# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
We've detected unusual activity from your computer network

To continue, please click the box below to let us know you're not a robot.

Why did this happen?

Please make sure your browser supports JavaScript and cookies and that you are not blocking them from loading. For more information you can review our Terms of Service and Cookie Policy.

Need Help?

For inquiries related to this message please contact our support team and provide the reference ID below.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Much of the planet is swimming in discarded plastic, which is harming animal and possibly human health. Can it be cleaned up?

Image

Children Play among Plastic

While plastic pollution is a worldwide problem it is most obvious in less-wealthy African and Asian nations, like the Philippines. Here, children play among plastic waste on the shore of Manila Bay.

Photograph by Randy Olson

Plastic pollution has become one of the most pressing environmental issues, as rapidly increasing production of disposable plastic products overwhelms the world's ability to deal with them. Plastic pollution is most visible in less-wealthy Asian and African nations, where garbage collection systems are often inefficient or nonexistent. But wealthy nations, especially those with low recycling rates, also have trouble properly collecting discarded plastics. Plastic trash has become so ubiquitous it has prompted efforts to write a global treaty negotiated by the United Nations.

How Did this Happen?

Plastics made from fossil fuels are just over a century old. Production and development of thousands of new plastic products accelerated after World War II to the extent that life without plastics would be unimaginable today. Plastics revolutionized medicine with life-saving devices, made space travel possible, lightened cars and jets-saving fuel and lessening pollution-and saved lives with helmets, incubators, and equipment for clean drinking water.

The conveniences plastics offer, however, led to a throw-away culture that reveals the material's dark side: Today, single-use plastics account for 40 percent of the plastic produced every year. Many of these products, such as plastic bags and food wrappers, are used for mere minutes to hours, yet they may persist in the environment for hundreds of years.

Plastics by the Numbers

Some key facts:

Half of all plastics ever manufactured have been made in the last 15 years.

Production increased exponentially, from 2.3 million tons in 1950 to 448 million tons by 2015. Production is expected to double by 2050.

Every year, about 8 million tons of plastic waste escapes into the oceans from coastal nations. That's the equivalent of setting five garbage bags full of trash on every foot of coastline around the world.

Plastics often contain additives making them stronger, more flexible, and durable. But many of these additives can extend the life of products if they become litter, with some estimates ranging to at least 400 years to break down.

How Plastics Move around the World

Most of the plastic trash in the oceans, Earth's last sink, flows from land. Trash is also carried to sea by major rivers, which act as conveyor belts, picking up more and more trash as they move downstream. Once at sea, much of the plastic trash remains in coastal waters. But once caught up in ocean currents, it can be transported around the world.

On Henderson Island, an uninhabited atoll in the Pitcairn Group isolated halfway between Chile and New Zealand, scientists found plastic items from Russia, the United States, Europe, South America, Japan, and China. They were carried to the South Pacific by the South Pacific gyre, a circular ocean current.

Once at sea, sunlight, wind, and wave action break down plastic waste into small particles, often less than half a centimer (one-fifth of an inch) across. These so-called microplastics are spread throughout the Microplastics water column and have been found in every corner of the globe, from Mount Everest, the highest peak, to the Mariana Trench, the deepest trough.

Microplastics are breaking down further into smaller and smaller pieces. Plastic microfibers (or the even smaller nanofibers), meanwhile, have been found in municipal drinking water systems and drifting through the air.

Harm to Wildlife

Millions of animals are killed by plastics every year, from birds to fish to other marine organisms. Nearly 700 species, including endangered ones, are known to have been affected by plastics. Nearly every species of seabird eats plastics.

Most of the deaths to animals are caused by entanglement or starvation. Seals, whales, turtles, and other animals are strangled by abandoned fishing gear or discarded six-pack rings. Microplastics have been found in more than 100 aquatic species, including fish, shrimp, and mussels destined for our dinner plates. In many cases, these tiny bits pass through the digestive system and are expelled without consequence. But plastics have also been found to have blocked digestive tracts or pierced organs, causing death. Stomachs so packed with plastics reduce the urge to eat, causing starvation.

