Plastic Pollution Facts

Alarmingly, scientists estimate that there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean by weight in 2050.

Plastics often break down into smaller and smaller particles, called microplastics, which can be ingested by both animals and people and remain in our environment for hundreds of years or longer.

• Plastics make up almost 90 percent of trash in the oceans.
• More than 40 percent of plastic is used just once, then tossed.
• 18 billion pounds of plastic trash flows into the oceans every year from coastal regions. That is the equivalent of five grocery bags of plastic trash sitting on every foot of coastline around the world.

Americans use 100 billion plastic bags a year, which require 12 million barrels of oil to manufacture.

The average American family takes home almost 1,500 plastic shopping bags a year, but only one percent of plastic bags are returned for recycling.

• Plastic bags are used for an average of 12 minutes before ending up in the trash.
• More than 100,000 marine animals are killed by plastic bags annually.

Approximately 600 straws are used per person, per year.

A straw is used for an average of 10 minutes.

• 500 million straws are used in the U.S. every day.
• Every year, consumers in the U.S. use enough straws to wrap around the earth 2.5 times.
• As many as 8.3 billion plastic straws are estimated to pollute the world’s beaches.

Americans purchase about 50 billion water bottles per year, enough to circle the Earth five times!

Every person in the U.S. purchases an average of 13 bottles per month.

• Less than a third of all plastic bottles are recycled and many are downcycled into products that can no longer be recycled.
• By using a reusable water bottle, you could save an average of 156 plastic bottles annually.