What is plastic pollution?
In 1950, the world’s population of 2.5 billion produced 1.5 million tons of plastic; in 2016, a global population of more than 7 billion people produced over 320 million tons of plastic. This is set to double by 2034.
What harm does plastic pollution do to the environment?
For wildlife such as fish, dolphins, seabirds and seals, it can be deadly as they become entangled or mistake it for food.
Photos that Midway Atoll have captured, illustrated this problem to shocking effect when photographer Chris Jordan captured the remains of albatross, stomachs full of plastic trashes because they accidentally made a meal from plastic waste. More recently, a Cuvier’s beaked whale was found malnourished and dying off the coast of Norway. Vets and experts had to put the animal down as it was in such poor condition and the autopsy showed a terrifying picture. Whale was full of plastic packaging labelled with Danish and English in its stomach and intestines, causing whale to have pain and blockages.
There may now be around 5.25 trillion macro and micro plastic pieces floating in the open ocean. Weighing up to 269,000 tonnes.
Plastics consistently make up 60 to 90% of all marine debris studied.
Approx 5,000 items of marine plastic pollution have been found per mile of beach in the UK. Over 150 plastic bottles litter each mile of UK beaches.
Plastic pollution
Cheap and disposable, plastic has been a symbol of our throwaway culture. As a result, vast quantities pollute our world. Much of it flows into the oceans, turning them into a plastic soup. A truckload of plastic enters
the ocean every single minute and UK supermarkets produce 800,000 tonnes every year. With production increasing, that’s set to rise
Supermarkets:
Supermarkets in UK currently uses 900,000 tonnes of plastic packaging every year. By stop using plastic packaging, supermarkets have the power to take the lead in dramatically reducing the amount of single use plastic produced. Support supermarkets to stop using plastic packaging now.
