Bird Conservation: The Perils of Plastic

Information on Plastic Reduction Bills in Nevada are at the bottom of this post.

Plastic. It's everywhere. It's nearly impossible to go to the grocery store without bringing home something wrapped in plastic, and unfortunately, it can cause great harm to birds and other wildlife. Plastic production far exceeds our ability to recycle and plastic waste all too often ends up somewhere in the environment.

Warning: some of the images in the following links can be graphic. Click on the blue highlights to read the full story.

From the L.A. Times Article - Altered Oceans: Part Four: Plague of Plastic Chokes the Seas
"Reporting From MIDWAY ATOLL — The albatross chick jumped to its feet, eyes alert and focused. At 5 months, it stood 18 inches tall and was fully feathered except for the fuzz that fringed its head.

All attitude, the chick straightened up and clacked its beak at a visitor, then rocked back and dangled webbed feet in the air to cool them in the afternoon breeze.

The next afternoon, the chick ignored passersby. The bird was flopped on its belly, its legs splayed awkwardly. Its wings drooped in the hot sun. A few hours later, the chick was dead.

John Klavitter, a wildlife biologist, turned the bird over and cut it open with a knife. Probing its innards with a gloved hand, he pulled out a yellowish sac — its stomach.

Out tumbled a collection of red, blue and orange bottle caps, a black spray nozzle, part of a green comb, a white golf tee and a clump of tiny dark squid beaks ensnared in a tangle of fishing line."

"Plasticosis" is an actual term. It's a disease that causes stomach scarring in shearwaters that eat bits of plastic floating in the ocean. Read more.

The plastic that is in the ocean does not affect only birds, it affects us. According to the L.A. Times article, plastic can remain for centuries before fully breaking down. Small bits and pieces of plastic are not only in our oceans, they are in the soil and researchers are still trying to determine the health effects of plastic in our bodies.  If it can cause scarring in the stomachs of birds and even death, what does it do to us?

Certainly, solutions are needed to reduce plastic in our environment. We can do this on an individual basis, for example, by not purchasing items wrapped in plastic, by not using single-use plastics (bags, bottles, etc.) and by recycling as much as possible. Because plastic production exceeds recycling, better solutions are needed. Nevada currently has some bills that aim to reduce some of the plastic in our state. These bills were highlighted at our table at Earth Day for people to learn about.

SB173 - establishing requirements governing the provision of disposable foodware accessories
Status: Passed to the Senate Finance Committee

AB244 - enacts prohibitions relating to the use of disposable foodware containers containing polystyrene foam by certain food dispensing establishments.
Status: Amended. Passed by the Assembly. Passed on to the Senate.

SB324 - establishes prohibitions relating to the sale of water in certain disposable plastic bottles in communities abutting the Lake Tahoe Watershed.
Status: Passed by the Senate. Will be sent to Assembly.

Public opinions on active bills can be shared on the Nevada Legislature website.

Share Public Opinion to the Nevada Legislature