Plastics have been consumed by land-based animals, including elephants, hyenas, zebras, tigers, camels, cattle, and other large mammals, in some cases causing death.

Tests have also confirmed liver and cell damage and disruptions to reproductive systems, prompting some species, such as oysters, to produce fewer eggs. New research shows that larval fish are eating nanofibers in the first days of life, raising new questions about the effects of plastics on fish populations.

Stemming the Plastic Tide

Once in the ocean, it is difficult-if not impossible-to retrieve plastic waste. Mechanical systems, such as Mr. Trash Wheel, a litter interceptor in Maryland's Baltimore Harbor, can be effective at picking up large pieces of plastic, such as foam cups and food containers, from inland waters. But once plastics break down into microplastics and drift throughout the water column in the open ocean, they are virtually impossible to recover.

The solution is to prevent plastic waste from entering rivers and seas in the first place, many scientists and conservationists-including the National Geographic Society-say. This could be accomplished with improved waste management systems and recycling, better product design that takes into account the short life of disposable packaging, and reduction in manufacturing of unnecessary single-use plastics.

Media Credits

The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited.

Director

Tyson Brown, National Geographic Society

Author

Laura Parker, National Geographic

Production Managers

Gina Borgia, National Geographic Society

Jeanna Sullivan, National Geographic Society

Program Specialists

Sarah Appleton, National Geographic Society, National Geographic Society

Margot Willis, National Geographic Society

other

Last Updated

October 19, 2023

For information on user permissions, please read our Terms of Service. If you have questions about how to cite anything on our website in your project or classroom presentation, please contact your teacher. They will best know the preferred format. When you reach out to them, you will need the page title, URL, and the date you accessed the resource.

Media

If a media asset is downloadable, a download button appears in the corner of the media viewer. If no button appears, you cannot download or save the media.

Text

Text on this page is printable and can be used according to our Terms of Service.

Interactives

Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. You cannot download interactives.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The World's Plastic Pollution Crisis Explained

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Much of the planet is swimming in discarded plastic, which is harming animal and possibly human health. Can it be cleaned up?

# data[].attributes.headline
PBS 15 minute video: Can we really clean up plastic?

# data[].attributes.subject
PBS 15 minute video: Can we really clean up plastic?

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.pbs.org/video/can-we-actually-clean-up-the-plastic-pollution-problem-jmb05t/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Here’s everything you need to know about the most ubiquitous (and avoidable) kind of plastic waste: the kind made to be tossed in mere minutes.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Last week, the United Nations (UN) released the most complete report ever created on the global problem of food waste. It found that the world wastes about 17% of all the food produced. That's about a billion tons of food a year.

A billion tons is a lot of food - it's over 2 trillion (2,000,000,000,000) pounds or about 931 billion (931,000,000,000) kilograms. The report says that the amount wasted is roughly twice as much as earlier studies had suggested.

The report was produced by the UN's Environment Program (UNEP) and covered food waste around the world in 2019. The study looked a several different ways in which food is wasted - at home, in restaurants and in stores.

It turns out that by far, most food waste - about 61% - happens at home. On average, the amount of food thrown out at home works out to about 163 pounds (74 kilograms) for each person every year.

😕

This image has not been loaded because of your cookie choices. To view the content, you can accept 'Non-necessary' cookies.

Restaurants were responsible for about 26% of the food wasted. The remaining 13% was thrown away by stores.

One surprising discovery was that food was wasted at about the same rate in all but the poorest countries. (The UN had difficulty measuring food waste in the poorest countries.)

😕

This image has not been loaded because of your cookie choices. To view the content, you can accept 'Non-necessary' cookies.

Many people thought rich countries were more likely to waste food than countries that were less rich. That turned out not to be true. In fact, some richer countries wasted far less food than average.

