Earth Day: Here's how much plastic waste…
Earth Day: Here's how much plastic waste is projected in the world by 2050
Plastics topper
By Kurt Snibbe | ksnibbe@scng.com | Orange County Register
PUBLISHED: April 22, 2022 at 5:55 p.m. | UPDATED: April 22, 2022 at 5:55 p.m.
Plastic is a material with many benefits: It's cheap, versatile, lightweight and resistant. It also can provide environmental benefits: It plays a critical role in maintaining food quality, safety and reducing food waste. But at the same time, plastics are having a negative impact on our oceans and wildlife health.
By 2050, we'll have produced 26 billion tons of plastic waste
Historical data and projections to 2050 of plastic waste production and disposal. Primary waste is plastic becoming waste for the first time and doesn't include waste from plastic that has been recycled.
Share of global mismanaged plastic waste, 2019
In rich countries, nearly all plastic waste is incinerated, recycled or sent to well-managed landfills. It's not left open in the surrounding environment. Low-to-middle-income countries tend to have poorer waste management infrastructure. Waste can be dumped outside of landfills and landfills that do exist are often open, leaking waste to the surrounding environment.
Mismanaged waste is material that is at high risk of entering the ocean via wind or tidal transport, or carried to coastlines from inland waterways. Mismanaged waste is the sum of material that is either littered or inadequately disposed of. Inadequately disposed and littered waste are different and are defined in the sections below.
When compared by population, India, China, the Philippines, Brazil and Nigeria top the list.
Plastics pop quiz
What happens to plastic waste when left in the environment?
It is a biodegradable material so it eventually disintegrates
It never fully goes away, it just breaks into little pieces
There is no such thing as plastic waste; all plastic is recycled
Answer: B. Plastics at SEA (Sea Education Association) in its North Pacific Expedition 2012, a 36-day nautical research journey through the North Pacific subtropical gyre down to the Hawaiian islands, found this to be true. The team was studying plastic pollution in the ocean and found that out of the 66,077 pieces of plastic collected in samples, 95% of it was millimeters in size.
Why is plastic dangerous for marine life?
They mistake if for food and cannot digest it
They can get tangled in it which hinders their ability to swim
Bacteria on plastic can give coral diseases
All of above
Answer: D. Plastic tends to float and bobbing on the surface can lead it to be mistaken for other marine life. Plastic bags are often mistaken for jellyfish by leatherback turtles and consumed. Marine life also can get tangled in nets, cords and other plastic debris, which hinders their ability to swim and in some cases, can be a severe choking hazard.
How many million tons of plastic are dumped in oceans every year?
1 million tons
20 million tons
Answer: B. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, at least 8 million tons of plastic is dumped into oceans each year. That's the equivalent of dumping one garbage truck full of plastic into the ocean every minute.
How many marine species are harmed by plastic pollution?
Answer: B. A 2015 Plymouth University study compiled reports recorded from around the world and found evidence of 44,000 animals becoming entangled or swallowing plastic debris, accounting for a total of 693 marine species. At least 17% of those affected species are listed as threatened or near-threatened.
What percent of its plastic does the U.S. recycle?
Answer: A. As of 2019, about 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic has been produced in the U.S., and of that, less than 9% has been recycled.
What percentage of U.S. crude oil consumption does plastic production account for?
Answer: B. About 5% of total used petroleum in the U.S. goes toward plastic production. Approximately the equivalent to 330 million barrels of oil a year.
On average, how long is a plastic bag used by a person before being thrown away?
Answer: A. According to the 5 Gyres Institute, 12 minutes is the average working life of a plastic bag before it is thrown away. Globally, 1 million plastic bags are used per minute and only 1% of them are recycled. Most of them make their way to the ocean where they can take up to 20 years to decompose.
By what year do scientists predict plastic will outweigh fish in the ocean, pound for pound?
Answer: B. A report done by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation found that there are more than 150 million tons of plastic in the oceans today. That is about 1 ton of plastic for every 3 tons of fish. Keeping up current trends will have plastic outweighing fish in the ocean by 2050.
Sources: Ourworldindata.org, Earthday.org, Science.org, Science Advances Magazine
earth-day
Kurt Snibbe | Graphics
Kurt Snibbe is a visual journalist for Southern California News Group. Snibbe has won several medals in international graphics competitions and was a staff cartoonist for ESPN.com. Snibbe began with The Orange County Register in 1997, left in 2008 and returned in 2013.
ksnibbe@scng.com
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