Sustainability

Dangers of Plastic

  • Dangers of Plastic
Sustainability
  • Plastic wastes have filled our lands and polluted our oceans.
  • Malaysia is the largest importer of plastic trash with the average Malaysian using 300 plastic shopping bags a year. Asian countries make up some of the world’s top 20 polluters.

Plastic has been found in both extremes of the world:

1) HIGHEST POINT ON EARTH, MOUNT EVEREST

  • 8,848m above sea level
  • 25 tonnes of trash cleared in 2017.

Plastic in Landfills

  • One-third of all plastic waste ends up in soil or freshwater
  • Harmful chemicals in plastic can be absorbed by human bodies and disrupt hormone function

2) DEEPEST POINT ON EARTH, MARIANA TRENCH

  • 10,898m below sea level
  • More than 1,000 pieces of macroplastic, 89% were single-use products
Danger of Plastic

Photo credit: The Verge

 

Plastic in the Ocean

• Estimated 8 million metric tonnes of plastic end up in the oceans every year
• Amount of plastic in the ocean expected to triple between years 2015 to 2025
• By 2050, amount of plastic will be more than fish

Plastic takes 400 years to degrade

Estimated total of 400 billion metric tonnes produced since 1950s

6.3 billion has become waste

Only 9% of plastics in the world have been recycled

79% is in landfills or litter

Malaysia – Largest Importer of Plastic Trash

 

  • The average Malaysian uses 300 plastic shopping bags a year
  • In Denmark, the average citizen uses 4 plastic bags a year

Asia – 11 countries are among the world’s top 20 polluters

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This article first appeared in Berita Sunway Issue 64

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