THE PLASTIC CRISIS

Plastics are a ubiquitous sign of modern convenience. We come into contact with plastic over 150 times a day. We use so much plastic in fact, that globally, we have produced the equivalent weight of 1 billion elephants worth of plastic. On average a UK family throws away 40kg in plastic waste every year. So why is it so urgent to reduce our plastic consumption?

"Plastic is everywhere. From our local coasts to the remote Arctic, it is choking our oceans and killing wildlife. 8 million tonnes are dumped into our seas every year – killing turtles, fish, whales and birds."

WWF

Plastic vs Environment

Because plastic takes a very long time to breakdown (up to 1000 years), all of humanities plastic waste has built up in our environment. Eight million tonnes of plastic enter our oceans each year, choking and poisoning millions of birds, mammals, fish and all other forms of life that humanity relies upon. This is equivalent people lining up shoulder to shoulder along every coastline in the world and throwing in a rubbish bag full of plastic into the sea - each year.

Recent studies have revealed marine plastic pollution has now been found in 100% of marine turtles, 59% of whales, 36% of seals and 40% of seabird species examined. This is expected to get worse - with more plastic than fish by weight estimated to become reality by 2050.

Asides from the killing our wildlife and leaching harmful chemicals into our bodies, plastic also has many other drawbacks. Plastic worldwide is almost entirely made from oil - a fossil fuel. Through buying plastic we directly increase our demand for more oil - over the past century the insatiable quest for oil has led to horrific wars, environmental destruction and the gross violation of human rights.

Plastic vs Your Health

A huge number of scientific studies show that we are being continuously exposed to dangerous chemicals from plastics every day which is contributing to a range of health issues. This is because virtually all our plastic products contain a huge amount of chemical additives such as pigments, stabilizers, plasticizers, lubricants, fragrances, flame retardants, antibacterials and many more.

These additives are fantastic at giving plastic unique properties such as strength or durability. Sadly, they have also been observed to leach out of the plastic into the air we breathe, the food we eat and even our skin increasing our chances of cancer, birth defects, impaired immunity, endocrine disruption and developmental and reproductive effects.

Get involved

We are a newly formed diverse team of enthusiastic plastic free pioneers. Our movement is growing fast and we would love for you to join us making Glasgow a global example of how cities can go plastic free.

If you want to get involved , get in touch with us.

Please check our next events!