Plastic was first invented during the 19th century, but production didn’t really take off until the 1950’s. Although new regional laws have encouraged the act of recycling, 6.3 billion tons have still never made it to recycling bins. This unfortunate reality means that between 5.3 million and 14 million tons of this plastic ends up in the ocean. This plastic ends up endangering over 700 different marine species that have been shown to be directly impacted by littered plastic.

Key Takeaways:

• Plastic is necessary for life as we know it, but most of it is single-use and ends up in the ocean.
• We are lucky that plastic has only been around for a few decades, so that we can stop over-consuming it.
• No one knows how long it takes plastic to degrade, with estimates ranging from hundreds of years to never.

“Because plastic wasn’t invented until the late 19th century, and production really only took off around 1950, we have a mere 9.2 billion tons of the stuff to deal with.”

Read more: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2018/06/plastic-planet-waste-pollution-trash-crisis/