According to the Washington Post, each American trashes the equivalent of 100 plastic water bottles annually. The United States Population has grown 60% since 1960 but our trash grew 200%.

Of the 268 million tons of trash generated by Americans in 2017, a third was recycled or composted.

Jan Dell, an engineer and founder of the Last Beach Cleanup used that figure to calculate the 100 bottles per person fact. Dell said the “most sane way” to deal with the problem is to use less plastic and stop the problem at the source.

Because of recycling industry crises, separating recycling from plastic is not viable. We must stop using so much plastic and put plastic on the industry to reduce their production. Beach cleanups are collecting millions of pounds of plastic from trash and rivers. The majority of items thrown away contain plastic.

Read more about plastic in One Green Planet. Check out these articles:

• Landmark Bill, Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act of 2020, Aiming to Control Plastic Crisis Hits Congress
• New York City Isn’t Doing Great When it Comes to Recycling, Here’s Why and How You Can Help!
• These 5 Marine Animals Are Dying Because of Our Plastic Trash … Here’s How We Can Help
• We’re Being Deceived by Major U.S. Companies Using Misleading Recyclable Labels on Hundreds of Plastic Products that Go Straight into Landfills, Oceans or Incinerators!

There are products you may be using or habits you may have that contribute to plastic Pollution. Learn more about how the use of Teabags, Cotton Swabs, Laundry, Contact Lenses, Glitter and Sheet Masks pollute our oceans so you can make more informed decisions going forward. There are also numerous simple actions and switches that can help cut plastic out of our lives including, making your own cosmetics, shampoo, toothpaste, soap, household cleaners, using mason jars, reusable bags/bottles/straws, and avoiding microbeads!

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