Plastic: The Facts

PLASTIC AND CLIMATE

  • Plastic is a ‘petro-chemical,’ (fossil fuels + chemicals). As we shift away from fossil fuels for energy and transport, the fossil fuel industry invests more in plastics production

  • Since 2010, 333 new chemical facilities have been built in the US, mostly using fracked gas

  • By 2030 there will be more CO2 emissions from plastic than from coal-fired power plants

  • The amount of energy used to make 12 plastic bags is equivalent to what you use to drive 1 mile

PLASTIC PRODUCTION

  • More than half of the plastics ever produced have been produced in the last 18 years

  • 10 billion tons of plastic have been produced since 1950. 8-15 million tons have gone into oceans

  • 44% of plastic resins are now being produced in the US for export to other countries

PLASTIC USAGE

  • 42% of plastic today is intended to be single-use

  • 40% of plastic packaging is for food

  • Amazon generated 709 million pounds of plastic packaging waste in 2021

(THE MYTH OF) PLASTIC RECYCLING

  • Only 5-6% of all consumer plastic waste actually gets recycled!  Most is type #1 and #2. The rest is sent to incinerators, landfills, or overseas (e.g. Waste Colonialism)

  • In 2015, 51% of the world’s plastic was shipped to China (most from the US and Europe). In 2018, China stopped receiving recyclables from the US due to high contamination levels. The US now sends them to Eurasia and Africa. Shippers and waste brokers make the money while people, the oceans, landscapes and the air pay the price.  

  • Only 5.5% of type #4 plastic (grocery bags, film plastic) is recycled nation-wide

  • 13% of consumer plastic is incinerated (most in NY and FL), creating toxic air pollution (mercury, lead, cadmium, dioxin, acidic gasses, and carbon). Burying is better than burning.



PLASTIC AND HEALTH

  • The average person ingests 5 grams of plastic every week (the size of a credit card)  

  • Microplastics can build up in a person’s liver and spleen, can travel through their respiratory system and lodge in the lungs

SO, WHAT’S THE ANSWER? REDUCE AND REUSE!

Brought to you by The Co-op’s Owner-led Plastic Reduction Committee. 

To get involved, contact beginner100@gmail.com or consider taking a two-day online training by beyondplastics.org

Article by Anni Crofut, Plastic Reduction Committee member