This Sad Image Reveals the Extent of Our Trash Problem … and the Animals Who Are Affected

We humans have a serious trash problem. The plastic waste we produce, in particular, is

highly problematic. 300 million tons of plastic are produced every year, but only 15 percent is recycled. This stands in stark comparison to the 88 percent recycling rate for steel, and the 63 percent rate for paper. Part of the problem is that plastic does not biodegrade easily. In fact, it can remain intact for up to a thousand years, before finally breaking down into countless, minuscule microplastic fragments. Therefore, it never truly “disappears” – which is an alarming prospect, considering that we only use items such as plastic cups, drinking straws, and cutlery for a few minutes, at most.

It is so easy for us to throw our trash away without a thought as to where it might end up. However, the sobering reality is that the plastic waste we generate takes an enormous toll on the world around us. For example, 8.8 million tons of plastic make their way into the world’s oceans every year. An estimated 80 percent of this comes from land-based sources. The ingestion of plastic kills around 1 million seabirds and 100,000 marine animalseach year, while turtles are now estimated to be consuming twice as much plastic as they were 25 years ago. A number of “trash islands” now exist in our oceans, the most well-known of which is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch … that has already grown twice as large as the entire state of Texas. All in all, 700 marine species are at risk of extinction due to the risk of ingesting or becoming entangled in our plastic waste.

Land animals are adversely affected by our trash too. A shocking photograph recently emerged of a polar bear being forced to live on a mountain of trash, showing that our waste has officially reached even the remote Arctic regions of our planet. Plastic bags, cups, food wrappers, and other items can cause animals to die of starvation or suffocation when they are accidentally ingested. Intestinal blockages caused by plastic have been increasingly observed in both wild and domestic animals.

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