But people in richer countries may waste less food at home because they are eating out at restaurants more often. That certainly seems to be the case in the US, which has low waste numbers for homes, but quite high numbers for restaurants.

😕

This image has not been loaded because of your cookie choices. To view the content, you can accept 'Non-necessary' cookies.

In some cases, labels might be causing food waste, the report said. People might be throwing away food even though it's still good to eat, simply because the container's "Best By" or "Sell By" date has passed. In poorer countries, food may be wasted because not all homes have a refrigerator.

One important thing to understand is that the UN's report looks at food as it is sold. That means that "food waste" also includes the parts of food that can't be eaten, such as bones and shells, or pits, seeds, and peels from fruit.

😕

This image has not been loaded because of your cookie choices. To view the content, you can accept 'Non-necessary' cookies.

Why is wasting food such a problem? For one thing, the report points out, hundreds of millions of people went hungry in 2019.

But wasting food is also really bad for the planet. Farming creates between 10% and 30% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions - the pollution that's making the climate crisis worse. So when food gets thrown out, the pollution is created for nothing.

😕

This image has not been loaded because of your cookie choices. To view the content, you can accept 'Non-necessary' cookies.

The UNEP report says that its important for countries to study food waste more carefully in order to figure out ways to solve the problem.

Some possible uses for food waste include making food for animals, creating compost to help crops grow, or burning food scraps to create energy. The important thing is to keep food from simply going into the dump.

Did You Know...?
The UNEP report didn't even look at food "loss", which happens before the food reaches stores or restaurants. Taken together, food loss and food waste mean that about one-third of all food that's produced doesn't get eaten.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Last week, the United Nations released the most complete report ever created on the global problem of food waste. It found that the world wastes about 17% of all the food produced. That's about a billion tons of food a year.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Over 800 million people, most of which live in poor countries, do not have enough to eat. At the same time, so much of the food we produce in the world is wasted or lost. Given that how we produce food today has a huge impact on the environment, we should all be more mindful of what we eat and know that our choices affect people around us as well as our planet. Here are 10 interesting facts about food waste for kids to learn. -

1. We throw away almost one-third of the food we produce. That is more than 1 billion tons!

2. The food we waste is responsible for 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, way more than all the emissions we generate from flying and producing plastic!

3. Producing food requires a lot of water. To make one burger, we need almost 3,000 litres of water (or 660 gallons). This means that when you throw away one burger, you waste as much water as if you would shower for one and a half hours!

4. If food waste was a country, it would be the third biggest emitter of greenhouse gases after the US and China.

5. So many people around the world do not have enough food to eat on a daily basis. In fact, almost 800 million people are undernourished.

6. Just one-quarter of the food we currently waste could be enough to feed all undernourished people in the world.

7. The average European and North American throws away between 95kg and 115kg of food. That is almost the same weight as a giant panda! In comparison, Asians are doing much better, wasting 'only' 6kg to 11kg per person every year.

8. Fruit and vegetables are the most important food groups as they provide your body with a lot of very important nutrients. But they are also the type of food that is wasted the most. Every year, we throw away nearly half of the fruit and greens we grow.

9. Too often we throw away fresh produce because it looks "ugly". However, a bruise on an apple or a yellow leaf on our salad head does not immediately mean that we cannot eat them!

10. It might sound surprising but we actually do have enough food in the world to feed everyone! What is wrong is the way we distribute it and the food choices we make. It is important that we start to understand the impact that certain foods have on the environment to make better eating choices. Learning this while we are still young will make us more conscious adults in the future!

Check This Out Next: How Eating a Plant-Based Diet Can Help the Planet

Are you a school and want to collaborate with Earth.Org?

contact us

Are you a student working on sustainable projects or learning about climate change and the environment?

