PLASTIC

BAGS STRA

WS

&ST

IRRE

RS

CUPS &

CUP LIDS PLASTICBOTTLES

PLASTICCUTLERY

FOODCONTAINERS

COTTON BUD

STICKSWETWIPES

CIGARETTEBUTTS

CAPS

& LIDS

HOW FAR BACKIN TIME COULD

SINGLE-USEPLASTICS

TRAVEL BEFORETHEY DEGRADE?

HELP PROTECTTHESE ANIMALS

FOUND INIRISH WATERS

BY USINGLESS PLASTICS

*HOW LONG UNTIL THEY ARE GONE?SINGLE-USE PLASTICS

GUESS HOW LONG IT TAKES FOR THE PLASTIC TO DEGRADE BY PLACING THE YEAR ON THE LITTER ITEM...

Avoid single-use plastics like cutlery & cups

Reduce waste from shopping by buying items

with the least amount of plastic packaging

Reuse plastic bags or drinks bottles

Separate your rubbish for recycling

Think global, act local, get involved

in beach clean-ups

2020

2000

1970

1920

1870

1820

1570

1520

1270

1020 Battle ofClontarf(Brian Ború)

20YEARSAGO

First modernsubmarine builtby Irish engineer,John Phillip Holland

1878

First IrishPlantations

1569

1519

1271

1014

2000

1969

The worldcelebrated the start of the newmillennium

Apollo 11landed onthe Moon

1919

The firstDáil Éireannwasconvened

Irish scientist John Tyndall was born. Best knownfor discovering why the sky is blue

Leonardoda Vinci died

The explorer,Marco Polo, sailed for China

750 YEARSAGO

1000YEARSAGO

450YEARSAGO

500YEARSAGO

1820

200YEARSAGO

150YEARSAGO

100YEARSAGO

50 YEARSAGO

5YEARSAGO

Ireland votedto approvesame-sexmarriage

2015

Single-use plastics are made to be used once, often for only a few minutes.

They do not completely decompose but breakdown

into smaller pieces called microplastics.

Main sources of marine litter:- Litter washed into drains, rivers and lakes

- Wind blown landfill waste- Accidental input e.g. shippingcontainers washed over board- Illegal dumping

Plastics make upof all marine litter from surfacewaters to deep-sea sediments1

Land based activitiesaccount forof marine litter found in our oceans2

BALLACH MUIRECUCKOO WRASSE

SIORC GORMBLUE SHARK

MÍOL MÓR DRONNACHHUMPBACK WHALE

RÓN GLASGREY SEAL

DEILF BHOLGSHRÓNACH BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN

LEATHERBACK TURTLETURTAR AN DROIMLEATHAIR

Entanglement & ingestion by marine animals

Damages picturesque coastlines & beaches

Destroys habitats & helps spread invasive species

Impacts local economies, human health & safety

Discarded fishing nets can continue to catch fish (ghost fishing) & can also cause vessel damage

How long? This is for illustrative purposes only. Real degradation times depend on the type ofplastic & the environmental conditions of exposure. Estimations gathered from various sources.

Sources:

Note: litter items selected from: Anna Maria Addamo, Perrine Laroche, Georg Hanke, Top Marine BeachLitter Items in Europe, EUR 29249 EN, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2017.

1 Thevenon, F., Carroll C., Sousa J. (editors), 2014. Plastic Debris in the Ocean: The Characterization ofMarine Plastics & their Environmental Impacts, Situation Analysis Report. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN.

2 Jambeck et al., Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean, Science, February 2015.

*

The oceanscontain over

150 million tons of

plastic waste

Every year up to 8 million tons are added.2

This is equivalent to dumping the contents of one

rubbish truck into the ocean every minute.

NorthPacificGyre

SouthPacificGyre

SouthAtlantic

Gyre

IndianOceanGyre

NorthAtlantic

Gyre

Ocean currents carry marine litter

to different areas, resulting in large

concentrations coming together

in five main regions known as gyres.

Ocean currents can also carry

marine litter into coastal areas

and onto beaches, polluting

coastlines and ports.

DID YOU KNOW? THIS IS A GLOBAL PROBLEM WITH RISKS TO THE ENVIRONMENT SO ITS TIME TO RETHINK PLASTICS

2 Sets of Magnets:1-5YEARS

20YEARS

50YEARS

100YEARS

150YEARS

200YEARS

450YEARS

500YEARS

750YEARS

1000YEARS

1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th