The Pacific Northwest is home to one of the world’s last greatest treasures: wild salmon. But for the 2019 salmon run, only 628,000 sockeye salmon are expected to return to the Fraser River in Vancouver. Original estimates were set at nearly five million.

Surfrider Foundation Vancouver gathered the city’s experts in wellness and plastic-free alternatives for an educational evening, to demonstrate just how easy it is to swap out plastic products in some of our self-care and household routines.

The world is now producing and buying more clothes than ever. In the last 15 years, the global clothing industry has approximately doubled in size. And because of the temporary nature of fashion, we are throwing away more clothes than ever. North America sends 9.5 million tonnes of clothing into landfill every year, of which 95% could be reused or recycled into new clothing. Less than 1% of it is.

Decades ago, plastic production boomed worldwide because of its cheapness and durability. A material with endless potential to become any shape, size, and thickness, and best of all – it lasts forever. Now, scientists are desperately trying to engineer a replacement plastic that does the opposite: disappears.

Last week I decided to walk down to the beach to eat my lunch. I found a nice log to sit on from which to admire birds harvesting the tidal zone, layers of majestic mountains, the smell of saltwater, and to think about how fortunate I am to have such opportunity. Then I looked down. At my feet, literally, were eight cigarette butts. With a sigh I decided to count how many cigarette butts I could see without leaving my log perch.

Why should we be concerned? Beyond the immediate or short-term effects to the fish, such as discomfort, malnourishment or starvation, plastic in the ocean concentrates and carries persistent organic pollutants such as DDT, PCBs, mercury and other toxins. A study by Algalita Marine Research Foundation of the North Pacific Central Gyre in 2008 found that approximately 35% of the fish studied had ingested plastic, averaging 2.1 pieces per fish.