On average people could be ingesting around 5
grams of plastic every week, which is the equivalent weight of a credit card.
Our study suggests people could be consuming on average over 100,000
microplastics every year. That’s approximately 21 grams a month, just over 250
grams a year.
Eight million tonnes of plastic ends up in the
ocean every year. They break down into tiny bits called microplastics, small
enough to enter our food chain, along with other types of microplastics like
those that are released when we wash our clothes.
5 grams a week sounds crazy. How did
you calculate this?
There have been multiple reports in the media on the
microplastics we are ingesting – through our food (shellfish, honey and salt), our
drinks (bottled water, tap water and beer), and even the air. We worked with the
University of Newcastle in Australia to calculate the approximate weight of the
average amount of microplastics that these studies demonstrate we are ingesting.
More information on the methodology is available here.
Is this damaging to my health?
The truth is, we don’t know. We know that plastics
are doing irreparable harm to wildlife, but scientists have only just started
looking at what it’s doing to human health. Can we say, categorically, that this is
causing impacts on our health? No. Does that mean we can rest easy? Absolutely not.
After all, you wouldn’t choose to chow down on an actual credit card, right?
How do we really solve this problem?
While saying ‘no’ to straws and bringing along a
reusable bag are great first steps, which you absolutely must do, it’s governments
and business who need to solve this. At WWF we want governments around the world
over to sign a global legally binding treaty to streamline how we use and dispose of
plastics. Business should play an important role here too – for example, by changing
their production and product design models to allow for re-use of plastic rather
than immediate disposal.
Plastic is not inherently bad; it is a man-made invention
that has generated significant benefits for society, and even in some cases, the
environment. Unfortunately, the way industry and governments have managed plastics
and the way society has converted it into a disposable and single use commodity
transformed this innovation into a planetary disaster. The way we use and dispose of
plastics must change for the sake of not just the environment – but also our
economy.
What can I do as an
individual?
Make sure your voice is heard. Tell everyone from your
government leaders to the owners of the businesses you frequent that you want them
to solve this.
For
now, if you want to be a part of our community of campaigners working to tackle this
problem, join us here. Governments and
businesses can’t ignore hundreds of millions of voices.
Tell me more about what
governments can do.
Governments the world over fall too easily into blaming
either businesses (‘they are using the plastic so they need to fix this mess’) or
consumers (‘they are buying the plastic products so they need to fix this mess’) for
this crisis.
Let’s
break this circle of denial and all accept our role in the problem. WWF is sending a
clear message to governments worldwide – the only way we can change this broken
system is to endorse a global legally binding treaty on tackling plastics. The
existing legal framework covering marine plastic pollution is fragmented and
ineffective, and does not provide the tools necessary for an effective global
response to the problem. This issue cannot be solved on a national or regional
level, or through non-binding, voluntary measures alone. It requires coordinated
international action, shared responsibility and a common approach.
WWF is calling on
states to begin negotiations, as soon as possible, on a new international legally
binding agreement to tackle marine plastic pollution.
Tell me more about what
businesses can do.
Plastic is a cost effective, useful and flexible material
which, when used properly, can actually have a positive overall environmental
impact. But our current systems of production don’t use plastics properly. We see
plastic as a cheap, single-use, disposable product – which is crazy, because plastic
by its very nature is not disposable. It lasts for hundreds of years.
It’s currently often
cheaper for businesses to buy brand new virgin plastic (made, by the way, from oil)
rather than buy recycled plastic. This system is broken. Businesses should play a
part by ensuring that their production models reward the reuse of plastic rather
than the constant use and immediate disposal of virgin plastic. They can stop
wilfully participating in the endless circle of denial that sees businesses claim
it’s solely a waste management problem (i.e. “it’s not our fault that local
governments don’t recycle”) and instead take proactive responsibility for the
materials they use.
Tell the brands and businesses you support that it’s
time to change the way they use plastic.
