●What is Plastic Pollution? ●Why is it dangerous? ●How does it happen? ●What can we do about it? Plastic is a substance the earth cannot digest. Plastic never goes away. Plastic is a durable material made to last forever, yet 33 percent of it is used once and then discarded. Plastic cannot biodegrade; it breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces. Plastic poisons our food chain. Even plankton, the tiniest creatures in our oceans, are eating microplastics and absorbing their toxins. The substance displaces nutritive algae that creatures up the food chain require. t Plastic spoils our groundwater. There are tens of thousands of landfills across the globe. Buried beneath each one of them, plastic leachate full of toxic chemicals is seeping into groundwater and flowing downstream into lakes and rivers. Plastic piles up in the environment. Americans alone discard more than 30 million tons of plastic a year; only 8 percent of it gets recycled. The rest ends up in landfills or becomes 'litter', and a small portion is incinerated. Plastic affects human health. Chemicals leached by plastics are in the blood and tissue of nearly all of us. Exposure to them is linked to cancers, birth defects, impaired immunity, endocrine disruption and other ailments. \ Worldwide reliance on disposable plastic packaging is overwhelming our planet. By 2050, the oceans will contain more plastic than fish by weight. Refuse single use plastic bottles Use a refillable stainless steel water bottle! Say “No straw Please” Refuse Plastic Bags Bring your own reusable Canvas bag! Say “No bag please!” Thank you to Plastic Pollution Coalition for their continued support !
