We’ve all been told that we should recycle plastic bottles and containers. But what actually happens to the plastic if we just throw it away? Emma Bryce traces the life cycles of three different plastic bottles, shedding light on the dangers these disposables present to our world.

Some important facts and hazard about plastic usage and littering:

• It takes 500-1,000 years for plastic to degrade.
• 50 percent of the plastic we use, we use just once and throw away.
• Enough plastic is thrown away each year to circle the earth four times.
• The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is located in the North Pacific Gyre off the coast of California and is the largest ocean garbage site in the world. This floating mass of plastic is twice the size of Texas, with plastic pieces outnumbering sea life six to one.
• One million sea birds and 100,000 marine mammals are killed annually from plastic in our oceans.
• Plastic chemicals can be absorbed by the human body—93 percent of Americans aged six or older test positive for BPA (a chemical released when plastic decays).
• Some of these compounds found in plastic have been found to alter hormones or have other potential human health effects.