People around the world use huge numbers of plastic bottles every day and they often disposed in waterways and the ocean. Reuters has a fascinating and shocking graphic presentation of what this means to our environment. Here's the essence of the problem:
"Around the world, almost 1 million plastic bottles are purchased every minute. As the environmental impact of that tide of plastic becomes a growing political issue, major packaged goods sellers and retailers are under pressure to cut the flow of the single-use bottles and containers that are clogging the world’s waterways.We noted on Earth Day in April 2018 that the oceans and the life that they sustain are especially impacted. The Pacific Ocean has a vast "dead zone" of an estimated 1.8 trillion floating plastic bottles and debris that is just now being addressed by clean up efforts.
Plastic production has surged in the last 50 years, leading to widespread use of inexpensive disposable products that are having a devastating effect on the environment. Images of plastic debris-strewn beaches and dead animals with stomachs full of plastic have sparked outrage." (our emphasis)
From 1950 to 2015, some 4.9 billion tons of plastic has been discarded after a single use, and less than 6% of all plastic created during that time has been recycled, according to the Science Advances journal cited in the Reuters article. While consumers need to be more aware of their use and recycling of plastic items, the powerful petrochemical industry is resisting and planning to increase plastic production. Consumer awareness needs to be translated into action to reduce plastic use overall and increase recycling.
