The weight of new plastic made yearly = the weight of the world population. But only 9% is recycled*. Where does 91% end up?
Plastic pollution is everywhere. The summit of Mount Everest, the Arctic Circle, the Kavir Desert, every square mile of ocean surface, and in human blood itself. Plastic doesn’t quit!
Our oceans face a deadly threat; 80% of its litter is plastic. Our seas are simply choking on plastic junk - millions of tonnes of water bottles, drinking straws and single use plastic bags pour into the ocean each year.
Once there, plastic leaches out its chemicals, many of them toxic. And what’s floating on the surface is just the tip of the iceberg (it is only 5% of ocean plastic waste). According to the Ocean Conservancy, the other 95% is beneath the surface, where it strangles underwater creatures and devastates aquatic ecosystems. 100 million marine animals die every year from plastic waste alone, and that’s just the ones we find…
“Plastic is surfing up onto our beaches, settling onto the ocean floor, and rising through the food chain onto our dinner tables. We’ve stood by too long as the problem has gotten worse. It must stop.”
Erik Solheim, head of UN Environment.
The household cleaning industry contributes to this problem. Multinationals sell billions of single-use plastic cleaning bottles, detergent tubs, sachets, and packets worldwide despite knowing this waste isn’t properly managed. Their packaging is a pollution and it’s harming us and the planet.
*OECD 2022
