Plastics

The success and dominance of plastics starting in the early 20th century has caused widespread environmental problems, due to their slow decomposition rate in natural ecosystems. Most plastic produced has not been reused, or is incapable of reuse, either being captured in landfills or persisting in the environment as plastic pollution and microplastics. Plastic pollution can be found in all the world’s major water bodies, even creating garbage patches in all of the world’s oceans and contaminating terrestrial ecosystems. Of all the plastic discarded so far, less than 10% has been recycled. (Plastic, Wikipedia).