Plastic Pollution Basics

In the 1900’s, fossil fuel companies began using molecules from oil and natural gas to make synthetic polymers, aka, plastics.  Over the decades, chemists developed many different kinds of plastics, from  Bakelite, to nylon, to polyethylene. They quickly realized that they could change the look, feel, and function of plastics by adding other chemicals to the mixture, called additives.  Plastics started being used across industries, and were used to make many new consumer products. [1]

The companies that make plastics don’t have a lot of rules to follow.  They are allowed to make as much plastic as they want, even though much of what they make will end up in landfills and in the environment.  Between 1950 and 2015, 8.3 billion tons of plastics have been produced but researchers have estimated that only about 9% of it has been through a recycling process [2]. The amount of plastic produced annually continues to increase year to year.

Plastics threaten human and planetary health in many ways, beginning with the manufacturing of plastics from fossil fuel [3]. During our daily contact with plastics products we can be exposed to the often–hazardous additives in them [4]. Then, when plastic waste is dumped or landfilled it builds up in ever larger piles. Lots of plastic waste gets incinerated (burned) releasing harmful chemicals and creating hazardous ash [4]. Lots of plastic also gets lost to the environment. Because most plastics don’t biodegrade, they build up and break up into microplastics that get into the water, air, soil, and living organisms [4].

A global movement of people working to stop plastic pollution is growing bigger and stronger every day. Citizens, scientists, politicians, businesses, educators, and, of course, youth across the globe are teaming up to change their communities. Join us!