We’re in a state of emergency right now. We are addicted to plastic. Plastic is produced from fossil fuels (oil). Plastic itself is toxic to us and the environment because it is made with BPA, a carcinogenic chemical. Normally, plastic objects can decompose in landfills for up to 1000 years. However, plastic bags that we use in our everyday lives decay 10-1000 years, while plastic bottles take 450 years or more. The production of disposable plastics not only pollutes air and water, but also wastes oil and our planet’s resources. (read more)

We don’t have enough oil to waste on making disposable plastics. Most of them end up in the ocean and are degraded into microplastic so that fish can eat them. Plastic is not biodegradable. When the plastic gets into the environment, it decomposes into smaller pieces that become microplastics. Through the rain and our rivers, it reaches our groundwater, which we drink. A single microsphere can be up to a million times more toxic than the water around it.
Plastic does more than pollute the earth’s soil and water, it does pollute the air. According to a study published in PLOS One on August 1, scientists at the University of Hawaii found that plastic can release methane and ethylene when exposed to sunlight. Methane and ethylene are greenhouse gases that can adversely affect the environment and our organisms.