Our plastic problem

The problem of plastic in nature, particularly in our oceans, is a global crisis. Every minute, about a dump-truck load of plastic goes into the oceans, sullying beaches, hurting wildlife, and contaminating our food supply.

“It’s reached this public-awareness tipping point,” says Sheila Bonini, senior vice president of private sector engagement at WWF. “Sometimes an issue can go on for a long time and nothing happens; then, suddenly, boom! The world wakes up, and we have the opportunity to drive change.”

Yet eliminating all plastic from our lives is neither feasible nor desirable. Plastic has a lot of benefits, environmental and otherwise: It keeps our food fresh so we waste less; it’s sterile; it’s durable. And, once we’re done with it, it can be turned into something new. So how can we keep these benefits while keeping plastic out of nature?

“The problem is that as a population we have continued to innovate and create new ways to use plastic—to the point that we are dependent on plastic in our everyday lives,” says Simon. Of all the plastic ever made, half was made in the past 15 years. But we don’t know what to do with all this plastic once we’re finished with it. “Today science tells us that the majority of plastic waste ending up in oceans is coming from land, specifically due to limited or nonexistent waste management,” says Simon. “You can make something 100% recyclable, but if you don’t have a recycling facility, it just ends up as trash.”

In the US, even though we collect almost 100% of the most common type of plastic, polyethylene terephthalate, or PET (your standard soda bottle), only about 30% is recycled. It gets tossed in the trash, it gets contaminated, or there aren’t recycling systems to handle it. The situation is worse in developing nations, where the global economy has brought a flood of plastic into places without adequate waste management. Best-case scenario: Whatever plastic isn’t recycled goes to a landfill. Worst case: It gets dumped into nature.