Say 'No' to Single-Use and 'Yes' to a Healthy Planet

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Sponsor: Free The Ocean

Ask the governor of your state to ban single-use plastic bottles.

Say 'No' to Single-Use and 'Yes' to a Healthy Planet

Did you know more than 60 million plastic bottles are thrown away each day in the United States alone, and a million are bought around the world every minute? Plastic bottles are produced using petroleum, natural gas, and other chemicals that are toxic to our environment. They take around 450 years to fully decompose1, but much less time to cause serious problems.

Instead of decomposing, the plastic remains toxic and breaks down into microplastics, which are small enough to enter our food chain… contributing to the equivalent of a credit card’s worth (5 grams) of plastic that humans are consuming every week. This means we are ingesting about half a pound of plastic, every 12 months!

Plastic single-use water bottles are a major contributor to the 19 billion pounds of plastic entering the ocean each year. This is a staggering amount of plastic and causes massive problems for the environment and wildlife, leaking toxins into our oceans and killing over 100,000 marine animals and approximately 1 million seabirds _every year!_2

Much of this comes from our throw-away culture, which people are beginning to realize is unnecessary. Changing from ‘wasteful’ to ‘wasteless’ will help put a stop to the madness of the plastic problem. In a recent poll from RollingStone, 89% of people said they wanted a ban on single-use plastic bottles3. Who wouldn’t? Today, there are only 3 states that have bans in place - but others are ready, they just need a push.

By 2050 there will be more plastic in our ocean than fish4, unless we, the consumers, decide to change our ways and make our voices heard.

I urge you to add your name to the growing majority that want a ban on single-use plastic bottles. We’ll make sure your voice is heard by sending your signature to the Governor of Your State.

  1. FAQ on Plastics
    Our World in Data, September 2, 2018
  2. How Many Animals Die from Plastic?
    No Plastic Oceans, January 19, 2019
  3. 10 Takeaways from the Democrats’ Historic Climate Town Hall
    RollingStone, September 5, 2019
  4. By 2050, there will be more plastic than fish in the world’s oceans, study says
    Washington Post, January 20, 2016

The Petition

To all U.S. Governors and the National Governors Association:

There is no good reason for 60 million plastic bottles to be thrown away EVERY DAY in the United States and for 19 billion pounds of plastic to enter our oceans each year. But sadly, this is the reality... the equivalent of a garbage truck full of plastic dumped into our ocean, every single minute. The toxins from this plastic are creating life changing problems on our environment, wildlife, and all of us - it's estimated that we consume the equivalent of a credit card's worth of plastic every week... and that micro plastics are found in 73% of fish. This is NOT good and we need to do something about it.

International efforts are necessary to stop plastic pollution at the source and to stop generating so much waste in the first place, but state legislation is equally important. In a recent poll 89% of people said they'd like to see a ban on single-use plastic bottles. People are clearly ready to move away from our throw-away culture and towards a less wasteful future - one where we’re part of the solution, not part of the pollution.

Governors, we ask you to work to create a ban on single-use plastic bottles. It's a critical step towards dealing with the massive plastic issue. Please listen to our voices and help us move towards a sustainable future - one that doesn't include a garbage truck of plastic dumped into our oceans every minute! Thank you.

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