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Apr 9th, 2020 by Admin

10 Plastic Pollution Facts That Show Why Tackling The Plastic Problem Is Essential

Plastic has become a major issue in the recent past and it is almost incredible how much this artificial substance has taken over all aspects of our lives. From the food and beverage industry to the pharmaceutical, health and beauty industry, it is impossible to think about a field where plastic or its derivatives have not been used. There are ways of reusing and recycling plastic that cause a lot less harm and make sure that plastic does not end up in landfills or in the oceans, but getting these messages across to the masses is a huge hurdle.

Some of the most striking and heart-breaking photographs that took the internet by the storm were the ones of a seahorse holding an earbud and a sea turtle with a plastic straw stuck in its nose. The ocean has been a dumping ground for a lot of our waste, and plastic waste has degraded ocean life to a very great extent. It is very common to go to a beach and see washed-up plastic on the shore, so common that many of us don’t even question it anymore.

Over the years, researchers have done many studies to put out the effect of plastic on our planet earth and through these studies, we have found 10 of the most baffling and astonishing plastic pollution facts that hopefully will urge you, the reader, to take few steps and curb your plastic consumption and help reduce these numbers to some extent.

The 10 most shocking plastic pollution facts

Here are the 10 most shocking plastic pollution facts which show why there is an urgent need to curb plastic pollution:

1. 8.3 billion tons of plastic have been produced worldwide since the 1950s

via GIPHY

After the discovery of plastic, manufacturing companies constantly worked on cheaper production of plastics for junk food, cosmetics, sanitary products and so on. Often, these plastics are single-use items and re dumped once the stuff inside it is over. Over the years, this number has increased to 8.3 billion tons and will continue to increase if we don’t control our consumption patterns.

2. A million plastic bottles are bought around the world every minute.

plastic-bottles

Bottled water is one big problem that can be combated very easily if you invest in a good quality reusable bottle that can last you for a lifetime. You don’t have to contribute to the plastic bottle mania anymore!

3. 2 million plastic bags are used every minute worldwide

By carrying a cloth bag and refusing plastic bags when you go out shopping, you can totally avoid contributing to these 2 million plastic bags that are bought every minute. What seems like a small action can really make a big difference.

4. The average time that a plastic bag is used for is 12 minutes

plastic-bags

For just convenience for a few minutes, is it fair to use something that will probably still exist in the landfill for 500 years or more? Think about it logically – when you use a reusable cloth bag, you are preventing so many plastic bags from entering oceans and landfills. Doesn’t that sound simple and wonderful?

5. 73% of beach litter worldwide is plastic

beach-pollution

While this is a very sad reality, people all over the world have been conducting beach clean-ups to get rid of the plastic and recycle them. It is very sad to see trash that had been thrown years ago still being washed up on the shores today.

6. 90% of plastic polluting our oceans is carried by just 10 rivers

The names of these 10 polluting rivers are the Nile, the Niger, the Indus, the Ganges, the Amur, the Mekong, the Pearl, the Hai he, the Yellow and the Yangtze.

7. Plastic is killing more than 1.1 million seabirds and animals every year

ocean-life

Many birds and animals that scavenge for their survival end up consuming on the plastic that is often mixed up in the trash when not recycled properly. If we keep going at this rate, our future generations will not be able to see the wonderful fauna we have had the privilege of seeing. How sad would our planet look without these beautiful creatures is something people must ponder over.

8. Our oceans could contain more plastic than fish by 2050

In just 30 more years, scientists have predicted that if we don’t control our plastic production and consumption, then our oceans will be overcrowded with so much plastic that seeing fish in the oceans will be rare compared to seeing plastic in the ocean. If that doesn’t scare you, then we don’t know what will.

9. The average person eats 70,000 microplastics each year

Not only as microplastics in the seafood you eat, but microplastics are also so tiny and invisible that they are floating in the air around you as well. These tiny plastics settle on your food and ultimately enter your system. Can you imagine how much harm these tiny plastics can cause cumulatively?

10. 91% of plastic waste isn’t recycled

recycling

Only 9% of the total plastic is recycled. The remaining plastic that hasn’t been recycled lands up in the oceans killing so many fish and other marine life, and in landfills where the plastic leeches into the soil, affecting agriculture and our groundwater.

 

While all these facts are incredibly bleak and sad, initiatives like Plastic Collectors help educate people about the evil side of plastic waste and their consumption patterns. Plastic Collectors is a collective of awesome people all over the globe who have made it their personal mission to eradicate plastic from oceans and landfills. Their main operation is encouraging people to collect plastic and deposit it at different collection centers in exchange for money.

The monetary aspect is a great way to motivate people and also get some great work done. This is an initiative to get people involved in the cause and also get compensated for helping the planet. If each and every person got involved in collecting plastic and saving it from entering the oceans and landfills, then we still have some hope for a plastic-free future!

Find out how you can join the cause here.

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