{"id":87005,"date":"2022-12-18T11:42:53","date_gmt":"2022-12-18T15:42:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=87005"},"modified":"2022-12-30T16:28:05","modified_gmt":"2022-12-30T20:28:05","slug":"what-causes-plastic-pollution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-causes-plastic-pollution\/","title":{"rendered":"What Causes Plastic Pollution &#038; What Are the Effects?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>What causes plastic pollution? What are the effects of plastic waste?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are over 5 billion tons of plastic waste in the world, causing plastic pollution in the soil, the water, and even the air. Most plastic doesn\u2019t get recycled\u2014even recycling centers incinerate or dump most of the plastic they get.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Read on to learn more about what causes plastic pollution and the health and environmental effects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-billions-of-tons-of-plastic-waste-growing\">Billions of Tons of Plastic Waste &amp; Growing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Plastic is everywhere in the modern world, in everything from candy wrappers to cars. The sheer amount of plastic that humans produce\u2014and discard\u2014is staggering.\u00a0Those concerned about rampant plastic use may wonder what causes plastic pollution when plastics are discarded, how this affects health and the environment, and how we can help to reduce plastic waste.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Overall, there are an estimated five billion tons of discarded plastic in the world, and it&#8217;s estimated that plastic production could triple by 2050<\/strong>.<strong> <\/strong>The first plastic ever manufactured (Parkesine) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencemuseum.org.uk\/objects-and-stories\/chemistry\/age-plastic-parkesine-pollution#:~:text=Its%20inventor%2C%20the%20Birmingham%2Dborn,substitute%20for%20ivory%20or%20tortoiseshell.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">came out in 1862;<\/a> by 1960, less than 100 years later, the U.S. alone was producing approximately 390,000 tons of plastic waste per year. In 2018, it produced nearly 36 <em>million<\/em> tons.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All of that plastic has to go somewhere. A recent Greenpeace report shows that <strong>the vast majority of plastic ends up polluting the environment in one way or another<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-causes-plastic-pollution\">What Causes Plastic Pollution?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The Greenpeace report found that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/usa\/news\/new-greenpeace-report-plastic-recycling-is-a-dead-end-street-year-after-year-plastic-recycling-declines-even-as-plastic-waste-increases\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">less than 5% of household plastic waste<\/a> generated by U.S. households in 2021 ended up being recycled. This was not a failure of the households\u2014<a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/usa\/news\/new-greenpeace-report-plastic-recycling-is-a-dead-end-street-year-after-year-plastic-recycling-declines-even-as-plastic-waste-increases\/#:~:text=being%20accepted%20by%20a%20recycling%20processing%20plant%20does%20not%20necessarily%20result%20in%20them%20being%20recycled\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">most of the plastic that goes to recycling centers doesn\u2019t actually get recycled<\/a>. Instead, the centers simply incinerate the plastic or send it to landfills.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The report continues by saying that plastic recycling simply isn\u2019t feasible: It\u2019s too expensive, and in many cases it\u2019s outright impossible. In fact, about half of the plastic waste that the U.S. once counted as \u201crecycled\u201d was in fact being exported to other countries such as China to be dumped or burned.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>In short, although various companies and even government entities have touted recycling as the answer to plastic waste, research shows that it is not an effective solution to plastic pollution.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-environmental-impacts\">Environmental Impacts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The cause (and effects) of plastic pollution can be linked back to how plastics are destroyed after use. Almost all plastics are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/usa\/news\/new-greenpeace-report-plastic-recycling-is-a-dead-end-street-year-after-year-plastic-recycling-declines-even-as-plastic-waste-increases\/#:~:text=Over%2099%20percent%20of%20plastic%20is%20made%20from%20fossil%20fuels%2C%20and%20as%20big%20brands%20continue%20their%20addiction%20to%20this%20harmful%20material%2C%20they%20are%20fueling%20climate%20impacts%20and%20jeopardizing%20communities%20in%20the%20name%20of%20profits\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">made from fossil fuels<\/a>, meaning that incinerating them releases the same greenhouse gases as gasoline does. The impurities in plastic\u2014the same impurities that make recycling so difficult\u2014can release other toxic gases as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While incinerating plastic causes air pollution, storing it in landfills is also dangerous, as it allows harmful chemicals to leach into the soil and nearby water. To make matters worse, plastic takes a very long time to decompose: According to the World Wildlife Foundation, a thin plastic bag from the grocery store can take as many as 20 years to break down, while <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wwf.org.au\/news\/blogs\/the-lifecycle-of-plastics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a plastic cup can take over 400 years<\/a>. <strong>In other words, we produce plastic waste far more quickly than it breaks down, meaning that there is an ever-increasing amount of plastic in the world.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Plastic pollution also causes the release of microplastics. Microplastics\u2014particles that fall away from plastic items such as bottles\u2014are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalgeographic.com\/environment\/article\/microplastics-are-in-our-bodies-how-much-do-they-harm-us#:~:text=Harm%20is%20the%20hard%20part\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">all over the world<\/a>. Scientists have found microplastics in the air, in the deepest parts of the oceans, and inside human bodies. While <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalgeographic.com\/environment\/article\/microplastics-are-in-our-bodies-how-much-do-they-harm-us#:~:text=But%20determining%20if%20they%20cause%20harm%20is%20much%20harder.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">we don\u2019t have conclusive proof<\/a> that microplastics are harmful, we\u2019re exposed to so many chemicals every day that pinpointing exactly how much damage microplastics do (if any) is nearly impossible.