SINGLE USE PLASTIC. Used for 5 minutes, but stays in the environment for around 500 years. Only 9% of plastic waste gets recycled. Single-use plastics have a significant impact on the environment. These plastics are designed to be used once and then discarded, which leads to a vast amount of waste that takes hundreds of years to decompose. The production of single-use plastics also requires a significant amount of resources, including fossil fuels, water, and energy. When these plastics are not