You might be hooked on plastic.

    You don’t think so? Try to get through an hour without it.

    First of all, stop texting your friends. There’s plastic in your phone. Forget about buying stuff online. It’ll most likely arrive packed in plastic. And don’t get hungry. Your refrigerator is full of plastic containers.

    You get the idea. Plastic is everywhere. It’s lightweight and cheap to make. It’s also extremely durable—that’s good, but it’s also a problem.

    In the past 75 years or so, humans have made billions of tons of plastic. This material takes hundreds of years to break down. Much of it is still around. 

    What does that mean for humans—and the planet we live on? 

    You might be hooked on plastic.

    You don’t think so? Try to go an hour without it.

    First, stop texting your friends. There’s plastic in your phone. Then, stop buying stuff online. It’ll most likely come packed in plastic. And don’t get hungry. Your refrigerator is full of plastic containers.

    You get the idea. Plastic is everywhere. It’s lightweight. It’s cheap to make. It’s also very durable. That’s good. But it’s a problem too.

    People have made billions of tons of plastic over the past 75 years or so. Plastic takes hundreds of years to break down. Much of it is still around.

    What does that mean for humans? What does it mean for our planet?

    You might be hooked on plastic.

    You don’t think so? Try to get through an hour without it.

    First of all, there’s plastic in your phone, so stop texting your friends. Also, forget about buying stuff online, because it’ll most likely arrive packed in plastic. And don’t get hungry. Your refrigerator is full of plastic containers.

    You get the idea. Plastic is everywhere. It’s lightweight, cheap to make, and extremely durable, which is good, but it’s also a problem.

    In the past 75 years or so, humans have made billions of tons of plastic. But this material takes hundreds of years to break down. As a result, much of what we have made is still around.

    What does that mean for humans—and the planet we live on?

    The first human-made plastic was invented more than 100 years ago. By the 1950s, plastic was changing the way we lived. Plastic products were suddenly everywhere. Babies could drink out of plastic bottles. Adults could play with plastic tennis rackets. Families could eat on plastic plates—then just throw them away! 

    In some ways, plastic has done its job well. It’s easier to work with than wood, metal, or glass. It has made many products cheaper. It has even helped save lives. Car airbags, bike helmets, and many medical machines are made out of plastic.

    But here’s the thing: Products like cars and helmets are made to last. Many plastic items are not. Think about cups and straws, or sandwich bags and yogurt cups. These are known as single-use plastics. They are made to be used once and thrown away.

    The first human-made plastic was invented more than 100 years ago. By the 1950s, it was changing the way we lived. Plastic products were everywhere. Babies drank out of plastic bottles. Adults played with plastic tennis rackets. Families used plastic plates—then just threw them away!

    In some ways, plastic has done its job well. It’s easier to work with than wood, metal, or glass. It has made many products cheaper. It has even helped save lives. Car airbags, bike helmets, and many medical machines are made out of plastic.

    Car airbags and helmets are made to last. But many other plastic items are not. Cups, straws, sandwich bags, and yogurt cups are single-use plastics. They are made to be used once. Then you throw them away.

    The first human-made plastic was invented more than 100 years ago. By the 1950s, plastic products were suddenly everywhere, changing the way we lived. Babies could drink out of plastic bottles, adults could play with plastic tennis rackets, and families could eat on plastic plates—then just throw them away!

    In some ways, plastic has done its job very well. It’s easier to work with than wood, metal, or glass, and it has made many products cheaper. And some plastic items, such as car airbags, bike helmets, and medical machines that are made out of plastic, have even helped save lives.

     But here’s the thing: Products like car airbags and helmets are made to last. However, many plastic items—such as cups, straws, sandwich bags, and yogurt cups—are not. These are known as single-use plastics because they are made to be used once and then thrown away.

    Today about 390 million tons of plastic waste gets tossed each year. Where does all that disposable plastic go? 

    Only about 9 percent of it is recycled. Most ends up as trash in landfills. The rest litters the ground or floats in rivers and oceans. 

    All that floating plastic kills more than a million animals each year. Fish and seabirds get tangled in plastic bags. Other creatures eat the plastic, which fills up their stomachs. As a result, they can get sick or lose interest in eating real food. 

    Today about 390 million tons of plastic waste gets tossed each year. Where does all that disposable plastic go?

    About 9 percent of it is recycled. Most ends up as trash in landfills. The rest litters the ground or floats in rivers and oceans.

    Floating plastic kills more than a million animals each year. Fish and seabirds get tangled in plastic bags. Other creatures eat the plastic. It fills up their stomachs. They can get sick. They stop eating real food.

