Effects of Plastic to the Environment and Wildlife

50 percent of the plastic we use, we use just once and throw away.

• Plastic accounts for around 10 percent of the total waste we generate.
• The production of plastic uses around eight percent of the world's oil production (bioplastics are not a good solution as they require food source crops).
• Annually approximately 500 billion plastic bags are used worldwide. More than one million bags are used every minute.
• It takes 500-1,000 years for plastic to degrade. If burned it can pollute the air affecting and destroying the ozone layer and effecting the air we breathe, and can pollute the groundwater if in a landfill and wildlife
• Recycling does not cut down on plastic, it is reused but that process releases more toxins into the air
• It costs millions of dollars each year to clean affected areas after exposure, not to mention the loss of life to plants, animals, and people. As land becomes more valuable, just finding a place to put garbage is becoming a problem in many parts of the world.
• Billions of pounds of plastic can be found in swirling convergences in the oceans making up about 40 percent of the world's ocean surfaces. 80 percent of pollution enters the ocean from the land.
• One million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals are killed annually from plastic in our oceans.

• 44 percent of all seabird species, 22 percent of cetaceans, all sea turtle species and a growing list of fish species have been documented with plastic in or around their bodies.
• Plastic chemicals can be absorbed by the body—93 percent of Americans age six or older test positive for BPA (a plastic chemical).

• Some of these compounds found in plastic have been found to alter hormones or have other potential human health effects.
• We ship some plastic overseas to be recycled. Quite a bit ends up in landfills.
• Trash dumps and landfills are unfortunate major problems, as they allow pollutants to enter the ground and affect wildlife and groundwater for years to come.
  
  (https://www.ecowatch.com/22-facts-about-plastic-pollution-and-10-things-we-can-do-about-it-1881885971.html)(https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/causes-effects-solutions-of-plastic-pollution.php)