bottles back. (you pay extra but you get it back when you return the bottles) Atleast some companies are trying to help cut down on plastic; like paper coffee cups instead of plastic. Another company doesn't use bubblewrap to send their supplies anymore, they shred their own recycled boxes and use that instead.

Kudos for National Geographic for emphasising this issue so well. I've been avoiding plastic for year and sometimes despair at the apparent lack of progress globally, but it's never too late to start. And to all those who are blaming the companies that manufacture it - you don't have to buy their products. It's easy to reduce your comsumption by 90% or more if only you put your mind to it.

You know, i never really worried or thought about how bad plastic waste is. I'm glad I read this, i will try to use less and always recycle.

I hate plastic. Lets stop it together by useing reusable stuff. And stop wasting money on plastic. You pay one doller for water IN a plastic bottle. And you can get water for free IN a drink bottle.

These tips are on there website: Always bring a reusable bag when you shop. Go refillable! Carry your won reusable bottle. Skip the straw. In most cases, you don't need a straw. Tell your server, "No straw, please" when you order a drink. End littering. Properly Dispose of your own trash and pick up litter when you can.

I agree also, people are stupid, and careless. Not being derogative, just realistic. We live in a refined and politicised society, all actions, even those regarding our own bodies are governed (think abortion). Yet, if a company sells a product, and that products packaging end up in the ocean, they are not held accountable. You can't change people, not fast enough. you must direct the blame at industry, they are doing it because it is cheap, it is easy, and we let them. If a pie wrapper found in the street cost the company a $1000 fine, how fast do you think they will convert? I get fined for parking my car with one wheel on the curb $150... It must be made untenable for them to continue. My apologies for calling you all stupid also. I know it's not your fault. ;)

Why can't we use bio degradable or edible plastics, recycled papers and reusable packages. Can there be a universal law that once consumer bought any plastic items they are obliged to return them to any stores/shops then someone will collect them in there so that less waste and a centralized place to segregate those plastic items. Hope someday a good plan can be made.

All the waste also contributes to global warming. Recycling is the least you can do and if you can use the reusable bags at grocery stores to cut down on plastic bag usage. if everyone did a few little things it can make a world of difference.

Some remind me whats was wrong with paper, or why can't we make a derivative of paper that is biodegradeable as well.

I think ppl need to stop tossing there rubbish

I'm actually more sad about the animals than the humans... we kind of deserve all the consequences, since it's us who created this mess. I know, the consequences are unevenly distributed and it's always the poor and voiceless people that suffer the most. But animals... completely innocent, yet victims not taken care of. This is a real tragedy.

I am heartened by the fact that this has 530 upvotes at this point, which seems high on this site.

Please recycle, at least it's a baby step to fix the problem

The word economy means 'careful management of resources'... That doesn't happen at all. Manufactures make goods with a finite life so that they can be thrown away and another bought to make them money. It's the business that need to be blamed not us. The world has more than enough money and resources for everybody to be rich and not live in poverty and the environment saved. They can mass produce electric cars but they wont. Let's blame the elite of the world. Not the consumers.

Found this the other day on the local golf course that is supposedly a wildlife sanctuary . Perhaps someone needed refreshing beverages during a balloon release to honor a loved one's memory I reckon. DSCF2927-5...e105d1.jpg

The problem is not that we use too much plastic. We use too much everything. The problem with plastic is a) that it is too inexpensive, b) some of it is not recyclable, and c) according to the chart above, only 21% is either recycled or burned each year leaving an ever growing mountain of it. The solution will come from new ideas, not going back in time. We generate so much paper waste now, that it too can be hard to recycle into an end use product depending on demand for it as a commodity. How about using those paper bales for cheap home construction: naturally insulating, very hard to burn, just very bulky. Could work in places where land is really cheap. Ditto plastic as in make bricks out of it. We call them Legos as toys, but that may have been done already as well. The key thing is to keep them from getting lose in the environment, and to keep them from being allowed to decompose in the oceans. The accuracy of that UC Santa Barbara chart seems suspect. Tsunami.

One of our larger grocery store chains here gives you a discount for bringing in reusable bags. One day when I was checking out, some lady behind me started complaining that *she* didn't get a discount off of her groceries. She couldn't seem to grasp the concept that I was getting the discount because I wasn't using plastic bags. We are so used to wadding up plastic shopping bags and throwing them away, so used to throwing away plastic packaging, that we don't even think about it any longer. Its a shame that we can't save up someone's garbage for a year then dump it on their front lawn to see what they've been responsible for creating that year. I have that invisible front yard landfill in my brain whenever I go shopping these days. Between that and recycling, I think my invisible landfill is getting smaller.