Submit your story for a chance to be featured on Kids.Earth.Org

send us your news

About the Author

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
10 Food Waste Facts for Kids - Earth.Org Kids

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
We should all be more mindful of what we eat. Here are 10 interesting facts about food waste for kids to learn.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Food is wasted when we buy more than we need, store it incorrectly, throw away leftovers and cook too much. When we throw away food, we also waste all the water and energy used to produce, package and transport food from the farm to our plates. This waste creates significant environmental impacts and is costly to family budgets.
U.S. Wasted Food Facts:

40% of all food in the United States is wasted

25% of all freshwater we consume goes to produce food we never eat

4% of the oil we consume goes to produce food we never eat

$166 billion (retail value of preventable waste) is spent on the food we never eat

135 million tons of GHG emissions are created by the food we never eat

These numbers are for our whole food system- farms, processors, retailers, and households.
Did you know that the average American...
...household throws out 25% of the food they purchase?

...family of four tosses out more than $1,600 a year in wasted food?

Reducing wasted food is an easy way to trim your grocery bills and reduce your environmental footprint. It only requires small shifts in how you shop, prepare, store and serve food.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Food is wasted when we buy more than we need, store it incorrectly, throw away leftovers and cook too much. When we throw away food, we also waste all the water and energy used to produce, package and transport food from the farm to our plates.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
As of January 1, 2022, people and organizations throughout California are required to separate organic material (mainly food scraps and yard waste) from other garbage. The composting law was one of 770 California laws that went into effect at the beginning of 2022. Senate Bill 1383, which

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Kids Go Green: Reducing Food Waste | PBS LearningMedia

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Learn about the impact of food waste on the environment in this video animation from WNET. In this clip, students discover ways to reduce food waste. Refer to the accompanying discussion questions and teaching tips for ideas on using this video to help students consider ways to conserve food.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
We must change the current flow of plastic pollution by stopping plastic problems at the source. This includes eliminating unnecessary single-use plastics, advocating for better product alternatives and switching to reusables for our everyday needs. We encourage individuals, industry and governments to protect our ocean, waves, and beaches by supporting legislative polices that move us away from unnecessary single-use plastics.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Earth Day: A look at what’s being done to decrease plastic use

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Here’s which countries mismanage plastics the most.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
SD Entertainer Magazine | Your source for everything San Diego

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
If you recycle, chances are you throw your recyclables away without giving it much thought. While you may think you're doing the right thing, recycling can be a bit more complicated than we make it out to be. Here's what you need to know about recycling, and what you can do to make sure you're implementing the best practices possible.

Photo by Brian Yurasits on Unsplash

Not all plastic is recyclable

Contrary to what you may think, not all plastics are made equal, with some being completely useless when recycled. Things like plastic bags, straws, and some coffee cups are a big no when it comes to recycling. If there is no demand for certain plastics in the market, there is no chance for waste products like these to be purchased by recyclers.

Dirty plastic is not recyclable

Any plastic material with food residues on it cannot be recycled. Plastics must be considered to be in good condition for it to be transformed into recycled goods. If you're throwing away a plastic container, be sure to wash first, or it will simply be filtered out by recyclers and thrown in a landfill.

Plastic loses its quality when recycled

Plastics consist of simple polymers of long chain atoms which give it its strong, lightweight, and flexible characteristics. However, after a piece of plastic has been recycled, it will begin to lose its quality, eventually decreasing to a point where it can be used. Plastics can be recycled about 2-3 times before it becomes unable to recycle again.

Glass and metal can be recycled forever

Unlike plastics, glass and metals are supreme when it comes to recycling, with both having the ability to be recycled infinity. They can be recycled forever without losing any quality in their structure, making them the ultimate materials in the reusable circle of production. Unfortunately, due to the lower cost of plastics, we have transitioned away from using glass and metals.

