Non-biodegradable plastics pose a major threat to the environment and to public health when they are improperly disposed. These petroleum-based products contain toxins that can kill wildlife, and are leaching into our water supply and the air we breathe. Chemicals such as Bisphenol A, which is typically used as a resin for petroleum plastics, have been found to be carcinogenic, recent necropsies performed on various marine life have led to the conclusion that close to a third had died after ingesting garbage that was mistaken for food. The overwhelming majority of this garbage, as evidenced by The Great Pacific Garbage Patch. A report by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation earlier this year predicted there would be more plastic than fish by 2050 unless urgent action was taken. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is so large you can see it from space. You, Jeff Bezos, must step up and be an example for our generation and future generations; our children and our grandchildren. I don't want to live in a world where the oceans are dead.

The spread of toxic chemicals from non-biodegradable plastics is killing animals all over the globe. A recent study found that among the 1.5 million Laysan albatrosses that inhabit the Pacific island of Midway, nearly a third of their chicks will die from ingesting plastic debris fed to them by their parents. In the ocean itself, these non-biodegradable plastics are being photodegraded instead into smaller and smaller pieces which are eventually consumed by zooplankton. Through these zooplankton, toxic chemicals from petroleum-based plastics then make their way up the food chain.

Studies have also found that these floating, microscopic plastic particles can absorb organic pollutants from the seawater itself, thus trapping these pollutants in the food chain instead of allowing them to be expelled as they would naturally. Such pollutants, like DDT and various PCBs, can disrupt hormone functions in marine life. Eventually, these numerous toxins will enter human bodies in the form of seafood dishes. They can also threaten human life by entering our water supply and the air around us. Consistent exposure to sunlight causes a process called outgassing, in which these various toxins are expelled into the air. If these plastics are located near local water supplies, these toxins can also make their way into surrounding soil and water.

There are alternatives to using non-biodegradable plastics. Though some biodegradable alternatives like corn-based plastics have been found to produce hefty doses of methane as they degrade, there are other options. Hemp-based products, for example, actually trap dangerous greenhouse gases in their cells as they are cultivated. Whatever the solution may be, we certainly cannot continue using non-biodegradable plastics. I urge you to ban the use of non-biodegradable plastics for all products in the United States.