Humans are the cause, and unless more governments and policies are in place to prevent excessive plastic and waste consumption, there isn’t a hope for wildlife.

I do freelance work for a reusable takeaway container company where restaurants stock our boxes and customers need only to download an app to get their food in reusable boxes (they can return anywhere). The app is super easy to download but still people are refusing to do it. I tried convincing a pregnant acquaintance to do it, telling her to think of the planet she’s leaving behind for her unborn child, and still she refused. Why? Convenience. So much easier to throw the damn plastic box away and tell yourself “oh it’s made of recycled plastic anyway.”

The fact is, whether it’s recycled plastic or not, plastic is plastic. Driving the demand for recycled plastic boxes isn’t going to fix our planet. Until the government steps in to say every food related shop needs to provide a reusable alternative and customers have to pay more for disposable waste (like how it is now with carrier bags in most supermarkets in Europe), I don’t see much change happening in terms of wildlife. It’s sad but it is what it is.