© WWF / Yunaidi Joepoet
Nope—the correct answer is 1 million.
Plastic pollution is an escalating environmental, economic, and social crisis. It’s choking our planet, polluting the air, water, and soil that people and nature need to survive.
Since 1950, 75% of all plastic produced has become waste, most of which ends up being discarded into the environment, including the ocean. Single-use plastics are the largest ocean plastic pollution category by weight, representing 70% of plastic pollution found in coastal cleanups.
This has a significant impact on wildlife, as animals become entangled in it or ingest it. Incineration and open burning of plastic waste release pollution into the air and soil, and plastic litter can block waterways and drains, causing flooding and increasing the risk of disease.
Plastic production has more than doubled in the past 20 years. In the US alone, it is estimated that the annual volume of plastic waste produced is over 42 million metric tons—only 9% of which is recycled.
WWF is leading the charge to help reimagine how we reduce, source, design, and reuse the plastic materials that people use and depend upon. This includes eliminating the single-use plastic that we don’t need, shifting to sustainable sources for the plastic that we do need, and improving our material system to collect, reuse, recycle, and compost all plastic that we use.
Find out how WWF is fighting for a world with no plastic in nature—and how you can help.
