20 facts about plastics you need to know
Without a doubt, I can fully assume that you know no more than 3 facts about plastic. It is something that is part of your daily life but for some reasons, you might not have taken out time to know some facts about plastics. The plastics you use have some unbelievable truths that you may never have heard of.
So, take your time to read through some known facts that will leave you surprised.
1. It takes more than 30 decades for plastic to decayed
You are probably used to the theory that organisms on earth feed on materials and make them decompose but this isn’t the case for plastics. When left on the earth, no natural organism is available to break them down because of the compounds they are made of. These compounds take from 100 to 400 years to break down.
2. The plastic made every year is enough to fill up a small country
According to Ourworldindata, the number of plastics produced yearly is about 350 million which is equivalent to two-thirds of the world’s population. If packed together, this plastic is just enough to fill up the land area of small countries like Monaco, Liechtenstein, etc.
3. Since the discovery of plastic in 1950, most of the plastics which are about 5 billion is still in existence
Unep reported in an article that 60% of plastics produced since 1950 are in landfills or other natural environment and since plastics take about 300 years to break down, these plastics are still in existence. In other words, this means about 4.9 billion plastics produced in the ’90s are somewhere on the earth causing harm to the eco-system.
4. Most sea creatures are getting trapped and endangered by plastic
You are so addicted to plastics and you perhaps think plastic is one of the best things ever created but this isn’t the case for sea creatures who get trapped or are killed because of plastics you throw out. Condorferries reported that 1 out of three sea creatures is trapped in plastic.
5. About 91% of plastics produced have never been recycled
National Geographic made an article stating that a whole 91% of plastics produced never make it to a recycling centre which begs the question, ” What happens to the plastic you use?”
6. Plastic in the ocean kill up to a million aquatic creatures every year
Still on the article made by Condorferries , the plastics left in the ocean release toxic chemicals that put an end to some of the lives in the ocean. It is written that about a million sea creature lose their lives and that most of their habitats aren’t habitable due to human mistakes.
7. 4.5 % of the world’s oil production goes into the production of plastic
In a research made in 2012, 4.5% of the world’s oil production is used in the making of plastic. This is to show just how much plastic you use in your daily life. Over the years, the percentage of plastics used would have risen.
8. Only 9% of plastic created are recycled
About millions of plastics are produced daily and it is surprising to know that only 8.7% of the world’s plastic production is recycled. This goes a long way to show that the world is still suffering immensely from plastic pollution.
9. Plastics have populated the ocean so much that it is discovered that sea creatures have begun to feed on plastic waste
“Your plastic waste has turned up in the stomach of some aquatic creatures found dead in seashores”, says National geographic . It is no fault of theirs that they have begun to feed on plastic because it’s something they see around them.
10. The production of plastic takes about 4 million joules of power energy
Think about the amount of energy drained by the production of plastics. This energy can be used to power several houses for several months. This is one fact about plastic – its production consumes energy.
11. There are about 6 plastics to 1 sea creature in the great pacific garbage patch located on the coast of California
The great pacific garbage patch on the coast of California contains more plastics than the living creatures there. It is one of the oceans with the largest concentration of plastics. Theoceancleanup has collected more data on the rising situation of things on the coast of California.
12. The chemical in plastic can be absorbed by the body.
Surprised? You shouldn’t be! With the knowledge of the chemicals used in the production of plastic, it is only normal that some of these chemical find their way into your body. A particular research was made and it was found out that an average person may have some amount of plastic chemical in their system.
13. More than a million plastics are being bought every minute from around the world
What do you buy that doesn’t use plastic for packaging? Most of your daily need comes with the use of plastic. So the fact that millions of plastic are produced in a day isn’t shocking.
14. Plastic can be recycled into other items
The unique thing about plastic is its multi-purpose function. Plastic after use can be recycled to make shoes, bags, and sportswear.
15. Reusing your plastics can stop the production of 100 plastics
Do the math! You make use of about 20 plastics every month. If you consider reusing a plastic container, it will prevent you from making use of that 20 plastic, thereby saving the production of more than 100 plastic in a year.
16. More resources are saved when recycling than when producing a virgin plastic
This fact about plastic is quite obvious. When the production of virgin plastic takes place, more energy and petroleum are consumed but when recycling happens, the resources used are about half.
17. Since the production of plastic, the amount of plastic production has tripled.
As you know, when plastic came into full production in the ’90s, there was less need for plastic so the production was low but in recent years, if calculated, the amount of plastic currently being produced is three times the amount in the last decade.
18. Compounds found in plastics are capable of altering human hormones
Plastics may satisfy some of your needs, but it hides deadly secrets. The compounds in plastic, are capable of altering the hormones in living things giving rise to health problems.
19. Most of the waste found in the ocean are plastics
If you had no idea just what plastic is capable of, you would have stopped to think of the most common waste found in the ocean. Now you know that plastic is showing its supremacy in the ocean.
20. About 20% of the waste is plastic
Of all the waste you discard daily, plastic constitutes about 20% of it or even more.
There you have it, these are the common facts you should know about the plastics you use every day. From most of the facts above, the only sentence to be used for plastic description is ” a wolf in sheep clothing ” because they appear useful but cause great harm to the ecosystem.
Even though its demerit overshadows its merit, it is still an important item to humans. Its good side can only be seen when recycling is embraced.
