By: Ruben Carreno, Producer, NBC.com

Each time you get takeout from a restaurant that utilizes plastic containers, disposable plastic forks, knives and spoons, you're adding to a landfill, and ultimately the huge mass in the Pacific Ocean known as Trash Island.

There are at least five such islands around the world, and about 80 percent of the islands are made up of disposable plastic. Plastic is resilient -- we made it that way, and it's not going anywhere for a while. As these plastics break down, they multiply into tiny pieces that fish eventually eat, becoming contaminated. Just think, plastic makes up parts of our cell phones, our computers, our cars and televisions, so many things that we use to make it through a day in this modern life. Hopefully one day we'll replace our plastic with a substance better suited for a greener world.

As much as we might like to undo the harm caused by what we use and accumulate, we can't. But we can become better educated as to how our modern life is affecting the environment. Upon learning that Trash Island existed, I was automatically more conscious of how much plastic I was using. I immediately started to change my habits in regard to disposable plastics.

So, instead of getting your lunch to go, bring your lunch to work in a reusable container, and use silverware. More than likely, you'll have a healthier lunch, and you won't be adding to the growth of Trash Island.