According to Sandra Laville and Matthew Taylor of the Guardian,
"More than 480bn plastic drinking bottles were sold in 2016 across the world, up from about 300bn a decade ago. If placed end to end, they would extend more than halfway to the sun. By 2021 this will increase to 583.3bn, according to the most up-to-date estimates from Euromonitor International’s global packaging trends report."
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jun/28/a-million-a-minute-worlds-plastic-bottle-binge-as-dangerous-as-climate-change
You might say to yourself, "So what?" "How does that affect me?" Well, much of what we throw away in the form of plastic does not actually get recycled and ends up in landfill or in our lakes, rivers, seas and oceans. The danger here is that as plastic breaks down over time into micro-plastics, it is ingested by sea animals and birds and is now ending up in our food chain (in fish and shellfish)! We have seen the impact they have caused on large sea mammals such as seals and whales but the impact on human health in the long term can only be imagined!
As part of a drive to reduce our dependence on and over -consumption of plastic bottles and plastic packaging, we are asking you as parents to consider approaching your local supermarkets to urge them to go plastic-free and to avoid buying bottled water for your household. You can invest in a reusable bottle instead.
For more ideas on little things we can all do to end plastic pollution and calculate your own plastic usage, have a look at the following link:https://www.earthday.org/2018/06/08/what-you-can-do-to-end-plastic-pollution/
For more ideas on little things we can all do to end plastic pollution and calculate your own plastic usage, have a look at the following link:https://www.earthday.org/2018/06/08/what-you-can-do-to-end-plastic-pollution/
