Source: Rotary International
By Stephen Yafa. llustration by Studio Warburton
"We all know plastic bags are trash, but sea turtles are often tricked into thinking they’re a treat. They munch on the floating bags, mistaking them for jellyfish, or eat other bits of plastic that look like algae or seagrass. More than 50 percent of the world’s sea turtles are estimated to have eaten plastic — and some of them have ingested hundreds of pieces of it.
Bags can cause intestinal blockages, sharp plastics can rupture organs, and the decomposition of debris can trap gases and make turtles more buoyant so that they have a harder time swimming to feed or to escape predators. Young turtles are most vulnerable, in part because they will eat whatever floats past them."
Read the entire article at: Rotary International https://www.rotary.org/en/way-to-wash-water-clean
