It would help if we all set aside our little prejudices and face reality.

Thank you for your post. Your points are well-taken– I was around in the fifties and sixties throwing garbage everywhere. But there was a “Beautify America” campaign launched by First Lady Ladybird Johnson, I think, that encouraged people to stop throwing trash everywhere and to clean up trashy places. And, yes, it really has helped a lot. But, there is still too much of it out in the natural world where it shouldn’t be.
And, although I agree with your point about everything being biodegradable eventually, the amount of time it takes most man-made things to biodegrade–longer than one person’s lifetime– means an increasing accumulation of trash over the long haul. There will come a time when material consumption will reach a saturation point ecologically.
Just for the record, I do not subscribe to Progressivism, a global warming crisis, a climate change crisis, socialism, communism, liberalism or the Donald Trump world view.

I fully agree that we should clean up after ourselves – I believe we have been doing that since the 50’s to such an extent that those who weren’t alive then can’t imagine the trash everywhere on our roadsides at that time. We, as a society, promote and sometimes enforce recycling. Are we perfect? No, of course not and there is room for improvement, but I wonder how much our efforts will make a concrete improvement (the idea of diminishing returns comes to mind.) of our natural world.

As for where do the broken-down components go and how do they affect our water and land, I need to remind us all that everything, “every thing”, that makes up the component material of plastic originally came from this earth. It will degrade. Some of the older compounds would take a ridiculous amount of time, but much of those have been replaced. Again, not perfect, but what is?

The truth will prevail where there are pains taken to bring it to light. — George Washington

Thank you for posting your comments, reminding us of the junk people leave on the beaches and riverbanks of the world. And, I agree with you about the problem being worldwide.
But, if we the people of the United States just mind our own business and clean up after ourselves, and private non-profits tackle the junk out on the bounding main, other countries will get the message.
Biodegradable plastics sound good, but what effect do the broken-down components have in the water and on the land?
If Common-Sense Americans weigh-in loudly on environmental issues, the government will be less likely to throw money at special-interest environmental groups.
We could be the voice of reason in this controversy.

This is unacceptable, but it is not confined to the North American continent. Clean-up should not be only a U.S. burden.

The overwhelming amount of plastic trash comes from storms and tsunamis that hit coastlines all over the world, and carry all kinds of materials back into the ocean. Remember the pictures from 2010?

Plastics are a part of the world. Not something that is going to change, yet the formulas have changed to address the overall trash issue with more and more being bio-degradable.

This story of a “trash island” the size of Texas brings to the general populace a vision. It is not an accurate picture – not saying it is a good picture, but it is not this horror. This has been blown out of proportion. Then the answer is (as always) to throw money at environmentalists. gaaah!

“Wisdom is the Happiness of the People.”
Benjamin Franklin