Plastic pollution has become one of the most pressing environmental issues, Learn more!

Plastic pollution has become one of the most pressing environmental issues as the rapidly increasing production of disposable plastic products overwhelms the world’s ability to deal with it. Plastic pollution is most visible in developing Asian and African nations, where garbage collection systems are often inefficient or nonexistent. But the developed world, especially in countries with low recycling rates, also has trouble properly collecting discarded plastics. Plastic trash has become so ubiquitous that it has prompted efforts to write a global treaty negotiated by the United Nations.

International Plastic Bag Free Day, celebrated on July 3, is a global initiative that aims to eliminate the use of plastic bags. Plastic bags may seem like a grocery shopping convenience, but they are also a huge strain on the environment. It can take up to 500 years for plastic bags to disintegrate, so they make up a large portion of what stays in our landfills and pollutes our waterways.

5 IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT PLASTIC BAG USAGE

• Plastic decays slowly.

It takes over 700 years for single-use plastic to begin decomposing, and 1000 years to degrade completely.

• Plastic is directly harmful to wildlife.

In 2008, a beached sperm whale was found with almost 50 pounds of single-use plastic in its stomach.

• 5 trillion plastic bags are produced annually.

If placed next to each other, the bags would wrap around the entire planet seven times.

• Very few of them are recycled.

According to some reports, only 1% to 3% of plastic bags are recycled globally.

• Plankton have become outnumbered.

In the Northern Pacific, there are 6x more single-use plastic particles than plankton.

Plastics made from fossil fuels are just over a century old. Production and development of thousands of new plastic products accelerated after World War II, so transforming the modern age that life without plastics would be unrecognizable today. Plastics revolutionized medicine with life-saving devices, made space travel possible, lightened cars and jets—saving fuel and pollution—and saved lives with helmets, incubators, and equipment for clean drinking water.

The conveniences plastics offer, however, led to a throw-away culture that reveals the material’s dark side: today, single-use plastics account for 40 percent of the plastic produced every year. Many of these products, such as plastic bags and food wrappers, have a lifespan of mere minutes to hours, yet they may persist in the environment for hundreds of years.

Plastics by the numbers

Some key facts:

• Half of all plastics ever manufactured have been made in the last 15 years.
• Production increased exponentially, from 2.3 million tons in 1950 to 448 million tons by 2015. Production is expected to double by 2050.
• Every year, about 8 million tons of plastic waste escape into the oceans from coastal nations. That’s the equivalent of setting five garbage bags full of trash on every foot of coastline around the world.
• Plastics often contain additives that make them stronger, more flexible, and more durable. But many of these additives can extend the life of products if they become litter, with some estimates ranging to at least 400 years to break down.

Most of the plastic trash in the oceans, Earth’s last sink, flows from land. Trash is also carried to sea by major rivers, which act as conveyor belts, picking up more and more trash as they move downstream. Once at sea, much of the plastic trash remains in coastal waters. But once caught up in ocean currents, it can be transported around the world.

Once at sea, sunlight, wind, and wave action break down plastic waste into small particles, often less than one-fifth of an inch across. These so-called microplastics are spread throughout the water column and have been found in every corner of the globe, from Mount Everest, the highest peak, to the Mariana Trench, the deepest trough.

Millions of animals are killed by plastic every year, from birds to fish to other marine organisms. Nearly 700 species, including endangered ones, are known to have been affected by plastic. Nearly every species of seabird eats plastic.

8 Ways to Effectively Reduce Plastic Pollution

1. Wean yourself off disposable plastics.
2. Stop buying water bottles.
3. Boycott microbeads.
4. Purchase items secondhand.
5. Recycle
6. Support a bag tax or ban (Bans and restrictions on single-use plastic products).
7. Bring your own garment bag to the dry cleaner.
8. Put pressure on manufacturers.

What do you think we can do more to effectively Reduce Plastic Pollution?

Sources:

NAT GEO

National Today

NDRC

World Resources Institute