(NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center via AP)More than 9 billion tons of plastic has been produced since 1950, and the vast majority of it is still around. As plastic becomes near-indestructible mountains of garbage on land and swirling vortexes of trash on the high seas, humans keep making more. You probably touch plastic to switch on the car radio on the foam plastic dashboard. Another surprise, he said, is how far the United States lags behind China and Europe in recycling plastic material. Like other countries, the United States has been slow to enforce regulations on industry emissions.

Source: Washington Post July 19, 2017 18:00 UTC