hey friends before we start today's episode i have an important message to share with you as you must be aware due to certain new policies you are not able to comment on our videos but don't you worry my friends you can still share your valuable feedback comments views and love at our email id peekaboo kids feedback gmail.com similarly you can also visit our instagram and facebook page and continue to engage with us we are looking forward to hearing from you [Music] oh look little kitty it's plastic oh yes little kitty unfortunately this has become a very familiar sight as the world is getting engulfed in plastic waste hey friends i'm sure you guys must be wondering what is such a big deal about it well you won't believe but plastic pollution has become one of the most urgent environmental issues we are facing presently so in today's episode let us address this critical problem and learn what is plastic pollution its causes the effects the effect on us and what we can do to deal with it zoom in [Music] so what is plastic pollution hmm plastic pollution is the accumulation of plastic objects and particles like plastic bottles bags and micro beads in the earth's environment that adversely affects wildlife and humans i know what you guys are thinking but how does it affect the lives of humans and animals well imagine a sea turtle swims through the water in search of food and finds a white blob floating near the surface yummy it thinks a jellyfish and eats the item but little did the innocent turtle know that the floating blob isn't a jellyfish but a plastic bag that could make it and many other crushed animals very sick yes my friends just like that millions of animals are killed by plastic every year from birds to fish to other aquatic organisms not only that plastic has been found in the stomach of many land-based animals including elephants zebras tigers camels cattle and other large mammals in some cases causing death and all these factors somehow impact human lives yes scientists have found microplastics in 114 marine species and almost one third of these end up on our plates also they've been found in a majority of the world's tap water but the critical question is who is responsible for all this plastic mess around us well unfortunately it's none other than humans themselves but before we jump to a conclusion we need to understand that not all plastic is terrible as they are handy yes plastic revolutionized medicine with life-saving devices made space travel possible lightened cars and jets saving fuel and pollution and saved lives with helmets car airbags and equipment for clean drinking water and for many of us plastic has become integral to our daily lives but the problem is that most of us use and throw away more plastic than we need things like grocery bags drinking bottles straws food wrappers and plastic packaging around toys this kind of plastic that's used only once before being thrown away is called single-use plastic and it makes up more than 40 percent of all plastic trash and this short-lived use of millions of tons of plastic is quite simply unsustainable and dangerous for our planet as a whole now comes the most crucial question what can we do to help our planet and innocent animals well believe me or not but the solution for this begins with you and only you first start to recycle the plastic that you can and never leave it in places such as beaches and gardens as thrash left on the ground often blows into creeks and rivers eventually making its way to the ocean also don't fill your birthday goodie bags with plastic toys instead give your friends homemade treats or coupons to a local bakery and thirdly always try to pack snacks in reusable containers or cloth sacks instead of plastic bags these small steps from your end will make a big difference and help to clean our earth trivia time did you know since the 1950s around 8.3 billion tons of plastic has been produced worldwide also about 2 million plastic bags are used every minute around the world [Music] hope you enjoyed today's episode until next time it's me dr bynox zooming out um never mind [Music] hey kids you liked my videos didn't you before you go don't forget to click on the subscribe button and the bell so you won't miss out on my latest videos see you