When you’re drinking a bottle of water, have you ever stopped to think about where it’ll end up? The water bottle will most likely be taken to a landfill, even if you recycle it! Landfills often dump garbage into the ocean which sets off a chain of plastic ingestion through animals, eventually reaching humans. Did you know that according to National Geographic, “Humans may be consuming anywhere from 39,000 to 52,000 microplastic particles a year,” and that, “A major contributor to our intake of plastic is bottled water.” Plastic water bottles are a large issue that affects both animals and us.
On the list of the top 10 most found items to pollute the ocean, beverage bottles were number 3 and during the ocean cleanup project 1,065,171 bottles were found. This has caused devastating effects on ocean life. More than 690 different types of marine life have consumed plastic, it’s also been shown that this plastic consumption has problematic side effects for marine life. An article from One Green Planet states that, “One albatross that was recently found dead on a Hawaiian island had a stomach full of 119 bottle caps,” also stating that,”In the U.S., 1,500 plastic water bottles are consumed every second.” This has caused declines in population and has made it more difficult to fish, which brings me to my next point, on how humans are affected by plastic bottles. A big problem right now is human consumption of plastic. CNN states that, “You could be swallowing a credit card’s weight in plastic every week.”If you drink the recommended amount of water through only bottled water you could ingest 90,000 plastic particles annually from only your water intake. Drinking tap water brings that number down to 4,000 plastic particles. It’s been shown that this can lead to injuring your gut and immune system. This has proved that plastic bottles have made a negative impact on humans and animals through plastic pollution. 
So how can you help? In one town, selling or throwing away bottles of water became prohibited. Instead, drinking fountains and water dispensers became popular around town. This is a great way to reduce waste! Although the whole of Decatur might not be able to, you can stop buying single use beverage bottles, and instead buy a reusable one. On average, a person uses 315 bottles during their life. So, by using one metal one, you could lower plastic pollution by around 315 bottles! Another great way to help is to spread awareness, the more people who know the more of an impact we can make.