Oceans to have more plastic than fish by 2050
A new report out by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation reveals that by 2050 our oceans may have more plastic debris than fish. The World Economic Forum released the study on Tuesday and it found that 32 percent of all plastic packaging finds its way into natural ecosystems.
For us and our oceans that’s a staggering fact.
Our use of plastics has increased in the past 50 years by 20 times and its expected to double yet again, in the next 20 years. Even though most plastic packaging is used only once, according to the report, it hurts us economically by harming natural systems like the ocean or clogging urban infrastructure.
From the article by AlJazeera:
“There is no system in place that helps take these [plastic] materials back [after use],” Cohen said. “It impacts the entire ecosystem in the ocean. If you come from a country that gets its primary livelihood or protein source from the ocean, then the fish you may count on to eat is ingesting plastic, getting entangled in it, and dying from having stomachs full of it.”
CNN Money reports that 8 million tons of plastic end up in the ocean each year, that’s the equivalent of a dump truck of plastic garbage every minute. By 2050, experts predict that the amount of plastics produced globally will increase three times to 1.124 million tons.
But it doesn’t have to be like that. We can all make the choice to be wary of how much plastic we use- or DON’T use. Maybe make a game out of it, involve the entire family…see how much of a difference you can make in a month, or 6 months. Or maybe see how little plastic you can use in a year. For ourselves and our planet, we all need to do something.