You can't recycle coffee cups

That Starbucks cup holding your daily latte may seem like it's totally fine to chuck in the recycling bin once you're done with it, but unfortunately, they are not recyclable. This is due to the outside of the cup consisting of a thin layer of plastic called polypropylene, which protects the liquid from seeping into the paper of the cup. The paper part of the cup is totally recyclable, but due to plastic film, it is deemed unrecyclable unless separated using an expensive and specialized machine.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What You Need to Know About Plastic and Recycling

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
If you recycle, chances are you throw your recyclables away without giving it much thought. While you may think you're doing the right thing, recycling can be a bit more complicated than we make it out to be. Here's what you need to know about recycling, and what you can do to make sure you're implementing the best practices possible.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Most people don't realize how much food they throw away every day - from uneaten leftovers to spoiled produce to parts of fruits and vegetables that could be eaten or repurposed.

One-third of all food in the United States goes uneaten. EPA estimates that in 2019, about 96 percent of households' wasted food ended up in landfills, combustion facilities, or down the drain to the sewer system. The remainder was composted.

Preventing food from going to waste is one of the easiest and most powerful actions you can take to save money and lower your climate change footprint by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and conserving natural resources.
On this page:

Save money by buying only what you need, eating what you buy, and avoiding throwing away food. The average family of four spends $1,500 per year on food that does not get eaten.

Reduce your environmental and climate change footprint.

Conserve resources and energy. When food is wasted, the land, water, energy, and other inputs that are used in producing, processing, transporting, preparing, storing, and disposing the food are wasted as well.

More than 85 percent of GHG emissions from landfilled food waste result from activities prior to food entering a landfill, including the production, transport, processing, and distribution of food. Plus, when food decomposes in a landfill, methane, a potent greenhouse gas, is emitted. third-largest source of human-related methane emissions in the U.S. and food waste is responsible for 58% of landfill emissions.

Ways to Prevent Wasted Food at Home

Planning, prepping, and storing food can help your household waste less food. Below are some tips to help you do just that:

Making a list with weekly meals in mind can save you money and time. If you only buy what you expect to use, you will be more likely to eat it all.

Keep a running list of meals and their ingredients that your household already enjoys - that way, you can easily choose, shop for, and prepare meals that you are likely to consume.

Look in your refrigerator, freezer, and pantry first to avoid buying food you already have. Make a list each week of what needs to be used up and plan upcoming meals around it.

Plan your meals for the week before you go shopping and buy only the things needed for those meals.

Make your shopping list based on how many meals you'll eat at home. Consider how often you will eat out, if you plan to eat frozen precooked meals, and if you will eat leftovers for any of your meals.

Include quantities on your shopping list noting how many meals you'll make with each item to avoid overbuying. For example: "salad greens - enough for two lunches".

Buying in large quantities (e.g., buy one, get one free deals) only saves money if you use all the food before it spoils.

Buying food from bulk bins saves you money and reduces food waste and packaging if you purchase the amount of food you need. When buying in bulk, remember to store food properly in airtight, labeled containers.

Purchase imperfect produce or upcycled products. Imperfect produce may have physical imperfections but is just as safe and nutritious and can sometimes be found at discounted prices. Upcycled products are made from ingredients that might have otherwise gone to waste.

Toolkits for Your Home and Your Community

EPA developed two social marketing campaign toolkits for preventing food waste in your community and at home.

"The Preventing Wasted Food in Your Community: A Social Marketing Toolkit" is a resource for states, territories, local governments, Tribes, and nongovernmental organizations who want to start a behavior change campaign to prevent food waste in their communities. It is designed to be used by governments and NGOs to help people reduce wasted food in the home. The toolkit includes a planning process that uses social marketing principles to ensure communities are tailoring campaigns to their individual needs.

The toolkit walks you through the steps to design a behavior change campaign in your community. It moves beyond an education/awareness campaign by identifying barriers people face in reducing their food waste and highlighting motivators that help overcome those barriers. The toolkit offers an implementation and evaluation plan. It also includes wasted food prevention campaign materials created by municipalities and organizations that are available for use and customization by any community.

The Food: Too Good to Waste Toolkit will help you figure out how much food is really going to waste in your home and what you can do to waste less. By making small shifts in how you shop for, prepare, and store food, you can save time and money. It can also keep the valuable resources used to produce and distribute food from going to waste!

