Can we end our plastic addiction? Once hailed as a wonder material, plastics have invaded every part of our lives — and our bodies. Pressure is growing to bring them under control.
Trillion pound cost of plastic revealed
Drastic action: The Citarum River in Indonesia is choked by plastic — everyday, approximately 2,000 tons of plastic travel from the river into the sea. Glossary
Mount Everest - The world's tallest mountain, which straddles the borders of Nepal and China. Temperatures can drop to -60C. The first known people to climb the mountain were New Zealand's Edmund Hillary and the Sherpa, Tenzing Norgay.
Plastic - A type of man-made material that comes in many forms. They are defined by their plasticity, which means they can be easily formed into different shapes.
Microplastics - Microplastics are fragments of degraded plastic that are less than five millimetres in length. They are blown into the atmosphere and transported by ocean currents.
Strokes - A medical emergency that occurs when the blood supply to a part of the brain is cut off. They can cause lasting brain damage if not treated quickly.
Heart attacks - A medical emergency in which the supply of blood to the heart is blocked.
Fossil fuels - Fuels made from decomposing plants and animals, including coal, natural gas and oil. These fuels release carbon dioxide, causing global warming.
Greenhouse gases - Greenhouse gases, which increase the atmosphere's capacity to hold heat, are vital to life on Earth: without them the planet would be freezing. But human activity is disturbing the delicate balance that created the conditions for life as we know it. Carbon dioxide is responsible for 60% of the manmade greenhouse effect, but we also produce smaller quantities of methane, ozone and nitrous oxide, which are even more damaging.
Decompose - Break down or decay.
UN - United Nations. An intergovernmental organisation based in New York that aims to maintain international peace and security.