Every year, we create an estimated 380 million tons of new plastic–an excellent and cheaply produced insulator with a long lifetime. According to the BBC, only 9% of all plastics on earth are recycled into new plastic materials. At the rate we’re going, our planet will have 3.4 billion tons of plastic on its surface by 2050, which is bad news for not only humans, but for the animals dealing with an onslaught of non-degradable material in their ecosystems. Plastic has permeated nearly every facet of our lives: it’s in our houses, in our food, even in our bodies. There’s an island of plastic in the Pacific Ocean three times the size of France.
With such a threat at hand, scientists are rushing to come up with a solution. We take a look at several promising prospects–melting down existing plastics into a reusable resin, and bacteria that evolved to break down plastics in landfills. As plastic permeates our planet, people are clamoring for answers. How much of a difference does recycling actually make? How are we handling plastics currently? What impact does it have on our environment? And, most importantly, will we be able to get a grip on the plastic crisis before it’s too late?
