5 Plastic Facts You Didn't Know

Last night, I watched a Netflix show called Broken, a four-part documentary about products that are harming our planet. In episode four, they talk about plastic facts. I like to think that I know a bit about plastic and the environment through reading and watching documentaries, but I have to say it was truly an eye-opener for me. Hopefully, these five plastic facts are new to you as well…

ONE: The Plastics Industry “Invented” Recycling
Hang on, what? Exactly my thoughts. It was in the 1970s that the plastic industry was starting to take off and facing potential bans or taxes on plastic packaging, so they introduced plastic recycling. However, those in the petrochemical industries (plastic is made from fossil fuels like crude oil and natural gas) knew that the technology wasn’t available to recycle plastics at the time, and it wasn’t until the late 1980s that plastic recycling started to really happen.

TWO: Only 9% Of All Plastic Ever Made Has Been Recycled
Yep, only 9% of all plastics produced have been recycled. Partly because there aren’t enough recycling plants in each country to keep up with demand. Partly because the technology for plastic recycling didn’t really exist for the first 10 years. Partly because there isn’t enough demand for the recycled plastics as often, and they can’t be used for the same purpose as the original plastic. Out of all the plastic that has been recycled, less than 1 per cent has been recycled more than once…. What this means is that the plastic is going into a landfill or, worse, being burned! Burning plastics emits chemicals that have been linked to cancers – not good.

THREE: One Garbage Truck Is Dumped Into The Ocean Every Minute Of Every Day
But there isn’t that much plastic, is there? Yes, unfortunately, due to a lack of recycling and overproduction, there aren’t many places to put plastics. Often it is dumped into oceans, or on land, of which approximately 80% ends up in the ocean. This is basically equivalent to one garbage truck a minute just dumping plastic into the ocean. This makes me SO angry. I see so much plastic when I swim in the ocean, and yet how much of it ends up back in there once I pull it out and put it in the bin?

FOUR: Every Time You Buy Plastic You Create More Demand
Yep! Not something that you necessarily think about, but it is a topic that I covered when I talked about tiny hotel shampoos. Just because it has already been made does not mean that it is okay to consume. Whether it is a takeaway coffee cup, bread in a plastic bag, a frozen meal in a plastic tray, or a bag of apples in plastic, it sends a message down the line to make another one/ten/hundred because it is in demand and people want to buy it. If no one bought the items, there would be no demand and therefore, the plastic wouldn’t be produced because there would be no need for it. I do admit that this is difficult because it is VERY hard not to buy items in plastic, from food to clothing to household items, you often can’t find a plastic-free alternative. Believe me, I have tried – I went plastic-free for a week and it takes a lot of time, effort and willpower.

FIVE: Plastics Affect Fertility
We each eat around a credit card of microplastics every week, according to the Futures Centre. Plastics are in the food we eat, and chemicals from the plastics we use affect our bodies. Research by Shanna Swan (an environmental and reproductive epidemiologist at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York) has shown that fertility levels are declining for both men and women of all ages. Sperm counts in men from North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand have more than halved over the past 40 years and continue to fall at the same rate. At this current rate of decline, by 2045, most men in these countries will have a zero sperm count 🙁

Scary, Isn’t It?

These plastic facts are just a few of the things that motivated me to start Hoopsy, to try to eliminate one plastic item from the world. It is a work in progress, and we are working on a second version of the pregnancy tests that are plastic-free, but it will take a bit of time. In the meantime, I think 99% plastic-free is MUCH better than 9% plastic-free (which is what most midstream tests are). What do you think?