Have you ever stopped to ask, “How many plastic bags are used each year?” or “How many plastic bottles are used each day?”
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⁠According to Earthday.org, a nonprofit organization promoting global movements to protect the environment, one million plastic bottles are purchased every minute worldwide, and up to five trillion plastic bags are used annually. Most of those are designed as throwaway items.
⁠As environmental and health concerns with plastics increase, the conversations over single use plastics have surged.

⁠What are single use plastics? 

⁠As the name suggests, these plastic products are designed for one-time use only. They typically come from virgin fossil fuels, lack durability and are not readily biodegradable.
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⁠Among the single use plastics examples listed by the U.S. Environmental Protection are grocery and shopping bags, straws and utensils, food wrappers and containers, water and beverage bottles, takeaway food containers, and cups and lids
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⁠Single use plastic statistics

The growing dependency on single use plastics is highlighted below. 

o  Over 139 million metric tons of single use plastic is used worldwide per year (Recycling Magazine)
⁠o  Less than 10% of plastics are recycled globally (Associated Press)
⁠o  Approximately 2,000 garbage trucks full of plastic are dumped into the world's oceans, rivers and lakes each day (United Nations)
⁠⁠o  China, the United States and India produce the most single use plastic waste (World Population Review)
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⁠What are the problems with single use plastic?

⁠Although they are convenient, single use plastics come with significant challenges. Three of the top cited concerns are:
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⁠Environmental pollution
⁠These one-time-use products take hundreds of years to degrade, and their production and disposal are also top contributors to greenhouse gas emissions globally. Not to mention, it's estimated that 8 million tons of plastic end up in the oceans each year (Science).
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⁠Health concerns 
⁠Both people and wildlife face threats due to disposable plastics. The air pollution generated by plastics has been linked to cardiovascular problems, cancer, reproductive issues and more in humans. Similarly, plastic waste alters natural habitats for animals who often mistake it for food which may cause a build-up of microplastics that ultimately find their way to the human food chain.
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⁠Economics 
⁠According to the World Wildlife Fund, “The management of plastic waste cost more than $32 billion (U.S.), to collect, sort, dispose and recycle the huge quantities of plastic waste generated in 2019 alone." While pollution cleanup efforts are expensive, they are critical; without them, some tourism-dependent economies face a negative perception that results in a loss of income.
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⁠Single use plastic phase-out

⁠Did you know an estimated 182.5 billion plastic straws are used annually? Or that packaging, like plastic bags, is the biggest contributor to plastic waste yearly? In addition to their significant use, products like straws and bags face restrictions because they represent unnecessary and disposable items that — when made from virgin materials — can take from 200 to 500 years to breakdown.
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⁠In 2018, the European Union, UK and parts of the U.S., Australia, Canada and other countries began instituting a plastic-free straw policy. Even before the government mandates, some companies — like Starbucks and McDonald’s — began restricting use as part of their corporate sustainability policies. 
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⁠The first statewide plastic bag regulations and recycling initiatives in the United States came during the mid-2000’s in California. Proponents of the plastic bag regulations cited environmental concerns, especially along the Pacific Ocean coastline and increased infrastructure maintenance costs due to urban flooding caused by storm drains clogged with plastic bags as leading reasons to restrict use. states, “Customers cannot receive single-use plastic carryout bags from most grocery stores, retail stores with a pharmacy, convenience stores, food marts or liquor stores.” Before January 1, 2026, stores may sell bags for at least 10 cents each but may not require a customer to buy a bag. 
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⁠Since California began encouraging re-use through plastic control measures, nearly a dozen states have followed. States with plastic bag limitations include Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, Colorado and Rhode Island. While the laws in each state differ, they all claim similar reasons for enacting these measures. 
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⁠So why are plastic bags bad? And how do plastic bags affect pollution? They are interesting questions. Plastic bags and pollution are not synonyms, but they maintain a strong connection. 5 harmful effects of plastic bags are: 

1. Threats to wildlife: Animals can become caught in plastic bags or mistake them for food. 
2. Climate change: The reliance on fossil fuels to produce, transport and dispose of plastic bags results in dangerous greenhouse gases.
3. Soil damage: During degradation, bags release toxic chemicals that reduce dirt aeration and nutrient circulation, limiting crop growth and production.
4. Water contamination: Plastic bags that land in rivers, lakes and oceans skew marine ecosystems and break down into microplastics that infect the human food chain and drinking water supply.
5. Clogged drainage systems: As noted during California’s plastic control measures, drains jammed with plastic bags blog back up causing flooding (especially in urban areas) during heavy rains.
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While these are not the only concerns, they are some of the most prominent and frequently discussed.
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Protect the environment by embracing change 

Each year, billions of bags, bottles, straws and other single-use plastics are discarded with less than 10% recycled. Plastic waste reduction strategies are popular ways to address concerns and mitigate environmental damage, protect public health and build a culture of sustainability.