Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
The effects of disposable plastic bottles on the environment
Causes and effects of plastic pollution
Causes and effects of plastic pollution
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
The global production and consumption of plastic is enormous. In 2012, 288 million metric tons of plastic were produced worldwide (“Tiny plastic,” 2015). In a report on environmental issues, the United Nations published that in just a decade, between 2004 and 2014, global plastic production increased by 38 percent (Forster, 2016). Plastic is used everywhere and for everything, as it has important advantages such as being relatively inexpensive, practical, versatile and durable. However, these factors are also responsible for the fact that plastic is a long-lasting pollutant that persists in the environment for a very long time. Not only does it not biodegrade, but it accumulates and so do the negative impacts. Marine plastic pollution is harmful …show more content…
(“Washing Clothes,” 2016). East Asia is one the places with the highest concentration of microplastics, with 27 times more plastic found in the seas around Japan than elsewhere in the world. Scientist Jacquie McGlade emphasized the abundance of microplastic particles in deep-sea sediments and Mongolian mountain lakes (Forster, 2016). Ocean currents transport microplastics far from their origin and are the reason for the accumulation of plastic waste in remote waters. In oceans around Antarctica around 50000 plastic particles per square kilometer have been found (Hanna & Power, 2016). The planet's weather system, specifically storms and winds, also impact the distribution of marine debris (Leous & Parry, …show more content…
Abigail Barrows, principal investigator of the Global Microplastics Initiative, evaluated almost 2,000 aquatic samples and found that about 90% of the debris was microfibers (Messinger, 2016 scary science section). Synthetic fibers from artificial fabrics released through domestic washing machines account for a major part of microplastic pollution (Forster, 2016). Research conducted at the University of California at Santa Barbara found that each wash of a synthetic fleece jacket releases an average 1.7 grams of microfibers. After going through the wastewater treatment plant up to 40% end up in the world’s waters (Messinger, 2016). Plymouth University conducted a study to find out specific data about the mass, abundance and size of these synthetic fibers. Polyester, acrylic and polyester-cotton items were washed at standard temperatures of 30°C and 40°C with different detergent and fabric conditioners. The results concluded that the average washing of 6kg could release over 700,000 microscopic fibers that end up in the wastewater after passing through sewage treatments. The polyester-cotton blend was consistently found to shed the least fibers and polyester the most (“Washing Clothes,” 2016). The effort of outdoor companies like Polartec to recycle plastic bottles has proved to be doing more harm than intended, as the plastic ultimately also reaches the
Society is highly dependent on plastic. Unfortunately, eight tonnes of plastic are thrown away every year and most ends up in the ocean. The short documentary “A Plastic Tide” looks at various places throughout the world whose beaches are littered with plastic. Mumbai, India is one of the first places the documentary focuses on. They refer to the beach as a “plastic graveyard” because there is plastic everywhere causing almost no sand to be seen. Afroz Shah began the world’s biggest beach clean and inspired community members to take action. The documentary makes sure to point out that plastic is not the problem. While plastic may be convenient for us, it is not good for marine life. It is single-use plastic that is causing the most harm. Single-use plastics are discarded within the year and only about 5% of it is effectively recycled.
Which means their obviously bad for the aquatic marine life environment & are cause many different forms of damage for them & us as one. On p.g. 23 of The New York Times upfront magazine “Birds,fish, sea turtles, & others are getting tangled in plastic bags or mistake them for food & choke”. Someone else might argue that they could the plastic bags in landfills instead of oceans. But that counter- argument is flawed because you’re just polluting by burning plastic which is bad on our part we’re not doing our part to support & taking care of the earth. Plastic in the ocean isn't just bad for plants & animals but for humans too because of the food chain some of us eat animals as a meat source such as aqua marine life like fish. If the fishermen catch fish that have been eating plastic then it's in our food supply if we eat that fish it's gonna be bad for us so many will end up getting sick from the plastic inside of the fish then what will we do our aqua marine food supply will go down the drain we couldn’t eat the fish since it's basically contaminated with plastic that we’re dumping there instead of trying to fix it & getting rid of plastic bags for good for the good of the earth. We’re causing damage towards the earth by dumping all that plastic into the ocean which damages our water supply it’ll poison us although we clean the water it depends on how big the plastic particles are, it’ll make us sick & sense it’s been lying in the oceans could bring in new pathogens &
M., Gutierrez…). This is something that the Marine Debris Program is looking to eliminate. By removing the plastic from the water, and preventing it from leaking its chemicals, the eating of the plastic in general, and the prospect of these plastics being breeding grounds for dangerous pathogens, the marine environment would be safer for animals and humans alike. So, it is clear, the removal of this harmful debris, specifically plastic is something that must be done through this Citizen Science
Every year, an estimated 8 million tons of plastic waste enters our environment, severely polluting oceans, beaches, forests, and even the towns and cities we live in. In the ocean alone, it is believed that 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic pollutes the waters (“Plastic Statistics”, Ocean Crusaders).The majority of plastic pollution can be traced back to single-use items, such as grocery bags, bottles, and plastic packaging. According to United Nations Environment, “At the rate we are dumping items such as plastic bottles, bags and cups after a single use, by 2050 oceans will carry more plastic than fish…” (“UN Declares War on Ocean Plastic”, UN Environment). This pollution is a major problem and endangers not only the environment, but human
This pollution problem is so ubiquitous plastic can be found throughout the marine environment from coastlines to near shore lagoons to remote ocean hotspots where plastics caught up in marine currents. And gathered up into huge garbage patches that swirl
Most of the necessities humans need are provided in supermarkets, in fact supermarkets have become a necessity for our everyday life. They are now the main source of water, food, clothes and everyday tools. Therefore, the plastic bags demanded and supplied in this industry increase every day. In the past decade, we produced as much plastic as we did in the whole twentieth century (Freinkel, 2011). This exponential increase of a non-biodegradable material has negatively impacted our environment immensely. Plastic production requires our dwindling fossil fuel resources, robs away animal lives, litters our beautiful landscapes and even affects our very own well-being. Hence, if plastic production doesn’t diminish immediately, we will suffer great
Ironically, plastic, which is a material designed to last forever, is generally used for things we tend to throw away. Every year, about one hundred to two hundred billion pounds of plastic are manufactured. Only 31% of that plastic is actually recycled. Biomass packaging estimates 10% of that plastic ends up in the ocean annually. About 20% of it coming from ships and other platforms, and the other 80% coming from land derived sources, such as international garbage dumping, winds or tides, either way it finds its way to the ocean.
