2024年9月23日 · The world's plastic pollution crisis, explained. Much of the planet is swimming in discarded plastic, which is harming animal and possibly human health. Can it be cleaned up?

2025年1月22日 · Plastic pollution, harmful accumulation of synthetic plastic products in the environment. Plastics are persistent large-scale pollutants, and plastic debris (such as bottles, straws, containers, and plastic wrap) and particulates have been found in many environmental niches, from Mount Everest to the bottom of the sea.

Plastic pollution is the accumulation of plastic objects and particles (e.g. plastic bottles, bags and microbeads) in the Earth's environment that adversely affects humans, wildlife and their habitat.

2023年4月25日 · Read our explainer to find out more about the plastic pollution crisis: Why is plastic pollution such a problem? Affordable, durable and flexible, plastic pervades modern life, appearing in everything from packaging to clothes to beauty products.

2024年4月23日 · Plastic pollution has become ubiquitous in natural and built environments, raising concerns about potential harm to humans and nature alike. Once in the environment, research shows that plastic pollution is persistent and may take between 100 to 1,000 years or more to decompose, depending on environmental conditions.

On this page, you can find all of our data, visualizations, and writing on plastic pollution. You can also find a summary of this material in our slide deck. The first synthetic plastic – Bakelite – was produced in 1907, marking the beginning of the global plastics industry.

Plastic pollution can alter habitats and natural processes, reducing ecosystems’ ability to adapt to climate change, directly affecting millions of people’s livelihoods, food production capabilities and social well-being.

2022年12月2日 · Plastic pollution is a global problem that affects our natural world and its biodiversity. It impacts our environment, health, food security, and economies. An estimated 11 million metric tons of plastic enters the ocean each year.

Plastic pollution drives nature loss and destroys important ecosystems. Every year, millions of tons of plastics leak into the environment damaging critical habitats, injuring and killing wildlife and impeding essential biological processes.

2024年12月5日 · plastic pollution that results when plastic waste enters, or “leaks,” into the environment, including land-based, freshwater, and marine ecosystems. Some are also concerned about the potential environmental and human health effects of the chemicals used to produce plastics and the air emissions generated across the plastic lifecycle.