5 things you didn't know about Plastics in Northern Ireland

1. It can take up to 500 years for just one plastic bag to break down. In NI, we still use over 93 million single-use plastic bags a year. Cut down by using a bag for life or a reusable tote bag and by keeping spares in convenient places.

2. It takes 450 years for just one plastic bottle to break down. NI uses 145 million single use plastic bottles every year! Many are discarded, and end up polluting our rivers and seas.

3. NI street cleansing costs us £45 million annually. On average, 71% items littered in NI in 2019/20 contained plastic. If we could cut down on costs associated with single-use plastic littering, our Government could divert this spending to important areas such as education and infrastructure.

4. 1 in 3 people openly admit to littering. Plastic accounts for nearly 9 tonnes of litter on NI streets at any one time. Two of the biggest offenders are confectionary wrappers and plastic bottles. Please recycle or dispose of litter responsibly.

5. 28 tonnes of litter is on our NI streets at any one time; that’s the equivalent weight of 5 elephants!

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