One of the main challenges that face the environment today is the threat of plastic materials in the environment. All forms and sizes of plastic are harmful to the environment; this paper looks at the effects of microplastics which are small forms of plastic that are at least 5mm in size. Due to their small size, the microplastics end up being ingested into the bodies of aquatic animals causing health consequences that are uncertain to the organisms. This review focuses on the susceptibility of marine organisms to the physical, chemical and biological uptake of microplastics.
The mission of the report is to inform the general public that plastic debris in the ocean is increasing and is an overlooked problem that is underestimated in oceanic pollution damage. Jeanna prepared for the report by looking at reports from the Journal of Geophysical Research Letters, studies and by interviewing the oceanographer who noticed the increase in plastic debris in
The world population is living, working, and vacationing along the coasts. They are contributing to an unprecedented tide of plastic waste. Pollution is defined as the process that alters a substance or molecule on planet earth, the pollution is caused by the physical contact of an organic decaying particle with a clean particle in the same spot, at the time the two particles join together is when occurs pollution in which the environment is greatly altered. Too many, plastic is a modern day miracle, versatile, inexpensive and durable (Rochman 2014). To others, it is a scourge, a non-degradable pollutant that threatens to choke the global environment. Plastic pollution has led to the deaths of many animals, natural resources, and people (Rochman 2014). It is time to change America’s thinking and to learn from past mistakes.
If I mention that the referee's a bastard, I would no doubt be accused of verbal abuse about the man in the middle, but such a comment would have been valid for the 1878 FA Cup final. The game, between Wanderers and the Royal Engineers and played at the Oval cricket ground, was officiated by Segar Bastard. His 'day job' was a solicitor. He also apparently owned a race-horse.
Research from the University of California San Diego Scripps Institution of Oceanography said that species in the ocean consume a projected 12,000 to 24,000 tons of plastic every year in the Pacific Ocean (Nall, 2014). Pollution of recyclable materials in the oceans is one of the leading causes of why some marine species are nearing extinction. Many authors of articles and books analyzing this topic tend to agree that pollution of our oceans is a problem. The future of this problem is where their ideas tend to differ. The following four literature reviews attempt to demonstrate and support my belief that pollution is getting worse in the ocean and more marine life ecosystems are being affected, but there are things that we as humans can do
Although plastic bags appear to be fragile and light, their negative environmental effect is devastating. Plastic bags may cause large amounts of pollution in every step of their limited life cycle, from the extraction of raw materials, production, transportation, and recycling or disposal. Plastic bags can be defined as the most damaging form of environmental pollution. They can have a damaging effect on marine animals and wildlife in addition to the aesthetic effects on beaches, parks, and trees. Plastic bags are potentially one of the main causes of death to marine animals (Harbor keepers,2008). Up to one hundred thousand marine animals or more die each year from eating plastic bags which are mistaken for food. This can result in blocking the animal’s intestines and possibly lead to the animal’s death. Another possible situation is that wildlife, such as birds, can get tangled in plastic bags causing choking and immobility, which may eventually lead to death. (Senior, 2008) and (Citizen Campaign, 2010). In other situations, after plastic bags photo degrade they remain toxic and could be eaten by fish, shellfish or any other marine life and survive this allows the toxins to enter our food chain through bioaccumulation (Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, 2011).
It is sad to say but humans have played their part in deteriorating the earth. We have polluted and killed the very thing that takes care of us. If you ride by any lake or river you find trash and debris around it. In the “The Call of the Wild” the author says that we have committed war against the earth by the dumping of poisons and explosives upon it (337). Unfortunately, plastics are the things that are doing the most harm to our environment. Plastics are convenient and we use them everyday and these are the things that we find in the oceans, rivers and lakes. They are harmful to the earth as well as human health by directly intoxicating us with lead, cadmium and mercury. Plastic debris laced with harmful chemicals are often found inside of our marine life and can poison them. Plastic can survive for thousands of years and many invasive species are found in them which can disrupt our habitats. We need to limit our consumption of plastics and make sure that they are disposed of in their proper places.
In order to better understand the problems of plastics in the ocean, It’s important to know the harm it causes to wildlife animals, and the negative effects it has on humans and finding out the causes of pollution, and how it enters our oceans and a way to try and prevent future problems.