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How much plastic do you use? depicts a coral reef up top, made entirely out of transformed plastic, sitting on top of a pile of recycled plastics as a commentary on how much society not only uses plastic but throws it away. Plastic takes hundreds, if not thousands, of years to decompose. The average consumer has a microplastic intake of 11,000 particles annually so plastic is not only become integrated into the natural environment but is also becoming slowly integrated into our bodies. The installation is a way of saying that even living things are slowly becoming made of plastic.

How much plastic do you use?

Sierra Stevens

Undergraduate
Less than 5% of plastic is actually recycled and reused each year. 14 million tons of plastic ends up in the ocean each year. Over 1 million marine animals (mammals, fish, sharks, turtles, birds, etc.) are killed each year because of plastic in the ocean. 380 million metric tons of plastic is being produced each year. 8.3 billion metric tons has been produced since its introduction in the 1950s. 450 years is how long it takes for a singular plastic bottle to decompose. A single plastic bottle has the carbon footprint of 828 grams of CO2. 5 trillion plastic bags are produced annually. It takes 1,000 years for a plastic bag to decompose. 100 billion bags are thrown away annually. The average human consumes 11,000 pieces of microplastics. Plastic chemicals have been found to cause many types of cancers. Every piece of plastic in this installation is a fraction of what was collected from handful of people over a year. How much plastic do you use?