What are the statistics of plastic pollution?
8 million pieces of plastic pollution find their way into our ocean daily. 79% of plastic waste is sent to landfills or the ocean, while only 9% is recycled, and 12% gets incinerated. 25 trillion macro & 51 trillion microplastics litter our oceans. Of that, 269,000 tonnes float on the surface.
What are some statistics about plastic?
Annually, approximately 500 billion plastic bags are used worldwide. More than one million bags are used every minute. A plastic bag has an average “working life” of 15 minutes. Over the last ten years we have produced more plastic than during the whole of the last century.
Why is plastic bad statistics?
Plastic pollution facts and stats Every day approximately 8 million pieces of plastic pollution find their way into our oceans. 12 million tonnes of plastic are poured into the ocean every year. 100,000 marine mammals and turtles and 1 million sea birds are killed by marine plastic pollution annually.
What are the effects of plastic consumption?
Exposure to harmful chemicals during manufacturing, leaching in the stored food items while using plastic packages or chewing of plastic teethers and toys by children are linked with severe adverse health outcomes such as cancers, birth defects, impaired immunity, endocrine disruption, developmental and reproductive …
What are the harmful effects of plastics in points?
Plastic never goes away.
- Plastic affects human health. Toxic chemicals leach out of plastic and are found in the blood and tissue of nearly all of us.
- Plastic spoils our groundwater.
- Plastic attracts other pollutants.
- Plastic threatens wildlife.
- Plastic poisons our food chain.
- Plastic costs billions to abate.
What are the bad things about plastic?
What are the harmful effects of excessive use of plastics?
Plastic affects human health. Toxic chemicals leach out of plastic and are found in the blood and tissue of nearly all of us. Exposure to them is linked to cancers, birth defects, impaired immunity, endocrine disruption and other ailments.
What are the problems caused by plastics?
Millions of animals are killed by plastics every year, from birds to fish to other marine organisms. Nearly 700 species, including endangered ones, are known to have been affected by plastics. Nearly every species of seabird eats plastics. Most of the deaths to animals are caused by entanglement or starvation.
How is plastic harmful to the human body?
Side Effects of Plastic on Human Health. The plastic can be dangerous in multiple ways. Chemicals like lead, cadmium and mercury directly can come in contact with the human. They have been found in many fish in the ocean. These toxins can cause cancers, congenital disabilities, immune system problems and childhood development issues.
What are the negative effects of plastic additives?
In addition to creating safety problems during production, many chemical additives that give plastic products desirable performance properties also have negative environmental and human health effects. These effects include. Direct toxicity, as in the cases of lead, cadmium, and mercury. Carcinogens, as in the case of diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP)
How much of the world’s plastic is single use?
4. 50% of all plastics produced each year are single-use. As its name implies, single-use plastic is used for a few minutes only and then thrown away. Single-use plastic waste statistics show 380 million tons of single-use plastics (or 50% of the total plastic production) made each year.
What are the effects of improper disposal of plastics?
Improper disposal of plastics poses a number of problems. Some of them are mentioned below: Littering of plastics in open spaces creates unhygienic conditions, as it acts as a breeding ground for insects and mosquitoes that cause diseases like malaria and dengue.