10 Facts About Plastic Pollution You Absolutely Need to Know

Giving Compass’ Take:

• Some governments and organizations are doing their part to reduce plastic use and better the environment, but as everyday consumers, it’s important to know how and why the end of plastic use is so vital. 

• How can we take the facts delivered in this Global Citizen article to heart and cut back on our plastic consumption in our everyday lives? Which organizations are making the most impact in this area?

• Here’s why funding the ocean is the next wave in philanthropy, and how plastic reduction plays an integral part.

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Plastic is terrible for the environment. David Attenborough and the Blue Planet II team really brought the issue home — and now, brilliantly, we hear about it all the time.

Countries and cities around the world are banning plastic use left, right, and centre, and the call for the end of single-use plastics is at an all-time high.

Here are some lesser-known facts about plastic you really need to know:

1. Since the 1950s, around 8.3 billion tons of plastic have been produced worldwide.
2. In some parts of the world, using plastic is already illegal.
3. 73% of beach litter worldwide is plastic.
4. A million plastic bottles are bought around the world every minute.
5. Worldwide, about 2 million plastic bags are used every minute.
6. 90% of plastic polluting our oceans is carried by just 10 rivers.
7. Plastic is killing more than 1.1 million seabirds and animals every year.
8. The average person eats 70,000 microplastics each year.
9. The average time that a plastic bag is used for is … 12 minutes.
10. Over the past 50 years, world plastic production has doubled.

Read the full article about plastic pollution facts by Seneo Mwamba at Global Citizen.