Litter Threatens Marine Life

Litter on our beaches is not only unsightly - its an indication of whats floating in the oceans, threatening the marine life .

Researchers from the University of Queensland found that marine rubbish was the leading cause of global marine turtle deaths in 2007. Marine turtles often mistake floating plastic bags as jellyfish and eat them, causing them to choke, starve since the plastic clogs the intestines, or even become buoyant and unable to submerge. Even a piece of plastic half the size of a fingernail can kill a baby turtle. Worryingly 80% of turtles are found with cigarrette butts and plastic bags in their stomachs.

Other marine life is affected too; seabirds can mistake polystyrene balls as eggs whilst whales can accidentally swallow plastic rubbish when feeding, preventing them to digest food and causing death. And its not only the ingestion of rubbish thats a problem. If animals, such as marine turtles, sharks, whales, dolphins and birds become entangled in nets, ropes or plastic it can cause starvation, amputation or drowning.

As part of the marine conservation here on the Perhentian Island we monitor the amount of rubbish washing up on the beach from the local resorts and floating rubbish pontoons. At Bubbles Dive Resort the marine turtle volunteers clean the beach daily to prevent a build up of rubbish  and record the findings - this data is being compiled over a number of years in order to monitor any increases - providing us with data to present to the local universities and government in the future.

We can all make a difference and here are a few ways you can reduce your waste on the island and back at home.

Reduce

1. Say no to plastic bags - take your own bag to carry your shopping home
   
2. when taking food away for lunch ask them to use your own container - just think how many stryofoam containers you use every year!
   
3. Reduce the amount of packaging you use.

Reuse

1. Compost - Organic waste including paper and tea bags can be put into a compost and the compost can be used to make your plants more healthy and save you money by reducing the need for fertiliser.  At Bubbles we started our compost heap in September 2008 and in June 2009 are starting our own organic fruit and vegetable garden where we will be using our compost.
   
   Visit the following site for advice how to make a compost
    
2. Garbage enzyme - the new craze is garbage enzyme.  Vegetable and fruit waste can be used to create soaps which you can use to wash your body, clothes and your drains!  just think how much money you would save if you never bought any type of soap ever again.  Bubbles Dive Resort is starting to produce our own garbage enzymes in June 2009.
   
   Visit the following site for advice how to make garbage enzymes
   
3. Reuse your plactic bags when you go shopping, or use plastic bottles for pots to put things into - look around our resort and see how we are using our litter.
   
4. Use your old clothes for interior design or for dish clothes.
   
5. Sell or give away your unwanted items

Recycle

1. Collect all your paper, glass and cans for recycling.

 

 

Why not become a fan of the Bubbles Dive Resortconservation awareness blog  and get more tips on how you can adapt your life to be more friendly to the enviroment we all love so much.

Or go one step further and join our marine turtle volunteer conservation project

you can also keep upto date by following our facebook group click below on the logo.

 

To learn more about various conservation issues please visit the pages below

Marine turtle conservation

Coral reef conservation

Shark conservation
 

This site is designed and managed by Peisee Hwang. Any comment or suggestion please write to peisee@bubblesdc.com

For other volunteer project abroad we highly recommend our proud partners