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Fast Fashion and Pollution<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>With the emergence of fast fashion in the 2010s came an increase in global textile production and consumption\u2014about <a href=\"https:\/\/ehjournal.biomedcentral.com\/articles\/10.1186\/s12940-018-0433-7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">80 billion pieces of clothing are now sold each year<\/a> (an <a href=\"https:\/\/sustainability.uq.edu.au\/projects\/recycling-and-waste-minimisation\/fast-fashion-quick-cause-environmental-havoc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">increase of 400%<\/a> over two decades), with Americans being the biggest consumers. However, this growth has had devastating consequences for the environment. Since <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/09\/03\/books\/review\/how-fast-fashion-is-destroying-the-planet.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">60% of fibers are now synthetic<\/a> (polyester, the most widely used, is made of plastic derived from fossil fuels), clothes also release plastic microfibers every time they\u2019re worn and washed. Much of this plastic ends up causing pollution in our oceans\u2014according to one estimate, clothing is responsible for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ethicalconsumer.org\/fashion-clothing\/what-fast-fashion-why-it-problem\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">half a million tons of microfibers that find their way into the ocean<\/a> each year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Overflowing Landfills<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>These plastic-based textiles also add to non-biodegradable landfill waste: <a href=\"https:\/\/ellenmacarthurfoundation.org\/topics\/fashion\/overview\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">A garbage truck full of clothes goes into landfills every <em>second<\/em><\/a>. In the U.S., 85% of clothing ends up in landfills, while the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-10450221\/Dumped-Atacama-desert-mountain-discarded-cheap-clothes-West.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">UK throws out 13 million items of clothing<\/a> each week. Meanwhile, Chile has a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/gallery\/2021\/11\/8\/chiles-desert-dumping-ground-for-fast-fashion-leftovers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">fast fashion graveyard in the Atacama Desert<\/a>, where 39,000 tons of clothing\u2014mostly secondhand items from the U.S., Europe, and Asia\u2014are dumped annually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-how-can-you-help\">How Can You Help?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Given how hard it is to safely destroy or reuse plastic, a key step to resolving plastic pollution is to reduce the amount of plastic waste we create in the first place. <\/strong>On an individual level, the best thing you can do is <a href=\"https:\/\/learn.eartheasy.com\/guides\/the-best-eco-friendly-alternatives-for-the-plastic-in-your-life\/#:~:text=Best%20Alternatives%20to%20Plastic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">look for substitutes for the plastic goods you use most frequently<\/a>. For example, you could buy a metal straw instead of using disposable ones, or look for food that\u2019s packaged in cardboard or glass instead of plastic. Other common plastic substitutes include silicone, bamboo, and cloth.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What causes plastic pollution? What are the effects of plastic waste? There are over 5 billion tons of plastic waste in the world, causing plastic pollution in the soil, the water, and even the air. Most plastic doesn\u2019t get recycled\u2014even recycling centers incinerate or dump most of the plastic they get. Read on to learn more about what causes plastic pollution and the health and environmental effects.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":87012,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,24],"tags":[727],"class_list":["post-87005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-society","tag-articles","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What Causes Plastic Pollution &amp; What Are the Effects? - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What causes plastic pollution? Learn how everyday plastic use leads to billions of tons of plastic waste and the resulting harmful effects.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-causes-plastic-pollution\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Causes Plastic Pollution &amp; What Are the Effects?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What causes plastic pollution? Learn how everyday plastic use leads to billions of tons of plastic waste and the resulting harmful effects.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-causes-plastic-pollution\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-12-18T15:42:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-12-30T20:28:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/pile-of-plastic-garbage-on-beach.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1850\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1232\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Emily Kitazawa\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Emily Kitazawa\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-causes-plastic-pollution\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-causes-plastic-pollution\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Emily Kitazawa\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e094024454c7d3334a149c0cf039bdeb\"},\"headline\":\"What Causes Plastic Pollution &#038; What Are the Effects?\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-12-18T15:42:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-12-30T20:28:05+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-causes-plastic-pollution\/\"},\"wordCount\":891,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-causes-plastic-pollution\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/pile-of-plastic-garbage-on-beach.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Articles\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Health\",\"Society\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-causes-plastic-pollution\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-causes-plastic-pollution\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-causes-plastic-pollution\/\",\"name\":\"What Causes Plastic Pollution & What Are the Effects? - Shortform Books\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-causes-plastic-pollution\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-causes-plastic-pollution\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/pile-of-plastic-garbage-on-beach.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-12-18T15:42:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-12-30T20:28:05+00:00\",\"description\":\"What causes plastic pollution? Learn how everyday plastic use leads to billions of tons of plastic waste and the resulting harmful effects.