Plastic as a Curse Plastics are non-biodegradable, and microbes cannot spoil them. They are also harmful to the soil and take loads of years to decompose. Plastic baggage thrown away carelessly on roads and different areas discover its way into drains and sewage pipes.
Plastic pollution can alter habitats and natural processes, reducing ecosystems' ability to adapt to climate change, directly affecting millions of people's livelihoods, food production capabilities and social well-being. UNEP's body of work demonstrates that the problem of plastic pollution doesn't exist in a vacuum.
The plastics chemical family of phthalates also is at the top of researchers' list of concerns. Like BPA, phthalates are endocrine disruptors, chemicals that can enter the body through food and personal care products and interfere with hormones the body itself produces.
Plastic as a Curse:
As it is non bio degradable, it is harmful to the soil and takes hundreds of years to degrade or decompose. A huge amount of plastic is thrown away carelessly on the street and in water bodies and such irresponsible disposal of plastic can cause a number of problems.
How does plastic harm the environment? Plastic sticks around in the environment for ages, threatening wildlife and spreading toxins. Plastic also contributes to global warming. Almost all plastics are made from chemicals that come from the production of planet-warming fuels (gas, oil and even coal).
In fact, plastics impact the life of every person every day and everywhere. Without plastics, food waste would increase. Without plastics, fuel costs would increase due to the heavier vehicles. Without plastics, medical care would be very difficult if not impossible.
They are not easy to decompose, which means they are left lying all around and floating on oceans and lakes. The raw materials used to make plastic are extracted from natural gas and petroleum. These are non-renewable sources, and their extraction and production emit greenhouse gases that contribute to global change.
At the current rate of primary plastic production and disposal, plastic could outnumber fish in the ocean by 2050. Many aquatic animals consume plastic, believing it to be prey. Plastic threatens ecosystems, lowers biodiversity, and can even change the flow of nutrients between plants and animals.
Because plastics and their ingredients are pervading our oceans and waterways, invading the bodies of humans and wildlife, and filling landfills (with new and once recycled plastic) the Ecology Center recommends eliminating plastics from your life, as much as possible.
Flexible plastics, such as plastic sheets, bags and packaging, can cause gut blockage and were responsible for the greatest number of deaths over all animal groups.
“Up to 80% of all litter in our oceans is made of plastic. At the rate at which we are dumping items such as plastic bottles, bags, cups and straws after a single use, by 2050 we will have more plastics in the oceans than fish,” warns the United Nations Environment, the UN agency mandated to protect the environment.
Banning all plastic packaging without finding suitable alternative materials can have unintended consequences. At the moment the problem is that plastic ends up as litter in our oceans, where it causes harm to the environment, or in landfills where its value is lost.
Leo Baekeland. The 20th century saw a revolution in plastic production: the advent of entirely synthetic plastics. Belgian chemist and clever marketeer Leo Baekeland pioneered the first fully synthetic plastic in 1907.
It ruins the fertility of the soil. In addition to this, various disease-carrying insects collect in that area, causing deadly illnesses. Most importantly, plastic pollution harms the Marine life. The plastic litter in the water is mistaken for food by the aquatic animals.
The toxic chemical additives and pollutants found in plastics threaten human health on a global scale. Scientifically-proven health effects include causing cancer or changing hormone activity (known as endocrine disruption), which can lead to reproductive, growth, and cognitive impairment.
One of the main things people did back in the day was reuse and repurpose. They collected glass jars and use them around the house, reused paper brown bags, and repurposed clothes into kitchen rags.
The safest container materials include glass (ex. Pyrex), stainless steel, and lead-free ceramic. These are better choices than even the safer plastics, which contain chemical additives that may not have been well evaluated for safety.
Studies have found that certain chemicals in plastic can leach out of the plastic and into the food and beverages we eat. Some of these chemicals have been linked to health problems such as metabolic disorders (including obesity) and reduced fertility.
Nearly all types of plastics can be recycled. However, the extent to which they are recycled depends upon technical, economic and logistic factors. Plastics are a finite and valuable resource, so the best outcome after their initial use is typically to be recycled into a new product.
Most of the plastic pollution in the ocean starts out on land. It mainly comes from household and commercial waste, which blows from waste bins and landfill sites into rivers or sewers, then flows out into the sea. Plastic pollution in the ocean also comes from our clothes.
Plastic pollution was first noticed in the ocean by scientists carrying out plankton studies in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and oceans and beaches still receive most of the attention of those studying and working to abate plastic pollution.