Say No to Single-Use Plastic

While big corporations encourage the convenience of plastic for our fast-paced lives they do not disclose the double-edged sword of these plastics destroying our planet. While many may claim that their plastic packaging can be recycled, according to the UN Environment report only a mere 9% of the 9 billion tons of global plastic has been recycled so far. The rest of this ends up in landfills, protected conservation areas, or in the ocean forming massive trash islands such as The Great Pacific Garbage Patch which spans 1.6 million square kilometers. 

Still, need more reasons to ditch the single-use plastic for good? Here are some shocking facts about the impact single-use plastic has on our world. 

• People use approximately 1.2 million plastic bottles per minute in total. 

• Five trillion plastic bags are produced every year globally, with it taking up to 1,000 years for a bag to disintegrate completely.

• At least 14 million tons of plastic end up in our oceans annually 

• Roughly five million tonnes of plastic are used every year in the UK alone, nearly half of which is for packaging purposes.

• 32% of all plastic packaging produced finds its way to our oceans every year.

• 73% of beach litter worldwide is plastic

• There could be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050

• Ingestion of plastic kills an estimated 1 million marine birds and 100,000 marine animals each year

• 90% of all birds and fish are believed to have plastic particles in their stomach.

• The average person eats 70,000 microplastics each year

• According to national geographic, If plastic consumption increases at its current rate, by 2050 there will be 12 billion metric tons of plastic in landfills.

• Over the past 50 years, world plastic production has doubled

Learn how to become a better consumer for the environment at The Sustainability Show, where you can find the best up-and-coming sustainable brands that are prioritizing planet over profit.