We create hundreds of millions of tonnes of plastic every year, making products with an average useful lifespan of around 10 years. The plastic problem is this: plastics do not decompose. They take on average 400 years to break down into microplastics which then remain forever accumulating in the environment, with growing toxic effects on biological health. According to scientists in one report, 80% of plastic pollution could be cut by reducing how much new plastic is produced, through improving waste collection systems and investing in recyclable plastics.
How big is the problem?
- Plastics, made from fossil fuels, account for 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions and production is projected to triple in coming decades.
- Plastic packaging accounts for 36% of plastic production.
- Producing one tonne of plastic generates 5 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
- The average person in Britain creates 76kg of plastic waste each year, which is 20 times more than it was 50 years ago.
- Only 15% of waste plastic is sent for recycling. Around 17% of plastic is incinerated (releasing toxic chemicals), 46% goes to landfill and 22% is littered.
Plastic bottles are one of the most-used plastic products in the world, with 1,500 plastic bottles thrown away every second! Plastic bags are cheap and convenient, but they cause serious pollution problems if not recycled. Many countries have banned or introduced measures to reduce the sale and use of plastic bags but globally we still use around 160,000 plastic bags every second. Fewer than 1 in 7 are recycled. Packaging is one of the main uses of plastic worldwide and one of the biggest causes of plastic waste. Around 36% of all plastics produced, over 141 million tonnes, is used globally in packaging every year. An average lunch in the UK consists of four plastic packaged items – sandwiches, crisps, snacks, and drinks. Sending plastic packaging to landfill instead of recycling it costs the UK £78 million a year in landfill costs. Almost half of all plastic is created for single-use products that generate over 200 million tonnes of plastic waste globally each year, most of which is not recyclable. The UK ban on single use plastic products is working to reduce the disposable plastic products we use but many single use items are not included and the ban is not worldwide. It’s not just businesses that are responsible for the use and waste of plastic – our consumer choices and behaviour contribute too. UK households throw away 100 billion pieces of plastic a year, more than half of which is soft plastics and plastic film – found in crisp packets, bread bags, and toilet roll wrap. Sadly, every year, between 8 and 14 million tonnes of plastic waste makes its way into the ocean where it causes serious harm to marine life, pollutes the seas and impacts wider food chains and ecosystems. Of that, 1.75m tonnes comprises fishing nets and ropes disposed of directly into the sea by the fishing and shipping industries. 100,000 marine mammals and turtles and one million sea birds are killed by marine plastic pollution every year.
What should we do to cut down plastic waste? Avoid plastic completely where possible and reduce how much plastic we use then throw away. Check the recycling symbol on any plastic product; put in domestic recycling bin if possible or look for local recycling schemes that accepts the plastic type – many supermarkets recycle soft plastics. Businesses should book commercial waste collection of any kind of plastic waste they produce.
It is vital for the planet that we all work to reduce plastic waste.
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