How Plastic Bottles Damage Our Planet

Plastic bottle pollution is a growing crisis, with 80% of bottles ending up in landfills and over 8 million tonnes reaching the ocean each year. With 1 million plastic bottles purchased every minute, the environmental impact is staggering—not just for wildlife, but for humans too. Animals often ingest or get trapped in plastic waste, leading to illness or death, while microplastics from degrading bottles infiltrate our food, water, and even our bodies.

Plastic bottles take 450 years to break down, but they never fully decompose—turning instead into harmful microplastics that persist in the environment. Research has linked microplastics to liver damage, reproductive issues in marine life, and potential health risks for humans, including cancer and infertility. Meanwhile, manufacturing plastic bottles generates 2.5 million tons of CO₂ annually, further contributing to climate change.

Check out the source article, written by Tatiana Lebreton, at the Eco Experts for a fully detailed breakdown alongside a flurry of alarming statistics: https://www.theecoexperts.co.uk/news/plastic-bottle-waste