Single-use plastics can be convenient, but more often than not, they have a lasting negative impact on our planet. They end up in our landfills, oceans, and ecosystems creating problems for animals and plants alike. In fact, half of all plastic in the world was created in just the last 13 years, and according to National Geographic, only 9% of that plastic is actually recycled. That is 6.3 billion metric tons of plastic waste with nowhere to go. These plastics are then unable to biodegrade, so they just continue to break down into smaller and smaller microplastics which causes more systemic problems.