One day while surfing Facebook posts, I stumbled upon a video of a sea turtle in a small boat with several men onboard. Out of curiosity I watched the video, not knowing the dramatic impact it would have on me.

In horror, I watched as the men used metal pliers to remove a plastic straw that had become lodged in the turtle’s nose. I will never forget the crying sounds that animal made or the visual of blood running from its nostrils. I wish I could say that was the only video I saw of an animal suffering because of plastics, but I can’t.

To say I became obsessed with plastic pollution is an understatement. The more I researched, the more obvious it became that something must be done about this problem, and it needed to be done yesterday.

It’s not enough to merely promote recycling; recycling is not a sustainable solution. A 2006 study on Maine’s recycling habits showed a rate of 36 percent, far below the state’s 50 percent goal, and it has continued to hover at that percentage.

Claire Le Guern Lytle of Coastal Care, a nonprofit group dedicated to raising awareness of plastic pollution, writes: “Behind each and every piece of littered plastic debris there is a human face. At a critical decision point, someone, somewhere, mishandled it, either thoughtlessly or deliberately.”

Our consumption of single-use plastics is staggering. The National Park Service estimates that Americans use 500 million straws a day.

The next time you find yourself face to face with a single-use plastic product, take a minute and ask, “Do I really need to use this?”

Nichole Powers

South Portland

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