Plastic is everywhere — no matter what we are doing, what we are eating or what we are drinking there is plastic. From plastic containers for everyday items to plastic bottles and food packaging, this material is quite versatile. However, plastic requires proper recycling and when it is disposed of carelessly, it can be harmful to Mother Nature. Here are some facts about plastics that will take you by surprise.
- The world goes through so much plastic that we have produced more within the past 10 years than we have during the entire century.
- There is so much plastic thrown away each year to circle the globe more than four times. To put that in perspective, each American throws away 185 pounds of plastic annually.
- Of the plastic items we use, we use it just once and then throw it away. This means that we are hardly recycling any plastic at all, even though up to 100% of PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) plastic can be made from recyclable materials, which can be recycled over and over again.
- A plastic bottle manufacturing company, despite their best efforts, will only go on to create 35 million plastic bottles that end up in the trash every year.
- Plastic bags are a favorite worldwide, with almost 550 billion produced in every country around the globe.
- Plastic in the ocean is much more than just trash, it is incredibly harmful to wildlife. In fact, one million seabirds and about 100,000 marine mammals are killed every year from ingesting plastic. Not to mention that plastic can be found in 44% of all seabirds, all sea turtle species, and hundreds of species of fish.
- All of the plastic that was ever created is still around in some way, shape, or form. This is because it takes about 500- 1,000 years for plastic to break down, and even then it is never completely absorbed into the earth.
- You can find traces of plastic on 40% of the ocean’s surface.
- The production of plastic uses about 8% of the world’s oil.
- We only recycle and find about 5% of the plastic produced in the world.
If you are a plastic bottle manufacturing company that is interested in recycling options, do not hesitate to contact our professionals as soon as possible!
