Over the past 50 years, world plastic production has doubled. While increasing numbers of organizations and countries are banning plastic use and production, the world’s leading plastic manufacturers are planning to increase production by almost a third over the next five years, according to the World Economic Forum.
What's The Problem?
Since the 1950s, around 8.3 billion tons of plastic have been produced worldwide. Here are some of the unsettling facts about plastic waste:
- Every piece of plastic ever created still exists today.
- Only 9% of all the plastic products gets recycled.
- Each minute, 2 million plastic bags are being used around the world equal to 500 billion or more annually.
- The average time that a plastic bag is used for is … 12 minutes.
- 500 million plastic straws are used in America every day.
- At least 8 million tons of plastic enters the oceans each year.
- By 2050, there will be more plastic than fish in the world’s oceans.
- Each year, 100,000 marine animals mistake plastic debris for food.
- Plastic is killing more than 1.1 million seabirds and animals every year.
- 73% of all beach litter is plastic. The most common litter includes filters from cigarette butts, bottles, bottle caps, food wrappers, grocery bags, and polystyrene containers.
- More than 90% of all birds and fish are believed to have plastic particles in their stomach. It’s because plastic breaks up into tiny pieces in the sea, which are then consumed by fish and other sea animals.
- This becomes a human health issue as the average person eats 70,000 microplastics each year. That works out to about 100 bits of microplastic over the course of just one meal, according to a study published in Environmental Pollution.
This equates to a garbage truck full of plastic being dumped into the ocean every minute.
The Solution
We need to hold corporations accountable and seek out legislation to change policies around plastic production and solve for end-of-life solutions if produced. But we as consumers make choices every day. We have the opportunity to vote with every dollar we spend to send a strong united message to the corporations. Take action now by employing some of the following actions:
- Refuse all single use items
- Bring your reusable bags for shopping
- Bring your reusable produce bags
- Carry a reusable coffee cup that doubles as a water bottle with you always
- Have a set of utensils which includes a reusable straw. You can even make your own with your own utensils. You don’t always need to buy something new to find an alternative
- Start shopping the perimeter of your grocery store more than the center of the store
- Buy loose organic produce and eat more of it since it can be zero waste. Visit your local farmers market
- If you have an option between a glass container or plastic container, always opt for glass
- Start shopping at stores that offer bulk food, cleaning and/or personal care items without packaging and bring your own container
- Switch to biodegradable compostable sponges and cleaning utensils
- Use a bamboo toothbrush and silk dental floss
- Start composting
- If you are buying something in plastic opt for a multi-serve option vs. single serve (i.e. yogurt)
- Switch to bar soap shampoo and conditioner
- Switch to a safety razor
- Use reusable cotton rounds
- Use cloths towels and napkins
- Switch to bamboo toilet paper and paper towels
- DIY your cleaning and personal care items
- Enjoy your ice cream in a cone