Tough Truths About Plastic Pollution

Plastic pollution affects not only the present generation but also future generations. It has the potential to impact you, your children, your grandchildren, your great-grandchildren, your great-great-grandchildren, and even your great-great-great-grandchildren. This is because plastic takes hundreds of years to decompose, and its accumulation in the environment can have long-lasting effects on ecosystems and human health. Therefore, it is crucial to address plastic pollution to protect both current and future generations.

Most of our plastic waste is landfilled, downcycled or exported to other countries. And tragically, millions of tons of plastic poison our oceans. Businesses and governments must take responsibility for new ways to design, recover and dispose of plastics.

80% of plastic-based pollution in the ocean originated from a land-based source. This means that the majority of plastic waste that ends up in the ocean comes from human activities on land, such as improper waste management, littering, and inadequate recycling practices. It highlights the need for better waste management systems and increased awareness to reduce plastic pollution and protect marine ecosystems.

Cigarette butts are made of a non-biodegradable material called cellulose acetate, which takes a long time to break down. It can take anywhere from 3 to 5 years for a single cigarette butt to decompose completely. During this time, the butt can release harmful chemicals into the environment and pose a threat to wildlife. Therefore, it is important to properly dispose of cigarette butts to minimize their negative impact on the environment.

60,000 plastic bags are discarded every 5 seconds.
That's 1,036,800,000 plastic bags every day!