What to do with all the plastics?

In total eight percent of the world's oil production are used in manufacturing plastics, and only five percent of the plastics are recycled. Most of it is buried as land filling, with the result that the plastics are, for decades, leaking toxic chemicals into the groundwater. Less than 0.2 percent of today's plastics are biodegradable and there are few facilities that compost "bioplastics" made from corn or other cereals.

Huge quantities are dumped into the sea. This and other effects are described in detail in the Royal Society's report "Plastics, environment and human health". However, there are rather simple solutions to come around parts of the problems. Australia, Ireland, Italy, Taiwan and South Africa are leading an international movement to prevent or ban plastic bags. Since 2002, Ireland imposed a 15-cents 'plastic tax', the use of plastic bags dropped by 90 percent and tax revenues have funded recycling programs. The leader of the UN Environment Programme has called for a global ban on thin plastic bags.