Why Not Plastic?

Photo by hockadilly

Plastic, while convenient, is actually costing our economy a lot.

Here are some quick facts courtesy of Greenfeet.net:

* A plastic milk jug takes 1 million years to decompose.

* A plastic cup can take 50 – 80 years to decompose.

* Americans use 2.5 million plastic bottles every HOUR.

* Plastic bags and other plastic garbage thrown into the ocean kill as many as 1 million sea creatures every year.

* Recycling plastic saves twice as much energy as burning it in an incinerator.

* A United States law, implementing an international agreement called MARPOL Annex V, became effective on December 31, 1988. It prohibits the disposal of plastics into the marine environment and requires ports to provide reception facilities for ship-generated plastic waste.

Photo by Vineus

* Today, Americans generate 10.5 million tons of plastic waste a year but recycle only 1 or 2 % of it.

* An estimated 14 billion pounds of trash, much of it plastic is dumped in the world’s oceans every year.

* The worldwide fishing industry dumps an estimated 150,000 tons of plastic into the ocean each year, including packaging, plastic nets, lines, and buoys.

* About 1,200 plastic soft drink and salad dressing containers could carpet the average living room.

Photo by E>mar

* It takes 1,050 HDPE (#2) milk jugs to make a six-foot plastic lumber park bench.

* Every year we make enough plastic film to shrink-wrap the state of Texas.

* Nearly every piece of plastic EVER made still exists today.

So please, stop drinking bottled waters and bring your own grocery bags to shops. Our *ONLY* goal with EcoJoe™ is to change how real estate industry uses plastic. We strongly believe that even a small change can make a big difference. So be part of solution today! Join the Plastic Revolution. Reuse, recycle and reduce usage of plastic.

Photo by greenhem

Additional reading:

• Plastic Facts from the 3R Program at Northern Illinois University
• Different types of plastic by Life Without Plastic
• Consumption Facts by ReusableBags.com
• Plastic 101 by Earth911.com
• Saving the Planet One Lightbulb, Grocery Bag and Ice Cream Cone at a Time by O Magazine/ Oprah.com

• Greenwash of the Week: Biodegradable Plastic Water Bottles by TheGoodHuman.com
• Breaking Down Is Hard to Do: How biodegradable is biodegradable plastic? by Slate.com
• A collection of plastic related news articles by Digital Journal
• Plastic Bag Recycling Doom: Environmentalist
• Birds, Boats Threaten by the Pacific’s Great Garbage Patch
• Hope floats on eco-celebrity’s recycled plastic boat, Plastiki
• Chemical in plastic bottles linked to impotence