Embracing a Plastic-Free Lifestyle

Plastic pollution is the accumulation of plastic objects and particles (e.g. plastic bottles, bags and microbeads) in the Earth's environment that adversely affects humans, wildlife and their habitat. Plastics that act as pollutants are categorized by size into micro-, meso-, or macro debris. Plastics are inexpensive and durable, making them very adaptable for different uses; as a result, manufacturers choose to use plastic over other materials. However, the chemical structure of most plastics renders them resistant to many natural processes of degradation and as a result they are slow to degrade. Together, these two factors allow large volumes of plastic to enter the environment as mismanaged waste which persists in the ecosystem and travels throughout food webs. (USDA National Agriculture Library)

Plastic pollution can afflict land, waterways and oceans. It is estimated that 1.1 to 8.8 million tonnes of plastic waste enters the ocean from coastal communities each year. It is estimated that there is a stock of 86 million tons of plastic marine debris in the worldwide ocean as of the end of 2013, with an assumption that 1.4% of global plastics produced from 1950 to 2013 has entered the ocean and has accumulated there. Global plastic production has surged from 1.5 million tons in the 1950s to 335 million tons in 2016, resulting in environmental concerns. A significant issue arises from the inefficient treatment of 79% of plastic products, leading to their release into landfills or natural environments. (EPA Environmental Resources)

Causes

There are differing estimates of how much plastic waste has been produced in the last century. By one estimate, one billion tons of plastic waste have been discarded since the 1950s. Others estimate a cumulative human production of 8.3 billion tons of plastic, of which 6.3 billion tons is waste, with only 9% getting recycled. (University of Minnesota Extension)

It is estimated that this waste is made up of 81% polymer resin, 13% polymer fibres and 32% polymer additives. In 2018 more than 343 million tonnes of plastic waste were generated, 90% of which was composed of post-consumer plastic waste (industrial, agricultural, commercial and municipal plastic waste). The rest was pre-consumer waste from resin production and manufacturing of plastic products (e.g. materials rejected due to unsuitable colour, hardness, or processing characteristics). (Penn State Extension)

A large proportion of post-consumer plastic waste consists of plastic packaging. In the United States plastic packaging has been estimated to make up 5% of MSW. This packaging includes plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays, plastic films shopping bags, rubbish bags, bubble wrap, and plastic or stretch wrap and plastic foams e.g. expanded polystyrene (EPS). Plastic waste is generated in sectors including agriculture (e.g. irrigation pipes, greenhouse covers, fencing, pellets, plastic mulch; construction (e.g. pipes, paints, flooring and roofing, insulants and sealants); transport (e.g. abraded tyres, road surfaces and road markings); electronic and electric equipment (e-waste); and pharmaceuticals and healthcare. The total amounts of plastic waste generated by these sectors is uncertain. (USDA National Agriculture Library)

Several studies have attempted to quantify plastic leakage into the environment at both national and global levels which have highlight the difficulty of determining the sources and amounts of all plastic leakage. One global study has estimated that between 60 and 99 million tonnes of mismanaged plastic waste were produced in 2015. Borrelle et al. 2020 has estimated that 19–23 million tonnes of plastic waste entered aquatic ecosystems in 2016. while the Pew Charitable Trusts and SYSTEMIQ (2020) have estimated that 9–14 million tonnes of plastic waste ended up in the oceans the same year. (EPA Environmental Resources)

Sources of plastic pollution

Plastic pollution primarily originates from mismanaged waste, including single-use plastics such as packaging, bottles, and bags. Poor waste collection systems and littering contribute significantly to the accumulation of plastic in natural environments. (University of Minnesota Extension)

Types of plastic debris

There are three major forms of plastic that contribute to plastic pollution: micro-, macro-, and mega-plastics. Mega- and micro plastics have accumulated in highest densities in the Northern Hemisphere, concentrated around urban centers and water fronts. Plastic can be found off the coast of some islands because of currents carrying the debris. Both mega- and macro-plastics are found in packaging, footwear, and other domestic items that have been washed off of ships or discarded in landfills. Fishing-related items are more likely to be found around remote islands. These may also be referred to as micro-, meso-, and macro debris. (Penn State Extension)

Plastic debris is categorized as either primary or secondary. Primary plastics are in their original form when collected. Examples of these would be bottle caps, cigarette butts, and microbeads. Secondary plastics, on the other hand, account for smaller plastics that have resulted from the degradation of primary plastics. (USDA National Agriculture Library)

