How Plastic Is Impacting Our Oceans and Water Supply

August is typically seen as the end of summer and the beginning of the school year. August is also National Water Quality Month. Water is a precious resource – one we each use on a daily basis – for people all over the globe. That makes it vital that we each do our part to keep the water we use to drink, cleanse ourselves, cook, and swim and fish in, clean and safe. Understanding how plastic is impacting our oceans and water supply and keeping water as pollution and contaminant-free as possible is everyone’s responsibility.

Businesses, corporations, and everyday citizens can participate in National Water Quality Month in August and practice good water habits all year. We can all limit our personal involvement in water pollution by not tossing waste into the ocean in the first place and by not contributing to the purchase and production of plastic items that contaminate our water supply. For example, something as simple as disposing of cooking oil in appropriate containers can make a huge impact. By not clogging residential and commercial drains with grease and oil, we limit sluggish drains and reduce the formation of fatbergs in our oceans. Massive fatbergs – a congealed lump in a sewer system formed by the combination of non-biodegradable solid matter such as wet wipes with grease or cooking fat (Wikipedia) – can wreak havoc on sewers and lead to environmental decay.

Making consumer-based choices based on how plastic is impacting our oceans also impacts business. Both businesses and consumers can pay better attention to the way products are packaged. Companies who make a point of choosing environmentally safe packaging open the door for a specialized market segment. When businesses opt for recyclable and biodegradable packaging it goes a very long way toward decreasing plastic consumption. Similarly, when consumers choose products based on their packaging, they make corporations aware of their preferences and of their interest in protecting the environment. Consider these staggering numbers:

• Drinking eight glasses of water each day is the going recommendation for adults. According to Ban The Bottle, in 2017, close to 50 million plastic water bottles were purchased by consumers. Sadly, less than 23% of those bottles were recycled.
• Plastic grocery and other retail shopping bags are consumed at alarming rates. A simple choice to choose paper bags at the grocery store, or to purchase reusable shopping totes can lead to a huge reduction in the production, consumption, and subsequent disposal of plastic bags.
• Animals who inhabit our oceans are being negatively impacted by plastic. The Environmental Protection Agency maintains that more than 100 million of the sea turtles and other animals in our oceans are killed annually by plastic waste.

From concerns about how plastic is impacting out oceans to taking steps to ensure our inks are responsibly sourced, the entire team at DPRINT is concerned about the environment. We take our impact on, and responsibility to, the earth’s limited resources very seriously. You can read more about our sustainability policy right on our site. You can also subscribe to our Lasting Impressions By DRPINT newsletter and blog for ongoing updates on environmental issues, graphic design tips, and other resources for corporate CEOs and small business owners.