By now, we all know that plastic is very harmful to the environment and that recycling it whenever possible is essential.

In today’s post we detail the real impact it has on nature so that we can see the importance of a small gesture such as depositing our plastic waste in the yellow container.

The first stop: the oceans

Most of the plastic waste that is not recycled correctly, unfortunately ends up in nature and of those, the vast majority, end up “swimming” through our seas and oceans.

According to Greenpeace, the garbage equivalent of 1,200 times the weight of the Eiffel Tower reaches seas and oceans every year. This fact has a devastating effect on the marine flora and fauna.

Many animals are trapped in the plastic waste and end up dying either suffocated or because the plastic does not allow them to eat.

In addition, some types of plastic release pollutants when they come into contact with water, which kills marine animals and destroys fauna.

Many fish end up eating plastics, so when we consume fish we are ingesting a considerable amount of microplastics that end up in our body.

Our forests

Plastic pollution in seas and oceans is the most visible, but unfortunately it is not the only one. Our forests and soils are also polluted by plastic waste.

A plastic bottle that we leave abandoned in the field will take about 500 years to decompose.

In addition, many of those plastics that are degrading, are absorbed by the soil and release toxic substances that can end up filtering until they reach some water source, such as lakes, rivers or seas.

These microplastics are already present on practically all surfaces, they are very small and it is easy for animals to ingest them, so they again enter our food chain with the risks that this poses to our health.

The air

Our skies and the air we breathe are also not spared from plastic pollution. The production of plastic itself expels a large amount of harmful substances into the environment.

Similarly, plastic when burned is one of the most polluting waste.

The only solution is to raise awareness and reduce the use of plastic elements, while recycling as much plastic waste as possible.

From Baidal we encourage you to do your part and reduce your plastic consumption, reuse and above all recycle all the plastic you use.