I dont think we should demonize the average consumer but try to engage with that feeling of accountability that we feel when learning about the affect of plastic on our environment and try our best not to exasperate the situation. Ill try not to use so much plastic and recycle properly, reuse containers, spread awareness when I can, that's the best many of us can do, and that's okay.

I hope this convinces everyone who sees it to make a change. There's a store on my high street that has no packaging--you have to bring your own glasses or bags, and they are opening a second location. I hope the idea catches on.

Consumers can make a BIG difference in how companies package food. Our dollars are what keeps them alive. We need to collectively continue to use our buying power (buy not buying) and use our voices to contact companies and let them know we are no longer buying their product because the packaging is too wasteful. Unless the companies hear from enough consumers, or they are mandated to do something, most are not going to change. It cost them money to make changes. Let our voices be heard by companies. This includes going to stores, restaurants, movies, and other consumer places that still do not recycle. Let them know you will no longer purchase their products because they do not recycle, are not good earth stewards, use plastic bags, put straws in every drink etc. We CAN make a change together!

All the photos come from third world shitholes, yet me, barely accumulating a single bin of plastics a year, am the one to pay for all that. Is it that they got so used to beeing helped, that they purposely stopped looking after themselves...

That hermit crab made me cry. I want to help, but what am I supposed to do? I don’t ask for my amazon packages to have a million bubble packs, or my food to be individually packaged. What do I do? How do I help?

The grocery store that I shop at provides these cardboard crate that they get the vegetable supplied in. These crates are easy to carry to the car and from car to house. And I ensure to deliver them to the recycle bin. Have not used a single plastic bag for 7 years now. Yes I always carry a cloth bag on my bicycle or car when going shopping other shops.

I've been receiving a subscription for NGM for 20+ years, and its ALWAYS been in paper. Brown paper. I live in Australia. Seems they've had it sorted here for years. IMG_0962-5...f237b2.jpg

Come on people, stop blaming everything on outside causes! EVERYONE has to take responsibility...carry your own shopping bags to grocery stores or any stores, carry your own containers/utensils for food or drinks, stop buying plastic toys or accessories. You want unwrapped cookies or goods? Boycott companies that wrap in plastic, go to stores that sell in bulk, or even better... BAKE YOUR OWN (a lot healthier too). Stop blaming, take responsibility...

Please take the pledge to reduce the single-use of plastic here: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/plasticpledge/

I'm a diver and seeing plastic garbage when diving is more the norm than not. Although I cannot solve the problem, I can help reduce it.... I've purchased a dozen or so shopping bags (actually collapsible boxes https://www.planetebags.com/en/collapsible-boxes/) made by Planet E bags and leave them in my van. They fold up nicely to store and carry when empty. When I go shopping, I pull out however many bags I think I will need and take them in the store with me. A big plus, though, it is so much easier to carry the groceries and can fit a lot more in a Planet E bag than a flimsy grocery bag.

Its amazing to think that we have governments that are so powerful, they could potentially put a ban on all production or products which have no nutritional value, so that a lot of this plastic waste comes to a halt, so that we all have some time to help clean up a lot, without contributing more and more and more. But on the other hand, the cougar that was "euthanized" in Seattle today just for hunting a killing and doing what comes naturally to it is proof that a lots of humans suffer from a delusional superiority complex, we are not at peace with being fair and letting nature take its course, we believe we have to survive above all other life even if the murder is unjust. So plastic disaster aside, how do we tackle the superiority complex that will soon see the Earth rid of all other life forms other then greedy stinking humans who want to kill each other and live in their plastic cities? Maybe it is better for the good people to peacefully leave the planet to join the cougar spirit

Seeing a lot of comments about how the consumer shouldn't be blamed and responsibility should rest with the producers of goods. Well, both parties are responsible and companies will pay attention to what you buy from them. If we're unwilling to buy plastic wrapped vegetables, for example, it's not worth it to continue wrapping them. Your dollars view, and you are responsible for where you put those dollars and what you're willing to sacrifice for the sake of having items.

Blame Corporate... Worldwide

Our reality today.:(

This makes me so sad. I was doing good for a while bringing my own bags and buying 'bin products' you have to fill into a container/bag yourself, but I've been slacking over the last year. Back to the old me. My husband would always say at the store: Don't give me a plastic bag. My wife will get mad at me. lol.