Since the 1970s, the rate of plastic production has grown faster than that of any other material. Over 6 billion tons of plastic waste has been produced. 12% of this plastic is incinerated, and 79% has been stored in landfills or released directly into the ocean. Marine mammals greatly suffer from the amount of plastic in their environment. According to an article that was last updated in April 2022 and written by Dr. Hannah Ritchie, who specializes in environmental sciences, plastic entanglement cases have been reported for at least 344 different aquatic species and the ingestion of plastic has been documented for at least 233 marine species. WWF.org estimates that 100,000 marine animals die each year from plastic pollution. The single-use plastic you use every day like food packaging, utensils, and bags is hurting our wildlife.  

Adding more recycling bins would not only help ensure that the plastic you use does not end up directly in our environment but it can also prevent the emissions of many greenhouse gasses that affect the air quality that we live with.