Plastic Podcast Part 5- Does it affect climate change?

We all know by now that plastic pollution is a huge problem. The reasons plastic became so popular in our society are the same reason it is so damaging. It's durable, cheap to make and longlasting. The low cost of plastic has meant its production has rapidly increased since the 1940's. But it's longevity means that every single piece of plastic ever made still exists on the planet today and will likely exist for the next 400 years. It clogs landfill, pollutes ecosystems, chokes the ocean and is even entering our food chain.

The plastic industry creates billions and billions of tonnes of carbon pollution every year, which is the key cause of climate change. For starters, most plastic is made from oil or gas which are fossil fuels that in turn use other fossil fuels to be extracted from the ground. Then there's the transportation, manufacturing and disposal of the plastic to account for.