Environmental impact

Yet for all their advantages, plastics have a considerable downside in terms of their environmental impact.

• Plastics production requires large amounts of resources, primarily fossil fuels.
• 8% of the world’s annual oil production is consumed in the production of plastics.
• Plastics manufacture requires other resources such as land and water and produces waste and emissions.
• Potentially harmful chemicals are added as stabilizers or colorants. Many of these have not undergone environmental risk assessment and their impact on human health and the environment is currently uncertain.
• ocean soup is 2x USA – the swirling debris of plastic trash in the Pacific Ocean has now grown to a size that is twice as large as the continental U.S.
• In 2006, 11.5 million tons of plastics were wasted in landfill.

The disposal of plastic products also contributes significantly to their environmental impact. Most plastics are non-degradable and they take a long time – estimated at centuries – to break down in landfill. And the landfill space required is a growing concern.
Plastic waste also has a detrimental impact on wildlife. Plastic waste in the oceans is estimated to cause the deaths of more than a million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals every year (UN Environment Programme estimate).