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-causes-plastic-pollution\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-causes-plastic-pollution\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-causes-plastic-pollution\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/pile-of-plastic-garbage-on-beach.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/pile-of-plastic-garbage-on-beach.jpg\",\"width\":1850,\"height\":1232},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-causes-plastic-pollution\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What Causes Plastic Pollution &#038; What Are the Effects?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"description\":\"The World&#039;s Best Book Summaries\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"width\":500,\"height\":74,\"caption\":\"Shortform Books\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e094024454c7d3334a149c0cf039bdeb\",\"name\":\"Emily Kitazawa\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f5c60fcdcf3b7cd02c2882334c15a3d02f74a69631c696c3bce47deb21dc9ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f5c60fcdcf3b7cd02c2882334c15a3d02f74a69631c696c3bce47deb21dc9ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Emily Kitazawa\"},\"description\":\"Emily found her love of reading and writing at a young age, learning to enjoy these activities thanks to being taught them by her mom\u2014Goodnight Moon will forever be a favorite. As a young adult, Emily graduated with her English degree, specializing in Creative Writing and TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language), from the University of Central Florida. She later earned her master\u2019s degree in Higher Education from Pennsylvania State University. Emily loves reading fiction, especially modern Japanese, historical, crime, and philosophical fiction. Her personal writing is inspired by observations of people and nature.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/emily-kitazawa\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What Causes Plastic Pollution & What Are the Effects? - Shortform Books","description":"What causes plastic pollution? Learn how everyday plastic use leads to billions of tons of plastic waste and the resulting harmful effects.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-causes-plastic-pollution\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What Causes Plastic Pollution & What Are the Effects?","og_description":"What causes plastic pollution? Learn how everyday plastic use leads to billions of tons of plastic waste and the resulting harmful effects.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-causes-plastic-pollution\/","og_site_name":"Shortform Books","article_published_time":"2022-12-18T15:42:53+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-12-30T20:28:05+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1850,"height":1232,"url":"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/pile-of-plastic-garbage-on-beach.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Emily Kitazawa","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Emily Kitazawa","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-causes-plastic-pollution\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-causes-plastic-pollution\/"},"author":{"name":"Emily Kitazawa","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e094024454c7d3334a149c0cf039bdeb"},"headline":"What Causes Plastic Pollution &#038; What Are the Effects?","datePublished":"2022-12-18T15:42:53+00:00","dateModified":"2022-12-30T20:28:05+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-causes-plastic-pollution\/"},"wordCount":891,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-causes-plastic-pollution\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/pile-of-plastic-garbage-on-beach.jpg","keywords":["Articles"],"articleSection":["Health","Society"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-causes-plastic-pollution\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-causes-plastic-pollution\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-causes-plastic-pollution\/","name":"What Causes Plastic Pollution & What Are the Effects? - Shortform Books","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-causes-plastic-pollution\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-causes-plastic-pollution\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/pile-of-plastic-garbage-on-beach.jpg","datePublished":"2022-12-18T15:42:53+00:00","dateModified":"2022-12-30T20:28:05+00:00","description":"What causes plastic pollution? Learn how everyday plastic use leads to billions of tons of plastic waste and the resulting harmful effects.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-causes-plastic-pollution\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-causes-plastic-pollution\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-causes-plastic-pollution\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/pile-of-plastic-garbage-on-beach.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/pile-of-plastic-garbage-on-beach.jpg","width":1850,"height":1232},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-causes-plastic-pollution\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What Causes Plastic Pollution &#038; What Are the Effects?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","name":"Shortform Books","description":"The World&#039;s Best Book Summaries","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Shortform Books","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","width":500,"height":74,"caption":"Shortform Books"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e094024454c7d3334a149c0cf039bdeb","name":"Emily Kitazawa","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f5c60fcdcf3b7cd02c2882334c15a3d02f74a69631c696c3bce47deb21dc9ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f5c60fcdcf3b7cd02c2882334c15a3d02f74a69631c696c3bce47deb21dc9ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Emily Kitazawa"},"description":"Emily found her love of reading and writing at a young age, learning to enjoy these activities thanks to being taught them by her mom\u2014Goodnight Moon will forever be a favorite. As a young adult, Emily graduated with her English degree, specializing in Creative Writing and TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language), from the University of Central Florida. She later earned her master\u2019s degree in Higher Education from Pennsylvania State University. Emily loves reading fiction, especially modern Japanese, historical, crime, and philosophical fiction. Her personal writing is inspired by observations of people and nature.","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/emily-kitazawa\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/pile-of-plastic-garbage-on-beach.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87005"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87005\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87923,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87005\/revisions\/87923"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}