10 shocking facts about plastic pollution

Looking for some motivation on your plastic free journey? If you need to be reminded why it’s so important to avoid single use plastic, you’re in the right spot. Here are 10 shocking facts about plastic pollution that will make you happy to bring your reusables to the shop!

Why we need to do more to tackle plastic pollution

1. About 51 trillion pieces of microplastic are currently in the oceans. This amount of plastic weighs 269,000 tonnes, which is about the same as 1,345 adult blue whales. 

2. By 2050, virtually every seabird species on Earth will be eating plastic, according to Natural Geographic.

3. There’s 500 times more microplastic in our oceans than there are stars in our galaxy.

4. Humans consume between 39,000 and 52,000 microplastic particles each year. If you include how much microplastic is inhaled, that number rockets up to 74,000.

5. Plastic waste kills up to one million seabirds and 100,000 sea mammals every year, according to the United Nations.

6. As of 2015, we have generated over 6.9 billion tonnes of plastic waste. 9 per cent of that is recycled, 12 per cent is incinerated, and a whopping 79 per cent is put in landfills or littered in our environment.

7. Two million plastic bags are used every minute, worldwide. The average amount of time a plastic bag is used is only 12 minutes. 

8. In the last 50 years, worldwide plastic production has doubled. The leading plastic manufacturers intend to increase production by a third in the next five years. 

9. Every minute, the equivalent of a truckload of plastic enters the ocean.

10. Nearly a million beverages in plastic bottles are sold every minute worldwide. 

Ready to act? Sign up to the plastic free challenge or check out the blog for resources on easy swaps and small steps you can take to make a big difference.

If you’ve found these shocking facts about plastic pollution motivating, please comment on your actions to tackle plastic pollution below or share the site with a friend.