“Our planet has provided us with an abundance of natural resources. But we have not utilized them responsibly and currently consume far beyond what our planet can provide. We must learn how to use and produce in sustainable ways that will reverse the harm that we have inflicted on the planet.”
– UN Sustainable Development Goal 12 Responsible Consumption and Production
There are 7.7 billion people and counting on the planet, and every day each one of us produces waste. The global amount is staggering and comes in the form of single use plastics, metal and glass that are often burned or dumped, left to accumulate along our coastal waters.
In fact, every year, 800 million tonnes of plastic land in our oceans. Some have estimated that by 2050 the amount of plastic in the ocean will outweigh the number of fish. Microplastic has even been found in the air we breathe.
Though recycling efforts are being embraced across the globe, it is not enough to reduce this massive problem. A recent World Wildlife Report projects that single-use plastics will continue to rise about 40% over the next decade. The global COVID-19 pandemic, with its disposable gloves and masks, has only exacerbated the existing crisis.
