Pollution's effects

What plastic waste does to animals

Every year, 100 million animals die due to plastic pollution. This includes 100,000 marine mammals and 1 million seabirds, and numbers may exceed this figure due to the number of unobserved deaths. It also harms coral reefs, as the tiny grooves in pieces of plastic carry many harmful pathogens.

What plastic waste does to the environment

Plastic pollution affects more than just animals, however. The chemicals that seep out of piles of waste like landfill sites can poison oxygen producing plants on land and diatoms in the ocean. This means plastic pollution can harm us as well. Plastic can also alter processes and reduce ecosystems' ability to adapt to change, making Climate Change even deadlier.