Plastic bags

•  8.8 million tons of plastic make their way into the oceans every single year, and researchers have predicted that if our current rate of irresponsible disposal continues, there could be more plastic than fish in the oceans by 2050.
•  A toxic substance called leachate, that typically forms when plastic begins the process of breaking down (a process that is extremely slow – it takes around 1,000 years), has found its way into local groundwater supplies. People who live near landfills tend to experience a variety of health problems, ranging from low birth weight to congenital defects and higher-than-usual rates of cancer. http://www.onegreenplanet.org/environment/if-ads-promoting-consumerism-told-the-truth/
• Enough plastic is thrown away each year to circle the earth four times. 
• Less than 1% of plastic bags are recycled. 
• Over the last ten years we have produced more plastic than during the whole of the last century. 
• About 2 million plastic bags are used every minute around the world- that's over 1 trillion plastic bags every year, worldwide. 
• Plastic bags don't biodegrade, they break down into smaller fragments which readily soak up toxins, then they contaminate soil, waterways, and Animals upon digestion.