Help protect our land and shores of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality! Tell the Mayor and City Councillor to ban single-use plastics in CBRM by 2020.
DRASTIC PLASTIC
• 80% of ocean trash comes from land-based sources – more than 8 million tons per year
• Plastic pollution affects at least 1,200 marine species, including seals, turtles, dolphins, and whales
• Plastic pollution kills 100 million marine mammals each year
• At the rate we are polluting, by 2050 there will be more plastic in the oceans than fish (by weight)
• Coral reefs support 25% of all marine life. Coral that comes into contact with plastic becomes 85% more likely to contract disease
HUMAN HEALTH
• Many of the fish consumed by humans (eg. perch, trout, cisco) have almost definitely ingested microfibre plastics
• In the ocean, plastic absorbs toxic chemicals (PBCs, DDTs) that can cause endocrine disruption and cancer if ingested
RECYCLING IS NOT ENOUGH
• 91% of plastic products are NOT recycled
• Many single-use plastic products (plastic bags, straws, food containers and cutlery) are not even recyclable. Each item takes at least 450 years to break down
• Some products that claim to be biodegradable aren't (eg. fast-food coffee cups, which contain a thin film of polypropylene plastic
• Only clean plastic is recyclable. Generally, if it's easier or cheaper to make new plastics instead of recycling, that's what happens
PLASTICS AND THE CLIMATE CRISIS
• 99% of plastics come from fossil fuels
• Plastic production contributes deadly greenhouse gas emissions AT EVERY STAGE – from materials extraction to product production to waste disposal
• The petrochemical industry has no intention of slowing down plastics production: more than $180 billion has been allocated to TRIPLE plastics production by 2050
GOVERNMENTS NEED TO HELP
• Our individual choices matter, but governments need to TELL THE TRUTH and TAKE ACTION about the human and environmental costs of plastic
• This year, the European Union governments agreed to BAN SINGLE-USE PLASTICS throughout Europe by 2021
• Cities have also enacted bans on specific single-use items, including Seattle, Malibu, and Montreal. The goal is to keep plastic waste from reaching beaches and oceans
HELP SLASH THE TRASH!
• Cape Breton's citizens and economy alike depend upon the environment: marine life, clean water, and the pristine natural beauty that brings millions of visitors to our shores
