Seven Insane Facts About Plastic Pollution
Plastic can take thousands of years to decompose, and plastic pollution has become a significant issue worldwide. The world now produces more than 380 million tons of plastic every year, which end up as pollutants, finding their way into the natural environment and our oceans.
Consider this: all the plastic produced since its discovery in 1852 is still present somewhere on the planet.
Do Your Part to End Plastic Pollution with Optimum!
While the facts about plastic pollution presented here may seem bleak, we hope that you’ll view them as evidence of the fact that ending plastic pollution is now more critical than ever. Looking for a way to minimize your use of plastic? You can do your part by purchasing an Optimum Water Solutions bottleless water system.
At Optimum, we’re passionate about doing more for the environment. That’s why we specialize in bottleless water systems that not only enhance the taste of your water and ensure your drinking water is free of toxins and chemicals, but also eliminate the need for disposable plastic water bottles. Never again will you have to purchase disposable plastic water bottles when you have an Optimum system and additionally reduce your carbon footprint!
The Seven Insane Plastic Facts
Optimum is sharing seven insane facts about plastic pollution that will have you desperate to find ways to reduce your dependence on plastic. While countries all around the world are banning the use of plastic, and the call for single-use plastics is more pronounced than ever before, there is still so much more to be done.
- Around 8.3 billion tons of plastic have been produced worldwide since the 1950s.
According to a recent report from The Guardian, an estimated 8.3 billion tons of plastic have been produced since the 1950s. To put this insane fact about plastic pollution into perspective, that’s the equivalent of the weight of more than 800,000 Eiffel Towers. To make matters, even more dire, only an estimated 9% of the plastic produced has been recycled.
- 73% of beach litter worldwide is plastic.
According to a National Geographic report, a whopping 73% of all beach litter is plastic. The plastic pollution found on our planet’s beaches consists of bottles, bottle caps, filters from cigarette butts, grocery bags, food wrappers, and polystyrene containers.
- About 2 million plastic bags are used every minute worldwide.
While it may seem like a nearly unbelievable number, according to Ecowatch, somewhere between 500 billion and 1 trillion plastic bags are used worldwide each year. Narrowing our view to a smaller area, New Yorkers alone use an estimated 23 billion plastic bags in a year. This statistic is reported by the New York City Department of Environmental Conservation.
- Plastic pollution kills more than 1.1 million seabirds and animals every year.
In a study conducted by the University of Queensland in Australia, data collected since the 1980s was used to find that green sea turtles now ingest twice the amount of plastic they did just 25 years ago. Additionally, more than 90% of all birds and fish on the planet are estimated to have plastic particles in their stomachs. Because plastic breaks up into very tiny pieces in the sea, they are often consumed by fish and other sea animals and if you eat fish, you’re eating it too!
- World plastic production has doubled over the last 50 years.
While it’s fortunate that there are increasing numbers of organizations and countries that are banning both the use and production of plastic, leading plastic manufacturers are now planning to increase overall production by nearly a third over the next five years. Consider that in 1974 global plastic consumption per year was roughly 4.4 pounds per capita. Today, this has risen to a whopping 95 pounds, with the number set to increase significantly.
- More than 50% of sea turtles have consumed plastic debris.
According to an estimate by the University of Queensland, more than 50% of all sea turtles have consumed plastic debris. This contributes to more than 100,000 sea turtles dying from plastic production in any given year.
- There is more microplastic present on Earth than there are stars in the Milky Way.
The amount of plastic on Earth is expected to outweigh all the fish in the sea by the year 2050. There are more microplastics (tiny pieces of plastic) in our oceans than there are stars in the entirety of the Milky Way, estimates are about 100 thousand million stars in the Milky Way.
Optimum Water Solutions bottleless water systems can help in this urgent need to reduce plastic. Check out our selection of bottleless water systems today and do your part to end plastic pollution by converting your business or office. Clearly. Pure. Water.
