Scientists say around 100,000 marine creatures die every year after becoming entangled in plastic, including plastic bags and packaging from cans of drink. These are the ones that are found - there are likely to be more dying a slow and lingering death that are never discovered.
In addition, around one million seabirds die from plastic entanglement each year. A plastic grocery bag, for example, can take between 10 and 100 years to fully disintegrate and it can kill numerous animals in the meantime.
An animal that has died from eating a bag, or becoming entangled in it, will decompose but the bag won't! It will be released back into the ocean, so it can go on causing the deaths of marine life for many years to come. Around two-thirds of the fish population around the world are suffering from the effects of plastic ingestion.
Main pollution causes
Plastic packaging used for food and drink is a common cause of pollution, but perhaps surprisingly, so is plastic waste that has been transported to landfill sites. Always at risk of blowing away, plastic can still end up in rivers or in the ocean.
Rubbish that has been carelessly dropped in the street can be carried by wind and rain into the drainage network and ultimately into the sea. Experts estimate that the world's rivers carry between 1.15 and 2.41 million tons of plastic into the sea each year.
Visitors who leave behind plastic food packaging and bottles on the beach are also contributing directly to the problem. Ironically, the tourism industry that tries to attract more holidaymakers is now suffering as a result of the pollution. No one wants to visit destinations where there's a lot of rubbish littered across the seafront.
Microbeads
Even people who don't drop litter may be inadvertently contributing to the pollution problem. Minute spherical pieces of plastic, called microbeads, are added to numerous cosmetic products to help with exfoliation, including facial scrubs, toothpaste and shower gels.
Public outrage at this pollution of the world's oceans has eventually led to a ban on microbeads in many countries, including the UK, where the ban came into force on 19th June 2018. However, the ban isn't global - and according to the Marine Conservation Society, there are still too many products that aren't included in the ban, so they will continue to be sold.
Items such as cotton buds, facial wipes and sanitary products that contain plastic are flushed down the toilet and still pose a risk.
Industrial waste
Inadequate safety standards in some industrial processes are also responsible for plastic entering the environment. This occurs during the production processes, when the plastic waste isn't properly disposed of, or during the transportation of the finished product.
Thousands of tiny plastic pellets used in the manufacturing processes for plastic products are washed up on beaches across the UK every year. Around 75% of UK beaches are said to be polluted by these plastic particles, according to surveys.
Environmental groups are calling on corporate organisations to cut down on the amount of single-use plastics that they sell and to reduce the amount of plastic thrown away. Campaigners are also calling on governments to improve waste management systems and promote the re-use of plastic through new initiatives.
Decomposition rate
Studies of the waste in our oceans have revealed that a massive 40.4% of rubbish is discarded by members of the public. A further 13.9% is left by the fishing industry, 4.5% is sewage-related and 3.9% comes from the shipping industry. Around 36% of waste is classed as "non-sourced" - meaning that its origins can't be determined.
Plastic has a notoriously slow decomposition rate. The major sources of plastic pollution can take up to 1,000 years to decompose. For example, thicker plastic bottles, such as those used for soft drinks or detergents, can take between 450 and 1,000 years to decompose. They don't biodegrade, which is why it can take centuries for them to eventually break down.
Drinking straws, toothbrushes, yoghurt cartons, Styrofoam cups, bottle caps, disposable nappies and sanitary pads can take up to 500 years to disintegrate. The six-pack plastic beverage holders take around 90 years to decompose, while a plastic grocery bag takes anything from 10 to 100 years, depending on the thickness of the plastic. Shoppers across the world are using around 500 billion single-use plastic bags each year.
Around 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic rubbish are polluting our oceans today, and of that, 269,000 tonnes float around on the surface. The deep sea is littered by around four billion plastic microfibres per square kilometre, so it is truly becoming a sea of plastic.
Recycling plastics
Caring for the environment is very important to Solent Plastics and is a key consideration in our products. As a responsible supplier of plastic containers, we promote recycled plastics to ensure our planet can continue to sustain future generations.
We supply a large range of Euronorm ECO recycled plastic Euro containers in all sizes, at low prices, for commercial, industrial and home use.
We also stock a selection of recycling waste bins to help businesses, schools and other organisations to manage their own recycling initiatives. Give us a call today on 01794 514478 to see how our products can help with your recycling schemes.