Microdebris are plastic pieces between 2 mm and 5 mm in size. Plastic debris that starts off as meso- or macrodebris can become microdebris through degradation and collisions that break it down into smaller pieces. Microdebris is more commonly referred to as nurdles. Nurdles are recycled to make new plastic items, but they easily end up released into the environment during production because of their small size. They often end up in ocean waters through rivers and streams. Microdebris that come from cleaning and cosmetic products are also referred to as scrubbers. Because microdebris and scrubbers are so small in size, filter-feeding organisms often consume them. (EPA Environmental Resources)

Nurdles enter the ocean by means of spills during transportation or from land based sources. The Ocean Conservancy reported that China, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam dump more plastic in the sea than all other countries combined. It is estimated that 10% of the plastics in the ocean are nurdles, making them one of the most common types of plastic pollution, along with plastic bags and food containers. These micro-plastics can accumulate in the oceans and allow for the accumulation of Persistent Bio-accumulating Toxins such as bisphenol A, polystyrene, DDT, and PCB's which are hydrophobic in nature and can cause adverse health affects. (University of Minnesota Extension)

Plastic production

9.2 billion tonnes of plastic are estimated to have been made between 1950 and 2017. More than half this plastic has been produced since 2004. Of all the plastic discarded so far, 14% has been incinerated and less than 10% has been recycled. (Penn State Extension)

Plastics themselves contribute to approximately 10% of discarded waste. Many kinds of plastics exist depending on their precursors and the method for their polymerization. Depending on their chemical composition, plastics and resins have varying properties related to contaminant absorption and adsorption. Polymer degradation takes much longer as a result of saline environments and the cooling effect of the sea. These factors contribute to the persistence of plastic debris in certain environments. Recent studies have shown that plastics in the ocean decompose faster than was once thought, due to exposure to sun, rain, and other environmental conditions, resulting in the release of toxic chemicals such as bisphenol A. However, due to the increased volume of plastics in the ocean, decomposition has slowed down. The Ocean Conservancy has predicted the decomposition rates of several plastic products. It is estimated that a foam plastic cup will take 50 years, a plastic beverage holder will take 400 years, a disposable nappy will take 450 years, and fishing line will take 600 years to degrade. (USDA National Agriculture Library)

It was estimated that global production of plastics is approximately 250 Mt per year. Their abundance has been found to transport persistent organic pollutants, also known as POPs. These pollutants have been linked to an increased distribution of algae associated with red tides. (EPA Environmental Resources)

In 2019, the group Break Free From Plastic organized over 70,000 volunteers in 51 countries to collect and identify plastic waste. These volunteers collected over "59,000 plastic bags, 53,000 sachets and 29,000 plastic bottles," as reported by The Guardian. Nearly half of the items were identifiable by consumer brands. The most common brands were Coca-Cola, Nestlé, and Pepsico. According to the global campaign coordinator for the project Emma Priestland in 2020, the only way to solve the problem is stopping production of single use plastic and using reusable products instead. (University of Minnesota Extension)

Major plastic waste generator and polluter countries

The United States is the world leader in generating plastic waste, producing an annual 42 million metric tons of plastic waste. Per capita generation of plastic waste in the United States is higher than in any other country, with the average American producing 130.09 kilograms of plastic waste per year. Other high-income countries, such as those of the EU-28 (annual per capita generation 58.56 kg), also have a high per capita plastic waste generation rate. Some high-income countries, such as Japan (annual per capital generation 38.44 kg), produce far less plastic waste per capita. (Penn State Extension)

The United States National Academy of Sciences estimated in 2022 that the worldwide entry of plastic into the ocean was 8 million metric tons of plastic per year. A 2021 study by The Ocean Cleanup estimated that rivers convey between 0.8 and 2.7 million metric tons of plastic into the ocean, and ranked these river's countries. The top ten were, from the most to the least: Philippines, India, Malaysia, China, Indonesia, Myanmar, Brazil, Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Thailand. (USDA National Agriculture Library)

