Single-use Disposables Go Where?

Water bottles, coffee cups, plastic utensils and take out containers make our lives more convenient. About 2,480,000 tons of plastic bottles and jars were disposed of in 2008 around the world. Unfortunately, plastic is not disposable and the use of these items leads to environmental degradation. When the plastics break down, they do not biodegrade. Instead they break down into fragments that contaminate our natural resources.

Ocean & Marine Health

Plastic debris in the ocean doesn't biodegrade. It photodegrades, meaning sunlight and water break it down to smaller and smaller pieces that are mistaken for food by fish, sea birds and marine mammals. More than 260 species of marine animals are affected by plastic debris in the ocean, either by ingestion or entanglement. Laysan Albatross, sea turtles, monk seals, whales and many species of fish have been found with large amounts of plastic in their stomachs.

Climate and fossil fuels

In the United States alone, an estimated 12 million barrels of oil is used annually to make the plastic bags that Americans consume. Their manufacture, transportation and disposal require large quantities of non-renewable resources and release equally large amounts of global-warming gases.

Human Health Impacts

There are many dangers involved with bisphenol A and phthalates, two additives commonly used in plastic. BPA makes plastic hard and phthalates make plastic soft. Both are known endocrine disruptors. We all come into contact with these toxic chemicals through our food, personal care products and plastic containers.

Waste, Sanitation, & Landfills

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average American produces about 4.4 lbs. of garbage every day. That’s 29 lbs. per week or 1,600 lbs. per year. Much ends up buried in a landfill where it breaks down, releasing methane. Once methane is released into the air, it becomes a super-potent green house gas. And then there is the toxic leachate, or liquid that seeps and drains from a landfill, that ends up in our aquifers.

Recycling alone is not enough

The United States International Trade Commission reported that 102 billion plastic bags were used in the U.S. in 2009. The best estimates say only about 9% are recycled. Even when properly disposed of, they are easily windblown and often end up in waterways or on the landscape, becoming eyesores and degrading soil and water quality as they break down into toxic bits.