A new study by the environmental group Greenpeace found plastic waste and toxic chemicals in remote parts of Antarctica, adding to evidence that pollution from human activity is impacting every corner of the planet. Greenpeace activist and biologist Grant Oakes said a major culprit is single-use plastic.

Grant Oakes: “Single-use plastic is—you know, they believe, now is accounting for up to 70, 80 percent of the plastic that’s entering the oceans. And for a few moments of convenience, it has sometimes up to hundreds of years of lifetime in the ocean.”

This month, the European Commission unveiled draft rules that would ban an array of single-use plastic items, including plastic plates, cutlery and straws.