Right now, out in the middle of the Pacific ocean is a 1.6 million square kilometers swirling mass of trash called The Great Pacific Garbage Patch. For comparison, this makes the garbage patch roughly the size of 2 Texas’ put together or 3 times the size of France. Now, this may sound like an eerie dystopian novel, or like the plot to the Isle of Dogs, but this waste pile up is a real thing happening to our actual planet, in the year 2018, and it has been growing since 1997.

The largest culprit in this pile up (at an estimate of 80%) is, you guessed it, plastics. Specifically, single-use plastics. Now, while there are some cleanup efforts being done to help get rid of some of the trash polluting our oceans, the reality of the fact is that if we continue to keep using single-use plastics then the problem s not going to get better and it will just continue to accumulate. So, what can we do? The obvious answer, though seemingly difficult, is to simply stop using plastics altogether. While this seems ridiculous, I’ve listed 5 easy steps below to help you get started on your plastic-less journey.

1. Straws

Each day, the world uses 500 Million plastic straws and they are one of the top 10 marine debris items. One of the easiest ways to avoid straws is to refuse the ones that they will try to give you at restaurants and make sure that they take it back instead of leaving it on the table. But, if you are one of those people who absolutely needs a straw - try carrying around a reusable stainless steel or silicone straws. That comes with the hassle of cleaning, though, so if you’re a person who absolutely abhors the idea of doing the dishes, try out paper straws. The idea of a paper straw may seem ridiculous in theory but they actually hold up well for the purposes of one drink and you can throw it away afterward with the peace of mind of knowing that it will actually break down in a landfill, and not end up in the ocean.

2. Plastic Bags - Grocery Edition

See that weird spiky thing in the picture above? That is what the inside of a Leatherback Sea Turtles throat looks like (a.k.a the esophageal lining and papillae). Leatherbacks enjoying eating sea critters like jellyfish with that odd throat and sometimes they mistake floating plastic bags as a delicious jellyfish and tries to eat it. When this happens, they can’t spit the plastic bag out because of their uniquely designed throat (those spiky bois) and they ultimately will suffocate because of this. This situation could have all been avoided if you had used reusable or paper shopping bags at the grocery store instead of plastic ones. Or, instead of throwing away your plastic bags you can recycle them in specially designed recycling areas that are present at most grocery stores now.

3. Water Bottles

This one is pretty self-explanatory, I mean, water fountains are generally free everywhere so why would you pay for a bottle? It is super easy just to carry around your own reusable water bottle and they even make bottles with filters now if you don’t like the idea of drinking straight tap water. It is also a good idea to start carrying around your own mug or insulated reusable cup if you’re a big coffee drinker too. Some coffee shops will even give you a few cents off your purchase for bringing your own cup too.

4. Plastic Bags - Lunch Edition

If you’re a person who packs their lunch every day, like me, or if you pack lunch for your kids or other family members then it is time to ditch those little plastic bags for some fun reusable containers. Also, with the new rise in popularity of bento boxes you’ll look stylish, put together, and like you’re actually good a portion control just for carrying them around. Plus, if you don’t feel like going out to buy reusable containers you can always rinse out and reuse old jars of olives/pickles and other types of food packaging that you would normally just throw out.

5. Cutlery

In our current society, we are always “on-the-go.” And when you’re in a hurry for meals it becomes hard to ignore the cheap and easy to throw away cutlery at restaurants. However, there is an easy way to circumvent this plastic too. Currently on trend are bamboo and wooden cutlery sets that you can find online. Bamboo cutlery even comes in reusable sets with cute little carrying cases. However, you can also hit up Goodwill or another local thrift store where you can usually find a random assortment of cheap cutlery in need of a home.