Plastic Pollution

I am the crinkly wrapper that flies on the wind. I am the colorful bottle cap that floats in a puddle after it rains. Sometimes I get stuck in the branches of a big, tall tree. Other times, I tumble along a warm, sandy beach. I was not made to be here, all alone and lost. I feel like a little piece of everything that doesn't have a home. I have a name you might know. I am Plastic Pollution.

A long time ago, around the 1950s, people got very excited about me. They learned how to make all sorts of things out of plastic. It was strong and bright and could be shaped into fun toys, helpful bottles, and useful bags. But I am very good at sticking around. I never really go away. After all the toys were played with and all the drinks were sipped from the bottles, I was left behind. I started to pile up. By the 1970s, friendly scientists sailing on the big, blue ocean started to see me everywhere. They saw me floating on the sparkly waves. They realized I was making a big mess. They learned that I was sometimes hurting the fish and the birds who thought I was yummy food.

Being a problem makes me feel sad, but I have a happy secret to share with you. You can help. You can be a helper. Every time you use a cup or a bag more than once, you stop a new piece of me from getting lost. When you help a grown-up sort bottles and containers for recycling, you give me a new job to do. I can become something new instead of being lost. Kids like you are the world's best helpers. You are teaching everyone how to clean up our wonderful home and make sure there’s less of me floating around in the future.