Plastic bottles in the ocean:
Being Part Of The Solution, Not The Problem
The ocean plastics problem
How much plastic is in the ocean?
Every year, the number of plastic bottles in the ocean as well as other plastic scraps can reach a staggering 8 million metric tons. Unfortunately, industrial processes rely heavily on the use of plastics and almost every household uses plastic products that turn into nonbiodegradable post-consumer waste.Instead of disintegrating, plastic bottles break into smaller and smaller chunks known as microplastics that can be ingested by marine life which confuse them with food. The small plastics, therefore, enter the food chain and can eventually reach us!It is estimated that humans have produced about 8.3 billion metric tonnes of plastics since the large-scale production of synthetics started in the 1950s. If we continue dumping plastics in the ocean at this rate, there will be more plastics than fish in the ocean by 2050.
Plastic facts
Plastic is an integral part of global economy. It's widespread and popular because it works. It’s durable, reliable and - let’s not forget - cheap!Plastic usage skyrocketed 20x in the last 50 years and is expected to double again in the next 20 years.
If we continue to use plastic as we do, plastic production will account for 20% of the global oil consumption and 15% of carbon emissions.The real problem with our current use of plastic is that we USE IT ONLY ONCE, and then thrown it away.Take a plastic water bottle for example. We use 1 million plastic water bottles per minute.
It takes 450 years for a plastic water bottle to degrade. Because plastic is durable.Maybe you’re conscious to recycle your bottles. And yes, we have made progress recycling, but only 9% of plastic gets recycled worldwide.This is the problem with plastic.
The ocean needs innovation
A sustainable solution for plastic bottles
Almost one million plastic bottles are consumed every minute, and a significant fraction of these plastic bottles end up in the ocean. We need to take action!We need innovative plastic solutions that can divert plastic bottles from the oceans by means of recycling programs that can turn them into new products that can be used multiple times.The REBO water bottle is an innovative alternative to plastic bottles that combines technology and sustainable materials. By using REBO, we can help reduce the number of plastic bottles generated annually which also means we avoid the negative environmental consequences that come from producing new plastic bottles. This, in turn, increases the demand for plastic recycled materials and contributes to a stronger recycling global infrastructure. As consumers, we constantly use plastic products such as bottles, food containers, and even our shoes and carpets. We should make conscious buying decisions that reduce the use of plastics and halt the avalanche of plastic waste that is damaging our planet.
The new plastics economy
“If your bathtub is overflowing, you don’t start scooping water out. You turn off the tap.”Ocean clean-up efforts, like those funded by REBO, are a short term solution. They don’t address the long-term need to turn off the flow of single-use plastics. “The New Plastic Economy: Rethinking the Future of Plastics & Catalysing Action” by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation offers an alternative. A vision where plastic waste is eliminated and instead becomes a resource. REBO designed our smart bottle in line with this vision.
Join thousands of people who are getting healthier and contributing to the oceans well-being.
