Planet Earth has been called the "Blue Planet" due to the abundant water on its surface. Liquid water covers most of the surface of our planet. This water comes in many forms. The largest and most dramatic bodies of water are our oceans. Whether our homes are near or far from the sea, our lives depend on our planet’s oceans. Covering about 70 per cent of the earth’s surface, our seas supply half the oxygen we breathe, and provide food and livelihoods for more than a billion people. Marine plastic pollution and its effects on life below water have recently been brought to our attention, particularly by the media. Every year over 8 million tonnes of plastic enters the ocean. We are now discovering the extent of the damage we have done to our oceans and their marine life through decades of poor waste management and overuse of single-use plastics. Our ocean and the array of species that call it home are succumbing to the poison of plastic. Fish, seabirds, sea turtles, and marine mammals can become entangled in or ingest plastic debris, causing suffocation, starvation, and drowning. Humans are not immune to this threat: While plastics are estimated to take up to hundreds of years to fully decompose, some of them break down much quicker into tiny particles called micro-plastics , which in turn end up in the seafood we eat causing serious health issues. Unless action is taken soon to address this urgent problem, scientists predict that the weight of ocean plastics will exceed the combined weight of all of the fish in the seas by 2050.
We have to stop doing more harm to the life below water before we start undoing the harms that have already been done. Global change requires individual change. Aiming this, we are going to launch the project - Plastic Free Lifestyle (PFL), which is a multidisciplinary, student-led university platform for establishing sustainable, eco-conscious lifestyle among students. PFL aims to educate, challenge, and inspire students to shift from conventional to conscious living, helping them leave positive, plastic-free impacts on the world’s oceans and natural environment. PFL calls students to participate in a 21-day plastic-free challenge. Students who participate will be asked to complete different tasks each day, most of which will require the use of plastic alternatives. Participants will also be given the opportunity to compete for various eco-prizes, and opportunities to share what they’ve learned through their plastic-free experience with others.