Why should we care about how long do plastic decompose? Why does it matter if it stay in the ground?
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It doesn’t just stay in the ground, it breaks into billions of micro particles that go everywhere and pollute everything. They harm wildlife and the health effects on humans are still not fully understood.
Plastics are also a pain when it comes to drainage systems and waterways. Multiply it by the number of drains in a given area and the costs to clean them can get steep.
If it doesn’t decompose it harms the environment, animals and us.
We (including you and I) eat an estimate of a credit card (5 grams) of microplastics a week.
Even before we knew about microplastics, the problem is **it doesn’t all end up in the ground**. We generate so much plastic waste (especially before people were self-conscious about it) that we had difficulty finding somewhere to put it, and even once we did, getting it there was a logistical problem. We ended up with literal tons of plastic waste forming islands out in the ocean, and knowing landfills wont break it down meant we’d keep filling landfills and having to make new ones if we don’t do anything about it.
Now we’re learning about the damage microplastics are causing, and it’s becoming an even bigger issue.
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