Five Friday Facts – No Impact Man

In the fall of 2009 I saw No Impact Man in the theater (read the review here). Later that year my sister gave my wife and me a copy of the book. Here are some of the facts culled from an intermittent reading of No Impact Man:

• 4.8 million tons (10 billion pounds) of disposable paper products into landfills every year
• Nine football fields of trees mowed down per minute in the Amazon
• 4-5 trillion plastic bags in trash per year worldwide
• 46,000 pieces of plastic floating in every square mile of ocean
• Of all raw materials taken from the earth to make consumer products, only 1.5% ends up with consumers; 98.5% goes straight to landfill or incinerator without ever being used by us.

[Image source: Metropolitan Museum of Art]