Environmental Impacts

Climate Impacts

• Plastics are made of fossil fuels and contribute to climate change.

  • Plastic is responsible for 5-10% of all greenhouse gas emissions. By 2050 it may exceed 20%.

  • If plastic were a country, it would be the 5th largest greenhouse gas emitter in the world, ahead of Brazil.

• Americans use 100 billion plastic bags annually. That requires 12 million barrels of oil to produce.

Microplastic Impacts

• When plastic breaks down into microplastic, the pieces can become so tiny that they evaporate with water and become part of the hydrological cycle.

  • Microplastics rain down onto every corner of the globe, and travel on wind currents as dust.

  • Microplastics have been detected in the highest trophic levels, including polar bears in the Antarctic.

• Microplastics are ingested by every creature that drinks water or breathes air, including all the fish and wildlife in Montana.

• Microplastics are now present in every inch of the food web. They can even be taken up into the vasculature of plants.