Only 14% of global plastic packaging is collected for recycling and only 2% is reused

32% of the 78 million tons of plastic packaging produced annually is left to flow into our oceans; the equivalent of pouring one garbage truck of plastic into the ocean every minute, according to a study undertaken by the World Economic Forum, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and McKinsey and Company.

If we carry on, as usual, this is expected to increase to two per minute by 2030 and four per minute by 2050. By 2050, this could mean there will be more plastic than fish in the world’s oceans. At the moment, only 14% of global plastic packaging is collected for recycling and only 2% is reused as packaging. 

Some 8 million tons of plastic trash leak into the ocean annually, and it's getting worse every year. Americans are said to use 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour. This problem is so dramatic that there is even a Plastic Island in the North Pacific Ocean.

And if you are thinking of fish for dinner, well it might come with a side of plastic. All that plastic isn’t just floating about, breaking down into increasingly microplastic particles and creating an unsightly mess: it’s also getting eaten by marine life.

Fish appear to be “stuffing themselves” on plastic, which is coated in bacteria and algae, mimicking their natural food sources. Mistaking the small particles for a high energy snack, fish gobble up most small plastic particles, according to recent research.

Much of that plastic ends up in the guts of fish and other marine life, and ultimately on our dinner table. In the United States 98% of the plastics that are being used in the market for daily consumption are not controlled and might contain BPA. BPA mimics the hormone estrogen and has been linked to health problems like cancer.

The system needs to change and there are a number of people working to make this happen. What can we do about it? Simple as avoiding plastic.

3 Tips from an expert to live a life without plastic

Julia Bayer is a German journalist and the creator of #Ichnehmsohne. 3 years ago she decided to live a life without plastic. “Everything started as a game with some friends, as one of those new year resolutions,” she explains.

But then it became one of the most important changes in her life. 

Roads made of recycled plastic are being tested in UK 🚧
 

Around 24.8 million miles of roads crisscross the surface of Earth. And hundreds of millions of barrels of oil have been used for that development. Engineer Toby McCartney came up with a solution to that waste of natural resources and the growing plastic pollution problem.

His company, Scotland-based MacRebur, lays roads that are as much as 60 percent stronger than regular asphalt roads and last around 10 times longer – and they’re made with recycled plastic.
 

McCartney was inspired to design plastic roads after his daughter’s teacher asked the class what lives in the ocean, and his daughter said, “Plastics.” He didn’t want her to grow up in a world where that was true. Read more about this company here.

Thirty-two percent of the 78 million tons of plastic packaging we produce annually flows into our oceans. That's the equivalent of one garbage truck of plastic every minute.

According to the India Times, India is responsible for an astonishing 60% of the plastic that is dumped in the world’s oceans every year.

The country has become so concerned with its waste problem that the National Green Tribunal has introduced a ban on disposable plastic in the capital city. It is now no longer permitted to use plastic bags, chai cups and cutlery in Delhi.

But that isn’t the only issue that led to the ban. It was introduced as a result of complaints about the illegal mass-burning of plastic and other waste at three local rubbish dumps, which has been blamed for causing air pollution. Read more about it here.