This is your fair warning – the following information is all bad news. I for one find it overwhelming – if I’m not also keeping in mind all the ways we can turn it around!
Please save and check out this article for afterwards: The many solutions to the plastic crisis
It can seem as if Planet Earth is choking on plastic.
Plastic pollution is a huge problem because of the mass production of single-use plastic products. Plastic is everywhere in our environment, and the companies creating it aren’t slowing down.
Some plastic is necessary, of course, for industrial and medical purposes.
Yet, over the last 70 years, 8.3 billion metric tonnes of plastic have been produced globally. Around half of the production is of plastic products designed to be thrown away after a single use.
What’s worse, currently, the production of plastic is ever-increasing. The plastic conveyor belt spews out 400m tonnes of waste every year. This includes a million plastic bottles every minute and one billion sold in Aotearoa every year.
If you’re ready – here are the six key problems of so much plastic pollution.
1. What are microplastics and why are they bad?
Microplastics are tiny plastic particles made up of common polymers such as polyethylene. Microplastics form when larger plastic objects, such as the plastic waste that we see in the street, break down over time.
Microplastics can wash off any item that contains synthetic materials, such as fast fashion clothes or car tyres. Plastic products are often unnoticed and are in all areas of our lives.
When plastic products break into tiny microplastics, they become hazardous materials. They release their chemical additives into natural systems, with a wide range of harmful impacts.
2. Plastics and the risk to human health
Because plastic particles are everywhere in our natural systems, we’ve reached the point where plastic is in all of us. We may digest up to five grams of microplastics each week.
Waste particles in soil and freshwater pose significant risks to the food chain on which we depend. Breathing plastic particles in the atmosphere is an exposure risk to humans.
Microplastics have been discovered in human blood and placentas. One study in 2024 found the most common plastic detected was polyethylene, which is used to make plastic bags and bottles.
Chemicals in plastics can stay in the body for a long time. Chemicals associated with plastics are linked to many health concerns.
We don’t know the full extent of what microplastics are doing to us and our health. As plastic pollution is such a modern phenomenon we may not learn the true harm of plastic on us for decades.
3. The injustice of plastic waste
Plastic contamination and disposal affect people in some communities much more than others.
Families who live, work or study close to a chemical factory, landfill site, or refinery are at increased health risks. People in poorer communities and people of colour predominantly face increased health risks.
Lack of compliance in some countries can lead to illegal burning in the open air and emitting toxic fumes.
“Please keep your rubbish to yourself. Please recycle all your waste in your country.”
– Pua Lay Peng, Malaysian activist
4. Plastic harms wildlife
Plastic pollution is devastating for wildlife. Our Greenpeace call for a ban on single-use plastic bottles was prompted by the tragic death of a majestic toroa (Royal Southern Albatross). The toroa died due to complications from swallowing a whole plastic bottle.
It’s been found that up to 9 of 10 seabirds, 1 in 3 sea turtles, and more than half of whale and dolphin species have swallowed plastic. 7 out of 8 of New Zealand’s most commonly caught fish have been shown to have eaten plastics.
The consequences of plastic pollution for wild animals are alarming. When marine creatures like toroa swallow plastic bags, bottle caps, and other plastic fragments, it leads to harm and death. Entanglement, habitat degradation, and chemical contamination all lead to the death of wildlife.
Commercial fishing also causes hazards for wildlife by discarding fishing nets. Plastic ropes and packaging materials can trap wildlife such as seabirds, seals and sea turtles, resulting in injuries.
5. Plastic in the oceans
Millions of tonnes of plastics enter the ocean each year. A lot of it comes from the world’s rivers, which act like direct pathways of plastic debris into the ocean.
It’s estimated that 94% of plastic entering the oceans ends up on the seafloor, 1% of marine plastics are found floating, and 5% end up on beaches. These plastic items break down, creating trillions of plastic particles in the seas.
As plastic waste accumulates in ecosystems, it disrupts the natural balance of marine habitats.
Coral reefs, for instance, are critical marine ecosystems that suffer from plastic pollution. When plastic debris smothers corals, it prevents them from receiving essential sunlight. This stifles their growth, weakening the entire ecosystem that relies on them.
‘Ghost’ fishing gear litters underwater habitats such as ecologically rich seamounts (underwater mountains). This gear is discarded or lost, much of it made of plastic.
6. Plastic is a climate problem
Not only do the plastics and packaging industry want plastic production to triple by 2050, but so does the oil industry. This is because 99% of plastic is made from oil and gas.
Yes, plastic is oil. The same companies that drill for oil, frack gas, and mine coal are behind the creation of plastics. Plastic pollution is also a cause of the climate crisis.
Every stage in the making of new plastic releases emissions into the environment.
By drastically reducing plastic production, we can give our planet a chance to be warmer.
The Pacific Environment Coalition has recommended cutting plastic production by 75% by 2050 to keep warming to 1.5C.
Let’s end the era of plastic!
For a global problem, we need a global solution. In November 2022, Aotearoa joined the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution.
Members of the High Ambition Coalition share a common vision to end plastic pollution by 2040.
We can all get behind ambitious, legally binding international agreements to limit the production of plastic.
Call on the NZ Government to stand firm and support a strong global plastics treaty.
Take Action