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Plastic pollution is a major concern worldwide and is a major contributor to climate change. The 13th goal of the United Nations of the United Nations calls for urgent action on the climate and this will not be achieved if the rate of plastic pollution around the world remains the same. Join the movement and take action to tackle climate change here.

Effects Of Plastic Bags On The Environment

It’s no secret that plastic is terrible for the environment, we hear about it all the time and it’s been repeated over and over again by policy makers, scientists and the likes of David Attenborough.

Five Misperceptions Surrounding The Environmental Impacts Of Single Use Plastic

According to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), 300 million tons of plastic are produced every year, and not all of them are recycled. To put it precisely, that is equal to the weight of the entire population.

While some countries and cities around the world have introduced plastic bans, and the call to end single-use plastics is at an all-time high, more needs to be done.

Governments and other organizations are doing their part to reduce plastic use and improve the environment. Some retailers have also taken responsibility for the environment and pledged to reduce the amount of plastic they produce.

Stores such as British supermarket Iceland, and furniture store Ikea have introduced plans to phase out single-use plastics and replace them with sustainable options. Meanwhile, plastic straws and clips are being targeted by many retailers across the board, and having a plastic bag is enough to land you in jail in some countries.

Harmful Effects Of Plastic On Dairy Cattle.

It is also up to us as consumers to understand the impact our use of plastic has on the environment. Find out these little-known facts about plastic that you really need to know.

According to a report from the Guardian, it is estimated that 8.3 billion tons of plastic have been produced since the 1950s – that is equivalent to the weight of more than 800,000 Eiffel Towers.

Despite this, and the fact that plastic continues to be produced every year, UNEP reports that only 9% of all plastic is recycled and only 12% is incinerated. Leftover plastic pollutes the environment or can be found in landfills and landfills.

This may seem like a surprising number, but according to Ecowatch, between 500 billion and 1 trillion plastic bags are used worldwide every year.

Ocean Plastic: What You Need To Know

New Yorkers alone use 23 billion plastic bags each year, according to the New York City Department of Environmental Conservation (which is why it’s great that the city has banned grocery bags plastic).

Plastic bag bans have proven very effective in countries that have them. For example, in the UK, the introduction of a 5p (7c) plastic bag charge introduced in 2015 led to an 83% reduction in plastic bag use.

Although Britain still produces 1.3 billion plastic bags per year, according to a government report in April 2017, the drop in consumption shows great progress.

Kenya introduced one of the world’s toughest laws against plastic bags in 2017. Now, Kenyans caught producing, selling, or using plastic bags will risk imprisonment for up to four years or a fine of $40,000 (£31,000).

Understanding Plastic Bag Bans Around The World [infographic]

Other countries that have banned, partially banned, or taxed single-use plastic bags include China, France, Rwanda and Italy.

According to a study by the World Economic Forum, 32% of all plastic packaging produced finds its way into our oceans every year; this number is equivalent to dumping one truckload of plastic waste into the ocean every minute.

According to National Geographic, 73% of beach litter is plastic.

A Guardian report found that 1 million plastic bottles are bought worldwide every minute, and this number is set to increase by another 20% by 2021 if we don’t act.

How To Reduce The Impacts Of Single Use Plastic Products

The same report said that more than 480 billion plastic drinking bottles were bought in 2016 worldwide – up from 300 billion in the previous decade.

Furthermore, less than half of the bottles purchased in 2016 were recycled – only 7% of those collected became new bottles, with the rest ending up in landfills or the ocean.

A report by the Ellen MacArthur foundation in partnership with the World Economic Forum found that if plastic pollution continues at this rate, the amount of plastic in the ocean could exceed the number of fish.

The report predicts that the oceans will contain at least 937 million tons of plastic and only 895 million tons of fish by 2050.

Plastic Pollution Quotes Provoking Action And Awareness

According to researchers at the World Economic Forum, 88 – 95% of the plastic waste washed into the oceans by the world’s 1,350 major rivers comes from just 10 rivers across Asia and Africa.

The survey states that eight of these rivers are in Asia: Yangtze, Indus, Yellow, Hai He, Ganges, Pearl, Amur and Mekong. Two rivers can be found in Africa: the Nile and the Niger.

However, education is not responsible for all the waste found in the seas and oceans, it is the plastic waste that is carried to the oceans by the rivers of the world.

The WEF added that two things that all the mentioned rivers have in common are the high number of people living in the area, as well as poor waste management.

The Plastic Timeline: How Did We Get Here?

According to the United Nations, plastic pollution kills an estimated 1 million seabirds and 100,000 marine animals every year, and scientists believe that if plastic pollution continues at this rate, 99 percent of the world’s seabird species will be ingesting plastic by 2050. .

In addition, it is believed that more than 90% of all birds and fish have plastic particles in their stomachs. That’s because plastic breaks down into small pieces in the ocean, which are then eaten by fish and other marine animals.

That works out to about 100 pieces of microplastic during just one meal, according to a study published in Environmental Pollution.

A team of UK researchers placed petri dishes with sticky lids next to dinner plates in three homes in the UK. After just 20 minutes, the dishes collected an average of 14 microplastics.

Ending Plastic Pollution; Protecting Our Blue Planet

Yes, that’s right – they are used on average for 12 minutes and take a thousand years to decompose.

While an increasing number of organizations and countries are banning the use and production of plastic, the world’s leading plastic manufacturers plan to increase production by nearly a third over the next five years, according to the World Economic Forum.

In 1974, the world’s annual plastic consumption was 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) per person. Today, this has increased to 43 kilograms (about 95 kilograms) – and this number should still increase.

If the use of plastic increases at the current rate, according to National Geographic, by 2050 there will be 12 billion tons of plastic in the landfill.

Plastics And Human Health

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In 2015, Texas A&M graduate student Christine Figgener recorded a video of her colleagues removing a straw from a turtle’s nose. The video went viral, inspiring people to take action. Since then, “skip the grass, save the turtle” has become a slogan for people who are determined to reduce their use of plastic.

But critics say the aquatic impact of plastic is only part of the problem. “Plastic pollution is not just an ocean issue. It’s a climate issue and it’s a human health issue,” said Claire Arkin, communications coordinator for the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, a global network committed to reducing pollution and eliminating waste incineration.

Plastics have become important parts of products and packaging because they are durable, lightweight and cheap. But despite their many benefits, plastics originate like fossil fuels and emit greenhouse gases from infancy to grave, according to a May 2019 report titled “Plastics & Climate: The Hidden Costs of a Plastic Planet,” released by the Center for International Environmental Law. , a non-profit environmental law organization.

Plastic Vs Paper Packaging: The Pros And Cons

Under a business-as-usual scenario where policies continue to promote plastic production, the sector’s fuel consumption will only increase. Today, about 4-8% of the world’s annual oil consumption is associated with plastics, according to the World Economic Forum. If this reliance on plastic continues, plastics will account for 20% of oil consumption by 2050.

The “Hidden Costs” report suggests that the shift towards “zero waste” – resource conservation through responsible production, use, reuse, and recycling of materials without incineration or Landfilling – is the best way to reduce emissions. But getting there would be necessary

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