I hope everyone had a great Valentines Day! While we spent the weekend spending time with our loved ones we shouldn’t forget about our beloved environment.
I just came across this website Take Our Planet Back-Dipdive and it is definitely worth checking out. Dipdive was responsable for launching Will.iam’s Yes We Can video
Here are a few facts from their website just about Plastics:
Plastics
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403 billion pounds of plastic are produced from oil every year. For more information, visit:http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&refer=home&sid=a14k5rGoGenk
U.S. plastic production surged four-fold to 113 billion pounds in 2006 from 29 billion in 1973, according to the Washington-based American Chemistry Council, an industry trade group.
Plastic materials comprise the majority of marine debris. Proportions vary between 60–80%, and in some regions plastic material constitutes as much as 90-95% of the total amount of marine debris. For more information, visit: California Coastal Commission, (2006)“Eliminating Land-based Discharges of Marine Debris in California: A Plan of Action from The Plastic Debris Project” and http://www.unep.org/regionalseas/marinelitter/
Plastic bags, Styrofoam and cigarette butts are the top three items littered on our planet. Plastic bags are light and hard to contain so they fly easily in the wind and float readily in the currents of our oceans and rivers.
A little more than half of all thermoplastics will sink in seawater.
PLASTIC BAGS
Plastic bags most often come from one of five types of polymers — polyethylene — more commonly known as polythene. All hazardous to produce and said to take up to 1,000 years to decompose on land and 450 years in water.
A million plastic bags are used every minute worldwide, and the number is rising.
Each year, an estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide — equaling over one million per minute. Billions end up as litter each year.
The EPA reports the U.S. consumes over 380 billion plastic bags, sacks and wraps annually.
Taiwan consumes approximately 20 billion bags a year — 900 per person — according to the industry publication Modern Plastics.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. goes through 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually at an estimated cost to retailers of $4 billion.
Australia’s Department of Environment reports that Australians consume 6.9 billion plastic bags annually - 326 per person. An estimated 0.7% or 49,600,000 end up as litter.
For more information, visit: Battle of the Bag, New Scientist, September 11, 2004
PLASTIC WATER BOTTLES
Plastic water bottles are most often made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) which is produced from fossil fuels – typically natural gas and petroleum.
The Pacific Institute estimates that the total amount of energy embedded in our use of bottled water can be as high as the equivalent of filling a plastic bottle one quarter full with oil.
Worldwide 2.7 million tons of plastic are used to bottle water each year.
Americans will buy an estimated 25 billion single-serving, plastic water bottles this year.
Eight out of 10 (22 billion) will end up in a landfill.
DECOMPOSITION
Decomposition of plastic depends upon the type of plastic (polymer) and the environment to which it is exposed. The same plastic can differ quite widely in its decomposition depending upon how it is formulated.
Sun and weather quickly decompose polystyrene, as do polyvinyl acetates, other polyesters, and polyvinylchloride.
DuPont’s Teflon ™, polyvinylfluoride, is virtually indestructible.
Plastics can take around 300 years to photo degrade and up to 500 years to decompose.
Exposure to direct sunlight helps speed up the process where as decomposition by microbes is very slow.
A smaller plastic bottle can take 450 years to decompose compared to a plastic jug taking 1 million years.
Plastic bags range from 20 to 1000 years and Styrofoam ranging wildly from 1 to 1 million years (Styrofoam cup is 50 years).
To learn more, visit: http://behealthyandrelax.com/2007/11/how-long-does-it-take-to-decompose/DECOMPOSITION
DISPOSAL & RECYCLING
According to statistics, manufacturing new plastic from recycled plastic requires two-thirds of the energy used in virgin plastic manufacturing. One ton of recycled plastic saves 685 gallons of oil. For more information, visit: http://www.aprecycling.com/,http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/nonhaz/municipal/index.htm, and Progressive Bag Affiliates
Plastic used for grocery bags is recycled less frequently than high density polyethylene (HDPE) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or PETE). Plastic grocery bags are fully recyclable and the number of recycling programs is increasing daily. Some area grocery stores have bins for used plastic bags. It takes 91% less energy to recycle a pound of plastic than it takes to recycle a pound of paper.
To learn more about increasing plastic bag recycling, check out http://www.plasticbagrecycling.org/
CHANGING HABITS
Ireland has implemented a fee per plastic bag to discourage the excessive use of plastic bags. Since 2002, plastic bag consumption has decreased by an estimated 90%. For more information, visit: Ireland Department of the Environment
Joining Uganda, South Africa, Russia, Hong Kong and parts of England, the Chinese government banning shops from handing out free plastic bags from June 2008, in a bid to curb pollution. According to the Daily Mail, China uses more plastic bags than any other country.
U.S cities that have banned or are charging fees for plastic bags include Encinitas, San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles, and New York.
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For more facts about how we can change our habits visit the site. We all can do our part, one easy way is to stop using plastic bags at the store, whether you are buying groceries or clothes you can put your new purchase in your purse or backpack.
