How Plastic Is Trashing the Planet

Beep! Beep! Beep! The alarm on your cell phone shakes you from sleep. You stumble to the shower, dress, brush your teeth, and run a comb through your hair. There’s just enough time to grab a cereal bar and a bottle of orange juice before the school bus rolls down your block. Throwing your binder, folders, and a bag of chips into your backpack, you race out the door. 

You’ve been awake for barely an hour, but you’ve already used or touched plastic dozens of times. The material is a big part of our lives. It’s in everything from electronics and food packaging to medical devices and airplanes. Most plastic is human-made, produced using oil and other fossil fuels. 

What makes plastic so popular? Unlike natural materials such as wood and glass, plastic is lightweight. It’s also cheap and durable. 

Beep! Beep! Beep! The alarm on your cell phone shakes you from sleep. You stumble to the shower, get dressed, and brush your teeth. You run a comb through your hair. There is just enough time to grab a cereal bar and a bottle of orange juice before the school bus rolls down your block. Throwing your binder, folders, and a bag of chips into your backpack, you race out the door.

You have been awake for barely an hour. But you have already used or touched plastic dozens of times. The material is a big part of our lives. It is in everything from electronics and food packaging to medical devices and airplanes. Most plastic is human-made. It is produced using oil and other fossil fuels.

What makes plastic so popular? Unlike natural materials such as wood and glass, plastic is lightweight. It is also cheap and durable.

Synthetic, or human-made, plastic was invented in the early 1900s, but production started to soar during World War II (1939-1945). Natural materials were in short supply during the war, so people turned to plastic to help construct lightweight planes, parachutes, and supplies. 

Because plastic was cheap and plentiful, manufacturers continued to use it after the war. Production really ramped up when companies began to make household goods—such as plates, cups, and utensils—with plastic. The items were marketed as disposable and a way to save precious time.

Synthetic, or human-made, plastic was invented in the early 1900s. But production started to soar during World War II (1939-1945). Natural materials were in short supply during the war. That is why people turned to plastic. They used it to help make lightweight planes, parachutes, and supplies.

Because plastic was cheap and plentiful, manufacturers continued to use it after the war. Production really increased when companies began to make household goods with plastic. For example, they started making plastic plates, cups, and utensils. Such items were marketed as disposable and a way to save precious time.

A 1955 Life magazine article titled “Throwaway Living” celebrated the plastic revolution. The piece shows a smiling family tossing plastic plates and utensils into the air. The article notes that those items would typically take hours to wash and dry after use but that now “no housewife need bother.” People could make their lives easier by simply throwing out their family’s plasticware after every meal.

In many ways, plastic has made our lives easier. More importantly, the material actually saves lives every day. Plastic is in car seat belts and airbags, in the helmets that firefighters and soldiers wear, and in the incubators that help keep premature babies alive. 

Such products are designed to last for years. But about 40 percent of all plastic produced is meant to be used just once, then thrown away. Items like the sandwich bags that hold your lunch, the ketchup packets at your favorite fast-food restaurant, and the packaging of just about anything you buy online are driving up the amount of plastic waste we produce. 

It’s the plastic we use once and toss away, experts say, that is putting the environment in crisis. 

A 1955 Life magazine article titled “Throwaway Living” celebrated the plastic revolution. The piece shows a smiling family tossing plastic plates and utensils into the air. The article notes that those items would typically take hours to wash and dry after use. It says that now “no housewife need bother.” People could make their lives easier by simply throwing out their family’s plasticware after every meal.

In many ways, plastic has made our lives easier. More important, the material actually helps save lives every day. Plastic is in car seat belts and airbags. It is in the helmets that firefighters and soldiers wear. And it is in the incubators that help keep premature babies alive.

Such products are designed to last for years. But about 40 percent of all plastic produced is meant to be used just once, then thrown away. Disposable items are driving up the amount of plastic waste we produce. This includes the sandwich bags that hold your lunch and the ketchup packets at your favorite fast-food restaurant. It includes the packaging of things you buy online.

Experts say it is the plastic we use once and toss away that is putting the environment in crisis.

In your town, workers probably pick up garbage regularly and cart it off to landfills. But imagine if the trash in your neighborhood was never collected. All that garbage would pile up. 

