{"id":9314,"date":"2019-08-23T12:31:59","date_gmt":"2019-08-23T11:31:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ie.myenergi.com\/?p=9314"},"modified":"2019-08-23T12:31:59","modified_gmt":"2019-08-23T11:31:59","slug":"the-effects-of-littering-on-wildlife","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myenergi.com\/ie\/news\/the-effects-of-littering-on-wildlife\/","title":{"rendered":"The Devastating Effects of Litter on Wildlife"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">There is an estimated <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/worldschildrensprize.org\/litterfacts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">150 million tonnes of plastic<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in our oceans. By 2050, experts predict that there will be more rubbish than fish in our waters.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">It is our mission to create a better future for our wonderful planet, and while the myenergi HQ focus is on renewable energy, our Green Team are extremely passionate about all aspects of creating a more sustainable environment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Let\u2019s take a look at the impact littering has on our planet, particularly nature and wildlife&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Stats about littering that will shock you<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rspca.org.uk\/adviceandwelfare\/litter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">RSPCA<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> receives 5,000 calls a year regarding litter. That\u2019s an average of roughly 14 calls every day!<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The World Wide Fund for Nature report that 1.5 million tonnes of plastic waste derives from water bottles.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"https:\/\/visual.ly\/community\/infographic\/environment\/eye-opening-statistics-littering\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">33% <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">of litter comes from fast food.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The UK has the worst statistics for litter, with a jaw-dropping <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/visual.ly\/community\/infographic\/environment\/eye-opening-statistics-littering\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">62% of England\u2019s residents<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> admitting to littering.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.perseus-net.eu\/site\/content.php?locale=1&amp;sel=517&amp;artid=565\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">One billion<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> seabirds are killed by litter every year, while 260 marine animal species have become trapped by litter in the ocean.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/i.pinimg.com\/originals\/5f\/dc\/ae\/5fdcae85a8c3770bb1199bd75e56712c.jpg\" alt=\"Effects of Litter on Wildlife\" width=\"500\" height=\"339\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><b>Effects of littering on wildlife<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Trash that is mindlessly thrown on the floor is having a seriously detrimental effect on plants and animals. Not only is it a direct threat to many creatures\u2019 health, but it can also destroy their habitats and environment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Here are just some of the most common problems caused by litter:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Animals getting trapped and entangled in plastic packaging.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Wildlife suffocating in plastic bags and similar litter.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Creatures cutting themselves on sharp objects thrown away by humans.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Wildlife getting stuck in discarded gum.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Litter damaging the homes and nests animals spend so long creating for themselves.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">These are just a few of the many issues plaguing our wonderful wildlife. You\u2019ll notice a trend in each of the above examples: every one of them is entirely avoidable.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>How can we prevent this?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The simple answer is, stop littering! Failing to properly dispose of your rubbish is careless and incredibly damaging to our planet.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Aim to use recyclable materials whenever possible, and be sure to recycle them in the correct manner.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Single-use plastics, such as straws and plastic cutlery is among the most avoidable and damaging type of litter in the world.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Even if you do dispose of your plastics properly, there are some extra precautions you can do to protect our wildlife, which include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cutting elastic bands and ringed packaging to ensure animals don\u2019t squeeze into them and get trapped.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rinse and crush cans when you\u2019re throwing them away.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Pick up other people\u2019s litter if you come across it.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Put lids back on containers that you throw out.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Choose paper bags whenever possible or take your own reusable bags when shopping.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>What else can we do to save the environment?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cutting down litter is a massive thing the human race can do to help the many species left struggling on our planet. But it is not the only step you can make. Far from it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Check out our guides and products below to continue contributing to our mission to create a kinder, more sustainable future.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"https:\/\/myenergi.com\/ie\/2019\/01\/09\/greenjanuary-5-simple-ways-to-immediately-reduce-your-carbon-footprint\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">How to reduce your carbon footprint<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"https:\/\/myenergi.com\/ie\/2019\/05\/13\/uks-top-6-electric-vehicles-with-the-longest-range-in-2019\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The best electric vehicles on the market<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"https:\/\/myenergi.com\/ie\/2019\/07\/09\/common-misconceptions-on-climate-change\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Common misconceptions on climate change<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"https:\/\/myenergi.com\/ie\/2019\/02\/08\/reducing-plastic-use-4-small-changes-with-huge-consequences\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">How to reduce plastic use<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There is an estimated 150 million tonnes of plastic in our oceans. By 2050, experts predict that there will be more rubbish than fish in our waters. It is our mission to create a better future for our wonderful planet, and while the myenergi HQ focus is on renewable energy, our Green Team are extremely&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9315,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9314","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sustainability"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myenergi.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9314","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myenergi.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myenergi.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myenergi.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myenergi.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9314"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myenergi.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9314\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myenergi.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9315"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myenergi.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9314"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myenergi.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9314"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myenergi.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9314"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}