Plastic stays in our environment because it takes so long to break down. Decomposer organisms love garden waste, rotting food and even roadkill, but they turn up their nose at plastic products.

• More plastic has been produced in the last ten years than during the whole of the last century. 
• Plastic manufacturing can release greenhouse gases and toxic chemicals.
• Plastic never really goes away, it just breaks down into smaller pieces.
• Birds, fish, turtles and other sea life have been found with stomach-fulls of plastic.
• Microscopic pieces have even been found inside corals and clams. 
• Almost 50% of plastics are used only once then thrown away.
• Less than 10% of plastics are recycled.
• Plastics can remain in the environment for anywhere between 10 and 10,000 years.
• 21,000 tonnes of plastic go into landfills in Australia each year.
• 100,000 or more marine animals are killed each year due to plastic pollution.
• 120,000 pieces of plastic pollute each square kilometre of the ocean (on average).
• 1,000,000 or more sea-birds are killed each year due to plastic pollution.
• 1,000,000,000,000 (one trillion) plastic bags are used every year around the world.