In some countries—particularly certain island nations in Asia—that’s a fact of life. They don’t have reliable trash collection or properly maintained landfills. Instead, people leave their garbage in heaps on the ground or dump it into local waterways, where it eventually is swept out to sea. Experts estimate that 9 million tons of plastic end up in our oceans each year.

To make matters worse, people in these largely poor Asian nations have started using more single-serve packets of things like condiments, detergent, and shampoo. Many of them can’t afford to buy bigger sizes. All that nonrecyclable plastic packaging only adds to the problem.

In the Philippines, for example, some rivers are now so clogged with trash that people can hop across the water on piles of discarded plastic rather than crossing by bridge.

In your town, workers probably pick up garbage regularly and cart it off to landfills. But imagine if the trash in your neighborhood was never collected. All that garbage would pile up.

In some countries, that is a fact of life. It is particularly true in certain island nations in Asia. They do not have reliable trash collection. They also lack properly maintained landfills. Instead, people leave their garbage in heaps on the ground or dump it into local waterways. Eventually, it is swept out to sea. Experts estimate that 9 million tons of plastic end up in our oceans each year.

To make matters worse, people in these largely poor Asian nations have started using more single-serve packets of things like condiments, detergent, and shampoo. Many of them cannot afford to buy bigger sizes. All that nonrecyclable plastic packaging only adds to the problem.

In the Philippines, for example, some rivers are badly clogged with trash. People can hop across those rivers on piles of tossed-out plastic instead of crossing by bridge.

Many people are trying to help solve the world’s plastic crisis. In the United States, for example, plastic grocery bags are now banned or taxed in some cities, including Seattle and Washington, D.C. And there is a nationwide movement to encourage people to stop using so many plastic drinking straws. Some countries are taking even bolder steps (see “How Countries Are Cutting Down on Plastic,” below). 

Global companies including Starbucks and Hilton Hotels recently announced plans to reduce or eliminate their use of plastic straws. And earlier this year, Alaska Airlines switched from plastic stirrers to paper ones on its flights, thanks in part to one teen’s letter (see sidebar, below).

What’s more, last December the U.S. and 192 other countries passed the United Nations Clean Seas agreement. The pact is a formal declaration of those countries’ intent to stop polluting the oceans with plastic waste. 

Experts say such steps are  promising—as long as the efforts ultimately include funding and the manpower to help developing countries manage their plastic trash. 

“We need to develop waste-collection systems around the world that are capable of managing the waste that is being generated,” Siegler says. “That’s really the key issue.”

Individuals also have an important role to play (see “What You Can Do,” below). Experts advise focusing on plastic meant for one-time use. Either reuse those items or avoid buying them in the first place, they say. 

“When I was a kid, Ziploc bags were a single-use item,” Savoca says. Now when he and his family use plastic bags, they treat them like Tupperware. “We wash them and reuse them and don’t get rid of them until they’re practically destroyed. If more people do things like that, it would make a difference.”

Many people are trying to help solve the world’s plastic crisis. In the United States, for example, plastic grocery bags are now banned or taxed in some cities. Such cities include Seattle and Washington, D.C. And there is a nationwide movement to encourage people to stop using so many plastic drinking straws. Some countries are taking even bolder steps (see “How Countries Are Cutting Down on Plastic,” below).

Some global companies, including Starbucks and Hilton Hotels, recently announced plans to reduce or end their use of plastic straws. And earlier this year, Alaska Airlines switched from plastic stirrers to paper ones on its flights. This was thanks in part to one teen’s letter (see sidebar, below).

What is more, last December the U.S. and 192 other countries passed the United Nations Clean Seas agreement. That pact is a formal declaration that those countries aim to stop polluting the oceans with plastic waste.

Experts say such steps are promising, as long as the efforts ultimately include funding. The efforts also must include the manpower to help developing countries manage their plastic trash.

“We need to develop waste-collection systems around the world that are capable of managing the waste that is being generated,” Siegler says. “That’s really the key issue.”

Individuals also have an important role to play (see “What You Can Do,” below). Experts advise focusing on plastic meant for one-time use. Either reuse those items or avoid buying them in the first place, they say.

“When I was a kid, Ziploc bags were a single-use item,” Savoca says. Now when he and his family use plastic bags, they treat them like Tupperware. “We wash them and reuse them and don’t get rid of them until they’re practically destroyed. If more people do things like that, it would make a difference.”