Unfortunately, this is not a clickbait statistic, carefully crafted to entice you to click on this blog. Whilst plastic is historically only around 100 years old, it will continue to live on this earth long beyond any of us or our children. In reality, it takes 1000 years for a single piece of plastic to fully decompose in our landfills.
We have become wholly dependent on the material, using it for everything from toothbrushes to cosmetics to food packaging, even electronics and the automotive industry. It has totally engulfed the world as we know it.
A big reason for the influx in plastic usage across the world involves looking back a few years. Greenpeace attribute the blame to both World Wars which saw the production of plastic grow by four times. However, this has increased more than tenfold since 1950. In that year, the world’s population of 2.5 billion produced 1.5 million tons of plastic; in 2016, a global population of more than 7 billion people produced over 320 million tons of plastic. This is set to double by 2034.
A little known fact is that plastic does not actually “break down” as you would imagine. Plastic breaks into hundreds of smaller pieces, damaging the earth and causing plastic pollution. The “plastic pollution”often referred to that ends up in the ocean releases toxins that poison fish and marine life.
However, it’s important to remember that ALL plastic causes damage to the environment. From the impact of extracting fossil fuels to produce plastic, to the health effects of the toxins when it is burned.
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, there really is no Planet B. Every plastic straw you refuse or the more you bring your own bags to the supermarket, you can considerably reduce the amount of plastic pollution that is destroying our planet daily.
It is your responsibility to be a conscious consumer, for the sake of our children who will see the world destroyed before their eyes. When considering sustainable and plastic free beauty products, just a few suggestions might be swapping for an environmentally friendly toothbrush, plastic-free haircare or even eco friendly glitter!
There are endless ways you can buy more environmentally responsible products, with companies beginning to really take notice of the damage they are causing the planet. For all the information on what you can do to help reduce the use of plastic in your life follow us on Instagram @plasticfreebeautyday or check out some more blogs!
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