"Scientists have found that humans are consuming more than five grams of plastic each week which is just so scary to think about," Shalise said.

"I love our marine animals and am so passionate about making sure they stay safe and healthy, so I am calling on everyone to take Plastic Free July seriously and think about making small changes.

"Plastic is so much part of our daily lives and if you think about all the plastic you have come into contact with since you were born it would be so so much. Then think about everyone in the world and the plastic they would use and something just needs to be done.

"And swapping plastic and single use plastic for other things isn't super hard which is the best part."

Shalise said Plastic Free July is the perfect time to think about the plastics you do use and explore ways to change personal habits.

"Swapping to recyclable or reusable cutlery and straws or using a keep cup for your tea and coffee are simple things that can make a big difference," she said.

"Not using the plastic bags for fruit and vegetables when you are in a supermarket is another way to cut down on single use plastic.

"A plastic bottle takes over 450 years to break down and then it just breaks down into micro plastics what fish and marine animals eat.

"Rethinking the way we use, reuse, refuse and discard plastic can make a huge difference in the amount of plastic that ends up in the oceans and the ultimate way is to reduce our use of single-use, throw away plastic.

"Every piece of plastic matters and every piece we refuse makes a real difference."

Shalise is also bringing her eco warrior messages to young people attending Luminosity Youth Summit in 2019 with a keynote address titled Plastinction - Change the future of our ocean planet.

"Attending Luminosity is dream come true for me and being able to share my messages about protecting the environment and our marine animals is so amazing.

"I love talking to students and anyone really, about the things they can do to help our marine animals and to share that message on this kind of scale is cool."

Does she have any plans to slow down? Shalise said of course not.

"I have a few great things coming up starting with Luminosity so watch this space because now is a critical time for our planet and we have to do everything we can to stop using plastic."

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