Our Reality: Plastic Pollution
Plastic manufacturing is among the top 3 global greenhouse emitters from manufacturing, aside from cement and steel, accounting for ~12% of total CO2 in the atmosphere. 40% of all plastic made are single use. 8 million tons of plastic waste end up in the sea, that is 80% of all ocean debris: fishnets, styrofoam packaging, straws, candy wrappers, the list goes on. The most shocking number of all: by 2050, the amount of ocean plastic is estimated to surpass fish in weight.
Microplastics – smaller plastic particles <5 mm long – now can be found everywhere from Mount Everest to table salt. It’s also among the biggest threats to marine animals especially seabirds.
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One in a Million
A lone fish swimming in a sea of edible plastic – we are what we eat.
Dashi jelly, Arctic Char, Spicy Emulsion
Left: Dead Laysan Albatross chicks at Midway Atoll filled with plastic debris, by Chris Jordan; Right: Colin Sim
DID YOU KNOW
The 1.56 billion disposable face masks that entered the oceans in 2020 are just the tip of the plastic pollution iceberg. They are leaching heavy metals and nano-plastics into our environment.
WHAT WE CAN DO
• Order less takeout.
• Use less packaging.
• Do less laundry.
• Refuse all single use plastics.
• Recycle.
Other challenges we're facing: