Despite the alarming facts, there are things we can do to take action against the problem of plastics.
In the first decade of this century, we made more plastic than all the plastic in history up to the year 2000. And every year, billions of pounds of plastic end up in the world’s oceans.
Still not convinced?
Today billions of pounds of plastic can be found in swirling convergences making up about 40 percent of the world’s ocean surfaces.
Most ocean pollution starts out on land and is carried by wind and rain to the sea. Once in the water, there is a near-continuous accumulation of waste. Plastic is so durable that the EPA reports “every bit of plastic ever made still exists.”
Fish ingest an estimated 12,000 to 24,000 tons of plastic per year in the Pacific Ocean, according to research from the University of California San Diego Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Institute researchers collected 141 fishes of 27 species and found that 9.2 percent of the fish had small bits of plastic debris in their stomachs.
Fun Facts!
The average American will throw away approximately 185 pounds of plastic per year.
Biodegradable bags prevent the deleterious effects of plastic on ocean environments. They break down naturally, and don’t leave harmful chemicals behind.
Plastic in the ocean breaks down into such small segments that pieces of plastic from a one liter bottle could end up on every mile of beach throughout the world.
Approximately 380 billion plastic bags are used in the United States every year. That’s more than 1,200 bags per US resident, per year.