1.
What is the most ubiquitous type of "litter" on the planet?
Correct Answer
A. Cigarette butts
Explanation
Cigarette butts comprise half of all littered objects, and they are consistently the most common litter found on beaches during the annual International Coastal Cleanup Day (source: The Ocean Conservancy).
2.
Which item is the least recyclable?
Correct Answer
A. Cigarette butts
Explanation
Cigarette butts contain multiple materials including cellulose acetate, a plastic, as well as a host of toxic chemicals (source: Clean Virginia Waterways).
3.
What happens to plastic waste?
Correct Answer
B. It never fully goes away, it just breaks into little pieces
Explanation
Plastic waste does not fully biodegrade, meaning it does not break down completely into natural substances. Instead, it breaks into smaller and smaller pieces called microplastics. These microplastics can persist in the environment for hundreds of years and can be found in various ecosystems, including the ocean, where they can be harmful to marine life. Therefore, plastic waste never fully goes away, it just continues to break down into smaller pieces.
4.
Where does the majority of plastic waste end up?
Correct Answer
A. Oceans
Explanation
Plastic waste ends up in the oceans due to improper disposal and lack of recycling infrastructure. This is a major environmental issue as it pollutes the marine ecosystem, harming marine life and disrupting the balance of the ecosystem. Plastic waste in the oceans can also break down into microplastics, which can enter the food chain and pose a threat to human health. Efforts are being made to address this problem through increased recycling, waste management, and awareness campaigns to reduce plastic consumption and promote sustainable alternatives.
5.
Most of the plastic in the ocean comes from ships at sea.
Correct Answer
B. False
Explanation
Most of the plastic in the ocean comes from land, and is washed out through lakes, rivers and storm drains when it rains.
6.
Which of the following snacks come individually wrapped in plastic?
Correct Answer
D. All of the above
Explanation
You can also find individually plastic-wrapped potatoes, bananas, avocados, pre-sliced apples and much more. What next-raisins?
7.
What is the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch"?
Correct Answer
D. A concentrated area in the North Pacific of mostly tiny particles of plastic that you cannot easily see
Explanation
Capt. Charles Moore of Algalita Marine Research Foundation discovered concentrated plastic debris caught in the remote North Pacific Gyre in 1997. Later, researchers at 5 Gyres characterized the pollution as a "plastic smog" because most of the particles suspended throughout the water column are barely visible.
8.
Unless incinerated, most plastics never completely breakdown.
Correct Answer
A. True
Explanation
Sunlight and ocean waves cause plastic to break down into smaller and smaller particles, but they never completely biodegrade. (Source: 5 Gyres)
9.
What you can do to help stop plastic pollution?
Correct Answer
D. All of the above
Explanation
For more information on living plastic-free, and to keep up on the movement to rid the world of single-use plastics, go to plasticpollutioncoalition.com/plastic free times
10.
Over 90% of all seabirds have PLASTIC pieces in their stomachs.
Correct Answer
A. True
Explanation
So much plastic trash is flowing into the oceans that 90 percent of seabirds eat it now and virtually every one will be consuming it by 2050. That finding, revealed in a new study published this week, tracks for the first time how widespread plastics have become inside seabirds around the world says Chris Wilcox, a research scientist with Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization and lead author of the study.