Recycling – Plastic
Here are some interesting facts about plastic recycling.
Plastic:
Every hour, 2.5 million plastic bottles are thrown away in the U.S.
Between 75 and 199 million tons of plastic are currently in our oceans.
Plastic bottles take upwards of 450 years to degrade.
Approximately 36% of all plastic produced is used to create packaging, 85% of which ends up in landfills.
About 98% of single-use plastic products are made from fossil fuels.
Globally, we produce about 400 million tons of plastic waste yearly.
The US is the world’s largest plastic creator and polluter. The average person creates about 130 kilograms of plastic waste annually.
Sources:
World Economic Forum
University of Georgia Extension Office
Georgia Department of Economic Development
Recycle Coach