Too Much Plastic
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Since 1950, it is estimated that 9 billion tons of plastic has been produced.
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Only 9 to 12 percent has been recycled.
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Americans throw away 100 billion plastic grocery bags EVERY YEAR! A plastic bag takes up to 1,000 years to break up.
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Americans use 500 million plastic drinking straws EVERY DAY!
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The majority of plastic waste ends up in oceans at the rate of 9 million tons every year.
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Plastic bags tend to float on the surface and can be mistaken for jellyfish which is a food staple for turtles and other marine life.
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Larger pieces of plastic also floats on the surface and can be mistaken as food.
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Plastic does NOT biodegrade - it never goes away! It only breaks up into microplastics.
What Are Microplastics And Why Are They Bad?
Microplastics are tiny plastic particles found in the environment. Any plastic particle that has a diameter of less than 5 mm is considered to be microplastic
In The Fish..
Shellfish lovers are eating up to 11,000 plastic fragments in their seafood each year. We absorb fewer than 1%, but they will still accumulate in the body over time.
In Our Drinking Water...
Bottled water sampled from manufacturers around the world is teeming with microplastics. Tests of 250 bottles from 11 bottled water brands revealed microplastics in 93 percent of the samples
In Our Oceans...
Global plastic production has increased by more than 600% since 1975, and the amount of plastic entering the world's oceans is projected to increase 10-fold by 2025
In Our Food...
Fish and shellfish aren’t our only food sources that can contain microplastics. And, in fact, other sources that don’t come from the sea might be much more worrying.
In Sea Birds...
Studies have shown that microplastics are present in nearly every environment on Earth. Over one million sea birds die every year from ingesting plastic.
What Are Microplastics?
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By 2050 scientists predict plastic will outweigh fish in the ocean pound for pound.
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Sarasota lacks the facilities to recycle polystyrene and has no commercial composting facility nearby.
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Medical studies are indicating serious health risks associated with plastics and polystyrene exposure. Refer to Tab; “Avoid Plastic and Polystyrene for your health”
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While recycling plastic waste items is a better option than sending them to the landfill, the best option is NOT to generate them at all!