A dog owner in Scotland is mourning the loss of their cherished pet following an unsuccessful three-hour surgery to retrieve a plastic bottle cap stuck in the dog's intestines.
What's happening?
Aberdeen, Scotland, resident Alison Cameron is offering a warning to dog owners regarding the dangers of a new style of bottle caps. Cameron believes that her dog, Bracken, a 9-year-old Vizsla, swallowed a bottle cap on the ground. "It takes just one second to pick it up; put it in a bin," Cameron told Northsound News.
After Bracken fell ill, Cameron took him to the vet. When recalling Bracken's surgery, Cameron noted the severity of his injuries. "They said there were perforations in several parts of his intestines," she recalled.
After recovering the bottle cap from Bracken, veterinarians noted that it was a new style of cap. The new bottle cap design uses tethered caps, where the cap is attached to the bottle with a strip of plastic.
This design is being implemented across the European Union in an effort to reduce single-use plastic waste by encouraging recycling. The goal is to ensure that caps are recycled alongside the bottles, rather than being lost or ending up as litter.
According to Cameron, the bottle cap that Bracken had swallowed was pried off by the user, leaving two sharp pieces of plastic sticking out. This caused enough damage to turn the seemingly mundane incident fatal. "Anyone who knows me knows he was everything to us," Cameron said. "Nine years of a lot of joy. He was a very happy boy."
Why is plastic waste concerning?
The world produces over 440 million tons of plastic waste annually. This can cause a significant amount of waste to end up in our environment. The U.N. Environment Programme reports that 19-23 million tons of plastic waste enters aquatic ecosystems, "polluting lakes, rivers, and seas" every year.
Plastic waste can also contribute to the growing concern of microplastics, which comes from a variety of sources. This includes larger plastic debris that breaks down over time into much smaller pieces.
Microplastics can accumulate in ecosystems, enter the food chain, and potentially affect human health. Exposure to microplastics can lead to various health issues, including endocrine disruption, inflammation, and even an increased risk of certain cancers.
What's being done about plastic waste?
As part of a directive from the European Parliament, the new style of plastic caps was just one step in reducing the reliance on plastic in the EU. However, as noted in the case of Cameron's dog, bottle caps need to be properly disposed of to avoid potential dangers to pets and wildlife.
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Price 💰 In addition to the bottle cap measure, manufacturers in the EU who produce "beverage bottles made with polyethylene terephthalate as the major component" are required to contain at least 25% recycled plastic by 2025. By 2030, bottles are required to contain 30% recycled plastic.
While many countries enact extensive anti-littering campaigns, their effectiveness can vary. But as plastic waste piles up, new initiatives continue to be introduced to pave the way toward a cleaner future and encourage people to use less plastic.
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