The problem
At the end of its useful life, a product or packaging is recycled, incinerated, landfilled, dumped in uncontrolled sites, or littered in the environment.
According to recent estimates , 79% of the plastic waste ever produced now sits in landfills, dumps or in the environment, while about 12% has been incinerated and only 9% has been recycled.
"It is estimated that 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic have been produced since the 1950s. Without urgent action to cut demand, this is likely to be 34 billion tonnes by 2050, the majority of which will end up in landfill or polluting the world’s continents and oceans." - Source: Government's 25 Year Environment Plan
Plastics are a complex mixture of various chemicals, predominantly and for the focus of this report fossil-derived, although a growing number of biogenic sourced plastics are being developed. Plastics, which do not biodegrade but photodegrade, meaning they slowly break down into small fragments are known as micro-plastics.
During the break down of plastic, toxic chemicals used in their formation are released into the environment. These pass into water supplies, rivers and seas, and through farmland, where they are absorbed by plants and animals, and thus enter the food chain which includes the human food chain.
Studies in Vienna have identified plastic waste in the digestive tract of humans from eight different countries including the UK .