Plastic not so fantastic ...

It would be a lovely world if everybody woke up and stopped littering, Shihtzumama. I hope they get the message soon, before it's too late and some of these beautiful creatures become extinct.

Me Too!!!!!

Nappies are one of my pet hates as are used prophylactics! They always seem to be left together. The mind boggles! Surely one denies the other. Come to think of it, some parents should have practices safer you know what.

Nature always knows best, P1key ... it's a pity there's not a robotic kestrel to hunt up the dirty nappies left in a pile in the carpark up near our local sportsground a while ago. The mind boggles at what people are thinking! They'd obviously parked and turfed the lot out of the door. I've always thought if I were God for a day, I'd point my zapping finger at all the litterers of the world ... zap, zap, zap. Crisis averted!

I think most of it is laziness, Bd. If they're walking, they can't be bothered carrying it a bit further to a bin or a car - and if they're driving, they don't want it cluttering up their car. Foolish people!

I've never seen a live albatross either - and our chances are growing less each day. Why do you drop the paper, Mimico?

The poor monkeys! The plastic causes animals' bowels to twist and they die in terrible pain. I feel disgusted, too.

Plastic bags are a problem all over the world, Magnifico. In my area, some of the seaside villages have banned them, which is a good thing - but tourists still bring them when they come for picnics on the beach, and sadly, many of these bags blow into the ocean.

I'm glad you're a keen recycler, Pablo. I like to do that, too. I think there's a lot of unnecessary packaging which we could do without - and the animals would be happy to do without them, too!

People's vile habits never cease to amaze, GreenMoo. Maybe some of these people are visitors, and their small brains tell them it's okay to soil somewhere they don't live? Obviously it's more important to them to have the inside of their car free of litter than to respect the environment.

So true, Celticeagle. We are caretakers of the earth, and we're doing a pretty shabby job. Sometimes it's shameful to be a member of the human race. We are greedy consumers who give very little back.

I'm glad the problem is being mentioned on shows such as Ellen, Katemeow - maybe we can teach the next generation to be better caretakers of the earth and its creatures. It's true we are also eating the chemicals ingested by the creatures we then eat ... which is karma, probably.

It's true, dropofrain. I'm sure a lot of plastics could be phased out - for instance, some biscuit packets have a plastic tray inside - the biscuits would be fine without the tray. It's time we let the manufacturers know we're not happy with overpackaging of goods.

It's awful to think all those animals you've mentioned may not be here in a few decades' time - but they won't if we continue on our selfish way. What a crying shame if our great, great grandchildren only get to see these animals stuffed in museums.

It broke my heart, too, mylifeissocool. Tragic.

I agree with you, OCnoob - it is definitely our responsibility, and by the time we wake up to the consequences of our filthy littering, it will be too late and many species will be endangered or wiped out completely. Pitiful indeed.

It's dreadfully sad, eaforeman, and I really didn't like putting the photo here ... but if it makes one person think twice about dropping that bottletop or plastic spoon, it's well worth it. Thank you so much for responding.

I saw a show on TV the other day that was talking about a technology that is becoming available that will reduce the size of our landfills dramatically. I think the show was on either the History Channel or the Discovery Channel. It was talking about some new type of type of plasma incinerator that would burn the garbage at up to 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit. It would be some sort of clean-burning machine that would eliminate the huge amounts of methane gas that are produced in the ground as the garbage decays if it is buried. It also mentioned that the device would somehow be used to generate power for homes. I think it said that the machine would be able to generate enough electricity to provide power to up to 36,000 homes, but don't quote me on that figure. I didn't get to watch the whole show, but apparently a system like this is about to go online somewhere here in the state of Florida. I don't know all of the specifics, but it seemed like a really good idea from what I saw on the show. Hopefully, if this technology turns out to be effective, other areas around the country will soon have a similar device in operation.

That sounds like brilliant technology, Goldeneagle. I'll be interested to hear how the prototype machine goes - it would be great if the rest of the world took it onboard. We need all the help we can get!

You are so right, Goldeneagle. I've noticed some companies are recycling old tyres to make playground matting, paving blocks and garden furniture - it's a start, but we can all do our thing by making sure our bottletops, straws and bits and pieces find a bin and are not dropped on beaches or footpaths. Landfill is going to be an even bigger problem in the future - so it would definitely be a better idea for packaging in general to be reduced significantly now.

It's lovely to hear you've been disposing of the rogue plastic bags, Rosekitty. Some of our coastal towns have banned plastic bags completely, which is a great thing. Unfortunately, the tourists coming in bring their rubbish with them and leave it on the beaches and in the carparks. I think there should be harsh penalties for littering - if people were fined, at least the money could go towards the rescue and rehabilitation of suffering animals.

Hahaha - I'm sure you're not a litterer, Sheepie! We really should be looking on incidents such as this as a giant wake-up call. It would be terrible if future generations had no albatrosses ...