{"id":39282,"date":"2024-07-24T14:07:19","date_gmt":"2024-07-24T18:07:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/?p=39282"},"modified":"2024-07-24T14:30:48","modified_gmt":"2024-07-24T18:30:48","slug":"six-myths-about-plastic-pollution-debunked","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/six-myths-about-plastic-pollution-debunked\/","title":{"rendered":"Six Myths About Plastic Pollution: Debunked\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The promise of plastics was a great one, but as the consequences of this convenience become clearer and clearer, so do the mistakes and misleading supposed solutions that have produced the ongoing plastic pollution crisis. We were told that recycling would solve this problem, and yet more and more plastic enters the world’s oceans every second. \u202fSo these broken promises leave us wondering: what is the truth about plastic?<\/em> Dive in as we debunk six popular myths about plastic pollution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SIX MYTHS ABOUT PLASTIC POLLUTION – AND THE FACTS<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

MYTH #1: Most plastic waste is recycled.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

FACT: Unfortunately, most of the plastic we use is not recycled nor is it recyclable. In fact, only 9% of all the plastic waste ever produced has been recycled. Meanwhile, some is disposed of or lost in the recycling process, some is turned into lower-value products, a process called \u201cdowncycling.\u201d Meanwhile, the remainder ends up in landfills, exported to countries with less-robust waste infrastructure, or incinerated.\u202f<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MYTH #2: Microplastics are only found in the ocean.\u202f<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

FACT: Microplastics are found everywhere \u2013 floating in the oceans, consumed by marine life, in our food, and even in us! In fact, humans are estimated to ingest or inhale thousands of microplastics per day, at least. \u202f<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MYTH #3: That little recycling triangle and corresponding number means a piece of plastic is recyclable.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

FACT: That icon doesn\u2019t always indicate that an item is recyclable or made from recycled materials. Recyclability varies for each of the corresponding numbers and there\u2019s no oversight for how the icon is actually used.\u202f<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MYTH #4: It is safe to toss “biobased” plastics in the ocean. <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

FACT: In fact, the labels like \u201cbio-based plastic\u201d, or \u201cbioplastic\u201d are not tightly regulated and create tons of confusion on how to properly dispose of them. Nearly all of these materials will persist in the ocean for a long time.\u202f<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MYTH #5: There is no good solution to replace single-use plastic bottles.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

FACT: The solution already exists: refillable bottles. Refillable bottles have been around since the 19th century and were how most beverages were sold until the 70s when they were replaced by single-use plastic in many countries around the world. Where they still exist, refillable bottle programs have over a 90% success rate for getting the bottle back, and each bottle can be reused up to 50 times.\u202f\u202f<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MYTH #6: Plastic packaging and single-use plastic bottles are everywhere. The tide won’t change anytime soon. <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

FACT: The tide is changing! Places like Chile and the European Union have laws in place or soon to be in place that require retailers (including supermarkets) to offer a certain amount of beverages for sale in reusable packaging. And in countries like Mexico, Brazil, the Philippines, and Germany, refillable bottles are already widely used. More pressure is needed to bring refillable bottles to all markets.\u202f<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE PATH FORWARD<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The reality is that plastic pollution is a crisis, plaguing our oceans and harming marine wildlife, coastal communities, and human health. But there\u2019s a path forward to a cleaner, more sustainable future with less plastic. Oceana campaigns to tackle the plastic pollution crisis at that source \u2013 by calling on companies to provide plastic-free alternatives, and working to pass policies that reduce the production and use of unnecessary single-use plastics.\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

JOIN THE CAMPAIGN<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Learn more<\/a><\/strong> about Oceana\u2019s plastic campaign.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Become a wavemaker<\/a><\/strong> to get the latest news and learn about ways you can get involved.\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Use your voice to call on decision makers to take action against plastic pollution<\/a><\/strong>.\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The promise of plastics was a great one, but as the consequences of this convenience become clearer and clearer, so do the mistakes and misleading supposed solutions that have produced the ongoing plastic pollution crisis. We were told that recycling would solve this problem, and yet more and more plastic enters the world’s oceans every … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":298,"featured_media":39286,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"location":[],"expedition":[],"campaign":[189,372],"ppma_author":[334,352],"class_list":["post-39282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","campaign-plastics","campaign-refillables","infinite-scroll-item"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSix Myths About Plastic Pollution: Debunked\u00a0 | Oceana<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The promise of plastics was a great one, but as the consequences become clear, these broken promises leave us wondering: what is the truth about plastic?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link 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