PLASTIC
- OUR ADDICTION TO PLASTIC
- ITS EFFECT ON THE NATURAL WORLD
- WHAT CAN WE DO TO CHANGE?
Some Facts on Plastic
Plastic is now everywhere. Recent research indicates that Australians discard
9.7 billion plastic items each year — 2.6 billion coffee cups, 3.3 billion plastic bags, 1.3 billion water bottles — and straws. Lots of plastic straws. Each year 370 million plastic bottles go into landfill. On average, Australians produce 1.5 tonnes of waste per person each year, Of this about 130Kg (or 9%) is plastic. At present only 12% of this is recycled. Up to 130,000 tonnes of this plastic will find its way into the ocean. Plastic takes hundreds of years to break down, and in fact may never fully degrade.
Packaging accounts for over 40% of total plastic usage.
Nappies
In Australia and New Zealand alon...