WHAT IS PLASTIC POLLUTION?
Plastic pollution refers to the accumulation of synthetic plastics in the environment, thereby becoming a threat to wildlife and humans (Moore, 2022). Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, about 8 million tonnes of plastic waste enters our marine environment, posing a significant threat to our marine wildlife (Parker, 2019). In 2010, slightly more than a decade ago, 275 million tonnes of plastic waste was produced (Ritchie and Roser, 2018).
In recent years, there has been growing awareness of the impacts of plastic pollution on our environment. Consequently, the global movement to reduce single-use plastics has gained traction tremendously over the years. Major cities such as Seattle banned plastic straws and large corporations, including Starbucks and McDonald’s, had also announced plans to remove plastic straws and stirrers out of their supply chains (Gibbens, 2019). Beyond plastic straws, other forms of single-use plastics such as containers and plastic bags were slowly beginning to be phased out. While the road ahead was long, the world had made significant progress in the global fight against plastic pollution.
WHAT IS HAPPENING NOW?
WHY DOES IT MATTER?
References
Benson, N. U., Bassey, D. E., & Palanisami, T. (2021). COVID pollution: Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on global plastic waste footprint. Heliyon, 7(2), e06343. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e06343
Gibbens, S. (2019). Plastic straw bans are spreading: Here’s how they took over the world. Planet or Plastic? Retrieved March 6, 2022, from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/news-plastic-drinking-straw-history-ban
Moore, C. (2022). Plastic pollution. Science. Retrieved March 6, 2022, from https://www.britannica.com/science/plastic-pollution
Parker, L. (2019). The world’s plastic pollution crisis explained. Environment. Retrieved March 6, 2022, from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/plastic-pollution
Ritchie, H., & Roser, M. (2018). Plastic Pollution. Our World in Data.