    Today about 390 million tons of plastic waste gets tossed each year. Where does all that disposable plastic go?

    Only about 9 percent of it is recycled. Most ends up as trash in landfills, and the rest litters the ground or floats in rivers and oceans.

    All that floating plastic kills more than a million animals each year. Fish and seabirds get tangled in plastic bags. Other creatures eat the plastic, which fills up their stomachs and can cause them to get sick or lose interest in eating real food.

    But plastic isn’t just in objects you can see. Over time, the material breaks down into microplastics—tiny pieces smaller than a sesame seed. And those pieces will someday turn into nanoplastics. (Those are pieces too small to see with the human eye.)

    Experts say both types of plastic are already in our air, water, and soil. They’ve been found in snow at the top of Mount Everest and in the breath of a bottlenose dolphin. They can even accumulate in our bodies. (Scientists are still figuring out what that means for our health.)

    Where do these plastic particles come from? In many cases, sunlight and water break down plastic garbage into microplastics. But plastic breaks down while we’re still using it too. 

    Plastic bits can seep into bottled water. Tires shed tiny pieces of plastic as people drive. Some fabrics even release plastic fibers when people wash or wear their clothes. 

    Over time, plastic objects break down into tiny pieces called microplastics. They are smaller than a sesame seed. Eventually, they turn into nanoplastics. (Those are pieces too small to see with the human eye.)

    Experts say both types of plastic are now in our air, water, and soil. They’ve been found in snow at the top of Mount Everest. They’ve been found in the breath of a bottlenose dolphin. They can even accumulate in our bodies. (Scientists are still figuring out what that means for our health.)

    Often, sunlight and water break down plastic garbage into microplastics. But plastic also breaks down while we’re still using it.

    Plastic bits can seep into bottled water. Tires shed tiny pieces of plastic as people drive. Some fabrics even release plastic fibers when people wash or wear their clothes.

    But plastic isn’t just in objects you can see. Over time, the material breaks down into microplastics—tiny pieces smaller than a sesame seed. Those tiny pieces will someday turn into nanoplastics, which are pieces too small to see with the human eye.

    Experts say both types of plastic are already in our air, water, and soil. They’ve been found in snow at the top of Mount Everest and in the breath of a bottlenose dolphin—and they can even accumulate in our bodies. (Scientists are still figuring out what that means for our health.)

    Where do these plastic particles come from? In many cases, sunlight and water break down plastic garbage into microplastics, but plastic can also break down while we’re still using it.

    Plastic bits can seep into bottled water. Tires shed tiny pieces of plastic as people drive, and some fabrics even release plastic fibers when people wash or wear their clothes.

    So how do we keep plastic trash from hurting us—and the planet? One way is to use less of it. 

    In the United States, 12 states and more than 500 cities have banned single-use plastic bags. Some states have also banned single-use plastic in other forms, like Styrofoam cups or food containers. And in at least seven states, companies that make plastic must pay to recycle those products. 

    You can help too. Drink water from a reusable metal water bottle. Bring a cloth tote bag to the store with you. And the next time it sounds fun to slurp soda from a straw, stop and think: What if that straw were to get stuck in the stomach of a sea turtle?

    You might just sip from the glass instead. 

_{—with reporting by Lauren Vespoli and Lisa Herrington}

    So how do we keep plastic trash from hurting us—and the planet? Use less of it.

    In the United States, 12 states have banned single-use plastic bags. So have more than 500 cities. Some states have also banned other single-use plastic items, like Styrofoam cups or food containers. In at least seven states, companies that make plastic must pay to recycle those products.

    You can help too. Drink tap water from a metal water bottle. Bring a cloth bag to the store. And before grabbing a straw, stop and think: What if that straw were to get stuck in the stomach of a sea turtle?

    You might just sip from the glass instead.•

_{—with reporting by lauren vespoli and lisa herrington}

    So how do we keep plastic trash from hurting us—and the planet? One way is to use less of it.

    In the United States, 12 states and more than 500 cities have banned single-use plastic bags, and some states have also banned single-use plastic in other forms, such as Styrofoam cups or food containers. Furthermore, in at least seven states, companies that make plastic must pay to recycle those products.

    You can help too. Drink tap water from a metal water bottle. Bring a cloth tote bag to the store with you to carry your purchases home. And the next time it sounds fun to slurp soda from a straw, stop and think: What if that straw were to get stuck in the stomach of a sea turtle?

    You might just decide to sip from the glass instead. 

    _{—with reporting by lauren vespoli and lisa herrington}