In 2018 approximately 513 million tonnes of plastics wind up in the oceans every year out of which the 83,1% is from the following 20 countries: China is the most mismanaged plastic waste polluter leaving in the sea the 27.7% of the world total, second Indonesia with the 10.1%, third Philippines with 5.9%, fourth Vietnam with 5.8%, fifth Sri Lanka 5.0%, sixth Thailand with 3.2%, seventh Egypt with 3.0%, eighth Malaysia with 2.9%, ninth Nigeria with 2.7%, tenth Bangladesh with 2.5%, eleventh South Africa with 2.0%, twelfth India with 1.9%, thirteenth Algeria with 1.6%, fourteenth Turkey with 1.5%, fifteenth Pakistan with 1.5%, sixteenth Brazil with 1.5%, seventeenth Myanmar with 1.4%, eighteenth Morocco with 1.0%, nineteenth North Korea with 1.0%, twentieth United States with 0.9%. The rest of world's countries combined wind up the 16.9% of the mismanaged plastic waste in the oceans, according to a study published by Science in 2015. (EPA Environmental Resources)

In 2020, a study revised the potential 2016 U.S. contribution to mismanaged plastic; It estimated that U.S.-generated plastic might place the U.S. behind Indonesia and India in oceanic pollution, or it might place the U.S. behind Indonesia, India, Thailand, China, Brazil, Philippines, Egypt, Japan, Russia, and Vietnam. In 2022, it was estimated all OECD countries (North America, Chile, Colombia, Europe, Israel, Japan, S. Korea) may contribute 5% of oceanic plastic pollution, with the rest of the world polluting 95%. Since 2016 China ceased importing plastics for recycling and since 2019 international treaties signed by 187 countries restricted the export of plastics for recycling. (University of Minnesota Extension)

Effects

The distribution of plastic debris is highly variable as a result of certain factors such as wind and ocean currents, coastline geography, urban areas, and trade routes. Human population in certain areas also plays a large role in this. Plastics are more likely to be found in enclosed regions such as the Caribbean. It serves as a means of distribution of organisms to remote coasts that are not their native environments. This could potentially increase the variability and dispersal of organisms in specific areas that are less biologically diverse. Plastics can also be used as vectors for chemical contaminants such as persistent organic pollutants and heavy metals. (Penn State Extension)

Plastic pollution has also greatly negatively affected our environment. "The pollution is significant and widespread, with plastic debris found on even the most remote coastal areas and in every marine habitat". This information tells us about how much of a consequential change plastic pollution has made on the ocean and even the coasts. (USDA National Agriculture Library)

In January 2022 a group of scientists defined a planetary boundary for "novel entities" (pollution, including plastic pollution) and found it has already been exceeded. According to co-author Patricia Villarubia-Gómez from the Stockholm Resilience Centre, "There has been a 50-fold increase in the production of chemicals since 1950. This is projected to triple again by 2050". There are at least 350,000 artificial chemicals in the world. They have mostly "negative effects on planetary health". Plastic alone contain more than 10,000 chemicals and create large problems. The researchers are calling for limit on chemical production and shift to circular economy, meaning to products that can be reused and recycled. (EPA Environmental Resources)

The problem of ocean plastic debris is ubiquitous. It is estimated that 1.5–4% of global plastics production ends up in the oceans every year, mainly as a result of poor waste management infrastructure and practices combined with irresponsible attitudes to the use and disposal of plastics. The weathering of plastic debris causes its fragmentation into particles that even small marine invertebrates may ingest hence contaminating the food chain. Their small size renders them untraceable to their source and extremely difficult to remove from open ocean environments. In the marine environment, plastic pollution causes "Entanglement, toxicological effects via ingestion of plastics, suffocation, starvation, dispersal, and rafting of organisms, provision of new habitats, and introduction of invasive species are significant ecological effects with growing threats to biodiversity and trophic relationships. Degradation (changes in the ecosystem state) and modifications of marine systems are associated with loss of ecosystem services and values. Consequently, this emerging contaminant affects the socio-economic aspects through negative impacts on tourism, fishery, shipping, and human health". (University of Minnesota Extension)

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most important thing to know about Plastic pollution?

The most important factor is starting with an honest assessment of your current situation and available resources. Effective implementation depends on matching the approach to your specific context — climate, scale, community, and goals all matter. (Penn State Extension)

Conclusion

Embracing a Plastic-Free Lifestyle represents an important dimension of the larger shift toward sustainable, ecologically grounded ways of living. Whether you are just beginning or deepening existing practice, the resources and knowledge are increasingly accessible. The steps taken today — however modest — contribute to a compounding body of change that matters both locally and globally. (USDA National Agriculture Library)

Additional reference: Wikipedia — Plastic pollution