The use of plastics in modern life is extremely widespread, and most products we use today are either made entirely of plastics or have plastic components. These plastics are made by using a variety of petrochemicals and provide us with a variety of goods from single-use saran wrap to components of our cars. Although plastics are used extensively, there are concerns with the sheer volume of plastics being used and disposed of in particular. In addition to the volume of plastic waste, the fact that plastic doesn’t biodegrade is an issue.
A core issue is that although plastics are long-lived products that could be used for many decades, the way they are used now tends to be in single-use items that are disposed of within a year. Once in a landfill, they will remain there for centuries. These plastics accumulate in landfills, and also in the ocean. Currently, there is a large mass of accumulating garbage in the ocean, composed mostly of plastics, known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (shown in Figure 3). One common misconception is that large plastic pieces are floating around in this area, when in reality the majority of the waste has broken down into nurdles, which leaves the water looking cloudy and murky.
