Plastic is everywhere: in packaging, textiles and even toys. It’s also been found in the deepest part of the ocean and on the highest mountain in the world, with plastic even being in the food humans eat and in the air they breathe. Through interviews with Janis Jones, the Rise Above Plastics program Co-lead, she revealed that volunteers of the Surfrider Foundation collected more than 7,000 plastic bags from San Diego County beaches in 2025. In an effort to reduce plastic pollution, California has passed a law that bans single-use plastic bags from retail stores, including, but not limited to, grocery and clothing stores.
The plastic waste in the world’s oceans is an urgent problem: it is estimated that 8 million tons of plastic enter the ocean each year. Over 1 million marine animals are killed annually from entanglement, ingestion and the chemical pollutants that come from plastic. Additionally, plastic is not biodegradable: it simply breaks down into finer and smaller pieces called microplastics. These microplastics can last up to 600 years and continuously disrupt marine ecosystems.
Human health is also impacted by plastic pollution. Microplastics have been found in human blood and internal organs, and studies have linked serious medical concerns, like cancer and heart attacks, to plastics and their chemicals. The bulk of the microplastics ingested by humans is found in bottled water. Another way plastic enters the body is through seafood ingestion. The plastics eaten by fish and other aquatic creatures are transferred to the consumer, and due to their synthetic nature, microplastics cannot be easily broken down by the human body. When plastic pollution in the environment decreases, so too will the negative impacts on human health.
Despite how the ban on plastic bags will benefit the environment and human health, some question the practicality of sustainable alternatives. This is because, until recently, many solutions seemed ineffective or inefficient. Many were simply not practical for everyday consumer needs.
However, sustainable alternatives to plastic and paper are becoming more accessible. Companies like Loliware and Sway are harnessing seaweed as a packaging material. Seaweed farming is more regenerative than traditional sources of material, like trees, and it doesn’t require land, water or fertilizer. Seaweed is a sustainable material because it fully matures in six months and decomposes in just around six weeks.
Plastic pollution impacts Earth’s ecosystems and all its inhabitants, and individuals can and should reduce their role in this crisis by avoiding single-use plastics and instead choosing more sustainable alternatives, like reusable bags and bottles. Laws like California’s plastic bag ban are a clear example of hope in the fight against plastic, and while it will be a long time before the imprint on the planet can be reversed, it is crucial to work towards a plastic-free future.