Food: Too Good to Waste also contains an Implementation Guide that is designed to teach local governments and community organizations how to implement a Food: Too Good to Waste campaign in their community using the Toolkit.

If You Can't Reduce Wasted Food, Divert It From Landfills

Composting Food Scraps in Your Community: A Social Marketing Toolkit

If you are with a state, territorial, or local government, Tribe, or another organization that wishes to create composting campaigns, check out our "Composting Food Scraps in Your Community: A Social Marketing Toolkit." This toolkit is for communities that wants to:

1. launch new food scrap composting programs,

2. increase participation in existing food scrap composting programs, or

3. reduce contamination in their compost collection streams.

It is designed to assist agencies that offer curbside collection or drop-off locations for residential food scraps. The toolkit includes a planning process that uses social marketing principles to ensure campaigns are tailored to their community's needs.

Resources

U.S. Department of Agriculture:
Information for Consumers
Infographic- Easy Steps to Prevent Food Waste ( English, Chinese (pdf), Spanish (pdf))
Video- Tips to Reduce Food Waste at Home
Video- Plan Ahead to Reduce Food Waste ( English, Spanish)

Video- Serve Smart to Reduce Food Waste ( English, Spanish)

Video- Love Your Leftovers to Reduce Food Waste ( English, Spanish)
MyPlate- Meal Planning Refrigeration and Food Safety FoodKeeper App
U.S. Food and Drug Administration:
How to Cut Food Waste and Maintain Food Safety Date Labels on Packaged Foods Infographic
Tips to Reduce Food Waste (including three infographics)
Food Waste Facts Infographic Animated Videos with Information on:

Tips to reduce food waste.

Understanding date labels on packaged foods.

The impact of food waste.

Imperfect produce.

Sources of Statistics

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Discusses the benefits of reducing food waste and its impact on the environment

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Residential Services Required by Law - Mill Valley Refuse Service

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Account Login/Pay My Bill Residential Service Required by Law In an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, keep valuable material out of landfills, and create a healthy environment for our community and future generations by recovering natural resources, California has enacted a mandatory organics recycling law that impacts residents and businesses alike.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Plastic Pollution Facts

The proliferation of plastic products in the last several decades has been extraordinary. Quite simply, humans are addicted to this nearly indestructible material. We are producing over 380 million tons of plastic every year, and some reports indicate that up to 50% of that is for single-use purposes - utilized for just a few moments, but on the planet for at least several hundred years. It's estimated that more than 10 million tons of plastic is dumped into our oceans every year.
Visit Our Resources Page To Access: RESEARCH PAPERS , VIDEOS , INFOGRAPHICS , and MUCH MORE .

Plastic is cheap and incredibly versatile with properties that make it ideal for many applications. However, these qualities have also resulted in it becoming an environmental issue. We have developed a "disposable" lifestyle and estimates are that around 50% of plastic is used just once and thrown away.

Plastic is a valuable resource in many ways, but plastic pollution is an unnecessary and unsustainable waste of that resource.

Packaging is the largest end-use market segment accounting for just over 40% of total plastic usage.

Annually, approximately 500 billion plastic bags are used worldwide. More than one million bags are used every minute.

A plastic bag has an average "working life" of 15 minutes.

Over the last ten years we have produced more plastic than during the whole of the last century.

Beverage Bottles Alone

According to the Container Recycling Institute, 100.7 billion plastic beverage bottles were sold in the U.S. in 2014, or 315 bottles per person.

57% of those units were plastic water bottles: 57.3 billion sold in 2014. This is up from 3.8 billion plastic water bottles sold in 1996, the earliest year for available data.

The process of producing bottled water requires around 6 times as much water per bottle as there is in the container.

14% of all litter comes from beverage containers. When caps and labels are considered, the number is higher.

STAY INFORMED THROUGH OUR MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Key plastic pollution facts, providing a clear understanding of why this topic has become such a major issue around the world.