Facts About Plastic Bags

Here are some interesting facts about plastic bags:

• About 380 billion plastic bags, sacks and wraps are used each year.
• Only 5.2 percent of the plastic bags and sacks in the municipal waste stream were recycled in 2005.
• Small plastic bags made up about nine percent of the debris found along various U.S. coasts in a five-year study.
• Plastic bags do not biodegrade, they photodegrade, which means they slowly break down into smaller and smaller bits that can contaminate soil and waterways.
• Plastic litter is estimated to take up to 1,000 years to decompose. This estimate is based on the decomposition rates of plastics buried in landfills for up to 100 years.