Esl. U8(1) Our plastic oceans Tiger

Plastic history

Plastic is a strong material made by people. It has all kinds of uses and can be made into almost any shape. It is used to make airbags, bicycle helmets and medical products. All of these can save people's lives.

Plastic problems

But plastic is not biodegradable. Nearly every piece of plastic EVER made still exists today. Scientists think that 8.8 million tonnes of plastic waste goes into our seas every year! Plastic rubbish often blows into rivers, which then flow into the oceans. Over time the sea breaks the plastic into smaller parts called microparticles, which can hurt or kill marine life.

Plastic solutions

If we don't change our plastic habits, scientists think that by 2050 there will be more plastic in the oceans than fish! One million single-use plastic bottles are bought every minute around the world, so we need to reduce their use and replace them with bottles we can reuse. We need to use cloth bags instead of plastic bags to carry our shopping in, and our governments need to build better facilities to recycle this material.

Key words: The environment

biodegradable: a material that can turn back into elements found in nature

microparticle: a very small part of something

reduce: to use less of something

reuse: to use something again

recycle: to process something so it can be used again

 Read the text again and answer these questions.

a Find an adjective that describes plastic.

b Why can plastic save people's lives?

c Why is there so much plastic in our oceans?

 d What does the sea do to plastic over time?

e What can we do to reduce and reuse plastic objects?