- By the year 2050, there will be more plastic by weight in the ocean than fish. 44% of ocean plastics are linked to takeout food.
- Greenhouse gas emissions from the plastic production, use, and disposal threaten the ability of the global community to keep global temperature rise below 1.5°C.
- Additives such as BPA, cadmium or lead, PFAS, and phthalates can alter our hormones, and have been linked to cancers, heart problems, obesity and diabetes, birth defects, and impacts to the reproductive, immune and nervous systems.
- According to a 2018 study, 40% of black plastic products, including takeout containers, contained heavy metals such as cadmium, mercury, and lead.
- When food is placed in plastic, including in takeout containers, micro plastics and chemical additives leech into the food. This is made worse if the food is hot or is heated.
- 79% of plastic that has ever been made still sits in landfills or the natural environment. The toxic ash created through incinerators must still be placed in special landfills.
We must all work together toward the solution.
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1. https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-new-plastics-economy-rethinking-the-future-of-plastics
2. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Plastic-and-Climate-Executive-Summary-2019.pdf
3. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Plastic-and-Health-The-Hidden-Costs-of-a-Plastic-
Planet-February-2019.pdf
4. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0160412018302125?via%3Dihub
5. https://www.ecowatch.com/plastic-container-health-risk-2653620879.html
6. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.1700782
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