TerraCycle’s 3 Ways to Celebrate World Oceans Day
It is estimated that 10-20 million tons of plastic end up in the world’s oceans each year. These include microplastics, which impose severe damages to animals and their habitats. Recent reports confirm that deep-sea animals down in the Mariana Trench, Earth’s deepest point, are ingesting this pollution, which has also found its way into the Arctic. If things don’t change, we could see more plastics than fish in the ocean by 2050.
To do better by our oceans, we must shift our gaze. World Oceans Day is June 8, an important time for environmental action, observation, and celebration. Coinciding with this year’s UN Ocean Conference, World Oceans Day is day for policymakers, activists and conscious consumers to take part in actions and discussions that can carry us forward.
See if you can get involved with some or all of the initiatives, events and activities scheduled around World Oceans Day, and get your family, friends and community to join you.
Attend the inaugural World Oceans Festival
Kicking off the UN Ocean Conference June 4 is the inaugural World Ocean Festival in New York, an open, public event, recognizing that millions of people and organizations care about the oceans and will stand together for their protection.A day of celebration calling upon people to be “A Collective Voice for the World’s Ocean,” the Festival, organized by the Global Brain Foundation, invites current and potential stewards for the ocean to join them in New York City and around the world to bring public attention to the UN’s SDG Goal 14.
The World Ocean Festival is an opportunity for individuals, families and communities to participate in a global movement for the conservation, preservation and restoration of marine and coastal ecosystems. In addition to the Ocean March, a first-of-its-kind parade of large and small boats on the water as a statement of unity for the ocean, and the Ocean Village on Governors Island, N.Y., the festival features art, education, innovation, and tools you can use to take action year-round.
Join a beach clean up
Beach cleanup organizations and other ocean-minded NGOs partake in the important practice of picking waste up off of shorelines and working to restore ecosystems year-round. Now that the weather is heating up, finding a beach cleanup event on or around World Oceans Day should be a snap.
Individuals and communities planning beach and river cleanups around World Oceans Day and every time of year can also tackle ocean pollution from another angle through TerraCycle’s Beach Plastic Cleanup Program. The program is free and offers local beach cleanup organizations the opportunity to recycle collected beach plastic for the first time. Through the program, cleanup crews can invest in the collection, processing and integration of beach plastics in new production, creating a market for these materials and diverting them from landfills, the avenue by which these items find their way into oceans and waterways.
Celebrate locally
There are many easy, educational and family-friendly ways you and your community can celebrate World Oceans Day—you just have to look. An aquarium in Mystic, Conn., has planned special programming around World Oceans Day, including scavenger hunts, crafts, Nature Play on the Sea School Green, photo ops at “Selfie for the Seas” stations and hands-on activities. Marin County in California is hosting The Shrinking Shores, a series of informational events about sea-level rise. Absolutely Fish in New Jersey, where TerraCycle is headquartered, specializes in the art and science of fish year-round to teach people about marine life, creating lasting connections to the ocean around education and conversation.