45 facts that will make you stop using plastic

“A further consequence of ingestion is that the chemical constituents of plastic, as well as the toxins they absorb in the aquatic environment, can enter the bodies of marine organisms upon consumption,” says Wegner. Research shows that when animals ingest microplastic, it moves the plastic’s pollutants and additives to their tissues, resulting in some biological effects.

By 2050, environmental scientists estimate that there will be more plastic than fish (by weight) in the world’s oceans. This could seriously impact the world’s food supply, not to mention the many health risks associated with having so much plastic in our food chain.

One study shows that 32 percent of the 78 million tons of plastic packaging produced annually ends up in our oceans – to help comprehend that level of devastation, it’s the equivalent of pouring one garbage truck of plastic into the ocean every minute. Researchers expect this rate to increase to two per minute by 2030 and four per minute by 2050.

A study from Michigan State University shows that special additives that claim to break down polyethylene (plastic bags) and polyethylene terephthalate (soda bottles) don’t work as planned when these products are left in common disposal situations, such as landfills or composting. “There was no difference between the plastics mixed with the additives we tested and the ones without,” reported Rafael Auras, co-author and MSU packaging professor.

Single-use plastic has officially reached the world’s deepest ocean trench, according to a new study: A plastic bag was found 10,898 meters below the surface. Once in the deep-sea, plastic can endure for thousands of years and is a threat to delicate deep ocean ecosystems that were previously untouched by man.

“One bird species, in particular, the Laysan Albatross, is particularly affected by plastic pollution,” says Sarah Callan, BS, Assistant Manager of the Animal Rescue Program at Mystic Aquarium. “With approximately 400,000 nesting pairs on Midway Atoll – a small atoll that is roughly 2000 kilometres away from civilisation – almost 90 percent of the chicks that hatch each year end up with plastics in their stomach. Sadly, many of the chicks are malnourished from a stomach full of plastic and don’t survive to the fledgling stage of life.”

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Source: RD.com