Once you start noticing how much unnecessary plastic we use every day, the scale of our plastic problem starts to become enormously worrying. There's no way we could eliminate all the unnecessary plastic from our lives in one challenge, but we may as well start trying.
MOST PLASTIC IS RUBBISH
79% of the plastic on the planet is in landfills or clogging up our lakes, oceans, rivers, etc. At least 8 million tons of plastic waste ends up in the oceans each year. (NY Times)
"At some point we will run out of room to put it," says Chelsea Rochman. "Some may argue we already have as now it's found in every nook and cranny of our oceans."
There is literally a ton of plastic garbage for every person on the planet. (Washington Post)
THERE'S TOO MUCH OF IT
In 1950, when plastic was first mass produced, 2m tons were manufactured. That figure has risen to 8.3bn this year and is projected to reach 34bn by 2050.
A million plastic bottles are bought around the world every MINUTE, a number that is expected to rise by 20% by 2021. (The Guardian)
By 2050, it's predicted there will be more plastic waste than fish in our oceans. (Chicago Tribune)