QUICK FACTS ON PLASTIC POLLUTION

In just 25 years, our consumption rate of plastic bags has grown from almost zero to our use of over 500,000,000,000 (that’s 500 billion) plastic bags annually … almost 1 million per minute.

• According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. goes through 100 billion plastic shopping bags  annually. An estimated 12 million barrels of oil is required to make that many plastic bags.

• Four out of five grocery bags in the US are now plastic.

• Plastic bags cause hundreds of thousands of birds, sea turtle and other marine animal deaths every year because these creatures  mistake plastic trash for food.

• Countries like China, Ireland, Australia, Bangladesh have banned or have placed restrictions on  single use plastic bags.

• Taiwan banned plastic bag and plastic utensils as a way to reduce  60,000 metric tons of waste per year they deal with each year

• According to the BBC, only 1 in 200 plastic bags in the UK are recycled.  Our record in the US  isn’t any better.
  

• Target, the second-largest retailer in the U.S.  purchases 1.8 billion bags a year. They just announced  a new program to give consumers a nickel back for each reusable bag they bring into their stores when they shop.

• Target (Australia) completely banned single use plastic bags in their stores in 2008.

• The average family accumulates 60 plastic bags in only four trips to the grocery store.

• Each high quality reusable bag you use has the potential to eliminate an average of 1,000 plastic bags over its lifetime.

• Americans use 2.5 million plastic bottles every HOUR..  Each of us creates 1,500 lbs of trash every year that has to be disposed of that could be recycled with a little effort.

Now you know … time to pitch in and do your part!
Remember every piece of plastic ever produced and not recycled still exists!