Without ambitious action, plastic pollution will more than double by 2040 to 280 million metric tons per year – the equivalent of a dump truck every second entering our environment.
Plastic pollution is choking our planet, polluting the air, water, and soil both people and wildlife need to survive. But getting rid of it is not the solution. Modern plastics offer many benefits to humanity – in fields as diverse as medicine, food safety, transportation, and electronics. But it has no place in nature.
As this crisis spreads to every corner of the globe, WWF is leading the charge to help reimagine how we reduce, source, design, and reuse the plastic materials that communities depend upon. This includes eliminating the single-use plastic that we don’t need, shifting to sustainable sources for the plastic that we do need, and improving our material system to collect, reuse, recycle, and compost all plastic that we use. Because while plastic can help make our hospitals safer, our food last longer, and our packages more efficient to ship, it has no place in nature.
Over 2,000 species are impacted by plastic in nature through ingestion, entanglement, or habitat effects. And it is estimated that by 2050, 99% of all seabirds will have ingested plastic. Additionally, we know that larger plastic pieces can cause direct harm when ingested by wildlife through suffocation, digestive blockage, and accumulation of toxic substances in plastic that is ingested.
WWF is fighting for a world with no plastic in nature, and we’re not alone in this fight. We are witnessing a groundswell of support from the American public and business in reducing plastic pollution. A majority of Americans—85%—think that plastic waste pollution is a serious problem that requires immediate political action to solve. Major companies are also supporting collaborative efforts to address plastic pollution.
Together, we can create a world where our oceans teem with life, not discarded nets, bottles, and bags. Where no communities breathe harmful pollutants from plastic production or burning. Where we are better stewards of the earth and move away from single-use plastics, and where every indispensable plastic product is used to make another. It’s a world where people and nature thrive together.
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Be the voice that nature so desperately needs. Your support powers WWF’s work around the world to fight climate change, restore our forests, oceans and freshwater, end poaching and online wildlife trafficking, and eliminate plastic pollution.
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