Did you know that every plastic piece that was ever produced is still around today? Plastic is used in almost everything and it’s tough to get away from it. Plastic is not biodegradable, and the planet is now suffering the consequences of plastic use in the form of toxic plastic pollution due to plastic production and disposal methods. Folks at ReuseThisBag.com have come up with a nice infographic that reveals alarming yet useful info about the environmental impact of plastic. Let’s take a look at what it says:
Some alarming facts about plastic
10% of waste generated worldwide is plastic. An average American, in his lifetime will throw plastic worth 600 times his bodyweight and globally, every year, the amount of plastic that is disposed off circles four times around the planet. A huge amount of chemical pollutants are created in the production of plastic. BPA, one of the main constituents of plastic, can be absorbed by the body, and hence, 92% of them aged 6 and older have been tested positive for BPA. BPA further causes heart disease and diabetes. Using plastic bags is a no-brainer for most of us, but the damage they do to the environment is hard to undo.
Plastic bags and bottles cause irreparable harm
Plastic bags are being dumped in the Pacific Ocean, which has made it impossible for any other species to survive there, except plankton. A large percentage of plastic ends up in landfills causing toxic plastic pollution. In a week, a whopping 10 billion plastic bags are used worldwide. We can save a lot of resources if we start recycling plastic bags and bottles, as this will reduce the production of new plastic.
Tips to recycle, reuse, or avoid plastic
According to the infographic, 1 ton of recycled plastic can save 5,774 kWh electricity, 685 oil gallons, 30 cubic yards of landfill space, and 98 million of BTU energy.
- Instead of using plastic bags and bottles, use reusable cloth bags and glass or steel bottles which can be used over and over again.
- Avoid single serving meals which are packed in plastic. Buy in bulk and either store in the fridge or share with friends.
- Buying in bulk (house cleaning and beauty products etc) is better than buying many small bottles.
- By carrying your mug everywhere, you’ll save a huge amount of plastic lids and paper cups that are thrown out.
- Start carrying around silverware; and stop using plastic cutlery. Keep a set in your car and office which can be used readily.
- Stop packing your lunch in plastic and buy a glass or steel box to carry your lunch.
Avoiding plastic is a better solution than recycling as the recycling process also is carbon intensive. We can no longer sit on the sidelines, but we have to pitch in by drastically reducing plastic usage in our daily lives, and whatever little we do use, should be reusable or recycled.
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Source: Reusethisbag.com
Article Submitted By Community Writer
