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Negative effects of plastic pollution
Note on plastics and our environment
Note on plastics and our environment
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In 1862, Alexander Parkes unveiled an invention, a compound known as celluloid that would change modern history. This is the first known plastic compound to demonstrate the ability to mold when heated and maintain its shape once cooled. While the chemical compounds have evolved over the years, so have its uses and our dependency on them. If we look around our room today, we can see that nearly every product in our house either consists or was built by some form of plastic. This dependence raises some alarming questions. What are the ramifications of our dependency on this highly versatile resource? Is our consumption truly sustainable as demand continues to grow? To better understand the problems we are faced with, we should educate ourselves on the negative effects plastic has on the environment, the sustainability of plastic, and the alternatives that could be used to better recycle, reuse, or assist in decomposition of plastics.
Every trip to the grocery store more and more items are packaged in plastic, which are then placed in a plastic shopping cart, possibly paid for with a plastic credit card and carried out in plastic bags. In short almost everything we use consists of or was built by a plastic based product. So what’s the issue? Plastics represent one of the biggest pollutants in the world because they take an immense amount of time to break down. Today most plastic is made from polyurethane.
The main negative effect that plastic has on our environment is how hazardous it is. Polyurethane plastic does not biodegrade, it photo-degrades with solar radiation and oxidation from sunlight. It breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces, but they never really disappear. A example of this would be a plastic cigarette lighter ...
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...ommon Wastes & Materials." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, 28 Feb. 2014. Web.
"Plastics Recycling Remains Low." Welcome. N.p., n.d. Web.
"RECYCLING FACTS & STATS." Recycling Facts & Statistics. N.p., n.d. Web.
Russell, Jonathan. "American Society for MicrobiologyApplied and Environmental Microbiology." Biodegradation of Polyester Polyurethane by Endophytic Fungi. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Sept. 2011. Web. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. September 2011 vol. 77 no. 17 6076-6084
"Search | Plastic Oceans." Plastic Oceans Search Results for Search. N.p., n.d. Web.
Silverman, Jacob. "Why Is the Worldu0027s Biggest Landfill in the Pacific Ocean?" HowStuffWorks. HowStuffWorks.com, 19 Sept. 2007. Web.
Trimarchi, Maria, and Vicki M. Giuggio. "Top 10 Eco-friendly Substitutes for Plastic." HowStuffWorks. HowStuffWorks.com, 18 May 2009. Web.
National Center for Manufacturing Sciences. (2004, August 11). Environmental Roadmapping Initiative. Retrieved October 14, 2011, from Plastics Impacts, Risks and Regulations: http://ecm.ncms.org/ERI/new/IRRPlastics.htm
According to the American Council of Chemistry, plastics, which are otherwise known as polymers, are comprised of carbon, hydrogen, chlorine, nitrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and other elements that are combined through the conversion of natural products like oil, natural gas, or coal (ACA, n.d.). Between 7 and 8 % of the oil and natural gasses produced annually are used either directly in the conversion of such fossil fuels to plastics, or in powering the processes to produce plastics (Hopewell, Dvorak & Kosior, 2009). Plastic combinations can either form as thermoplastics, which are plastics whose atoms are connected in long chains that can be melted and reused, or thermosets, which are plastics whose atoms are arranged in three dimensional patterns that cannot be melted or reused (ACC, n.d.). Plastics are used in a wide range of products. For example, polyesters are used in textiles and fabrics, polyvinylidene chlorides are used for food packaging, polycarbonates are used for glasses and disks, and more. By the United States energy averages of 2015, each kg of plastic produced requires 62-108 mega joules of energy. The plastic requiring the largest amount of energy per kg is silicon which required about 235 mega joules of energy per kg. Three hundred and twenty two million metric tons of plastic produced in 2015 alone, and that value continues to raise, (Global plastic production,
How much plastic do you think our world uses each year? In “Trim Your Waste”, the author, Sharon Kelly, provides more than sufficient details, amazing language skills, and just the right structure to put it all together to convey the ever so clear central idea. Kelly shows us in her text that she believes that through just a few minor changes in our daily life, we can save our planet, one step at a time.She uses the three significant devices, structure, language, and details to convey to the reader exactly what she means by all of this madness.
There is also debate on how much better biodegradable plastics are in the first place. This is because as biodegradable plastics break down, they break up into smaller and smaller pieces, but never quite disappear. This leaves the potential that the plastic would continue entering the food chain. But although biodegradable plastics aren’t perfect, they are still much safer than standard plastic and present a much lower risk. In addition, by making the shift to ban single use plastics, research towards better plastic alternatives will speed up and better solutions will become available. Over time, these new alternatives to plastics may spread to other items that aren’t single use, making an even greater impact on the health of humans and the
Biomass Packaging Co., et al. Plastic in the ocean does not biodegrade, it only breaks down into smaller, and smaller pieces, some pieces are so small they cannot be seen by the naked eye.... ... middle of paper ... ... 11 April 2014.
One of the most negative impacts that we have created in the ecosystem is the water pollution of plastic. Humans always go to the grocery store and come back with plastic bags of food. What do we do with those plastic bags? Reuse them for doggy bags, we use them as lunch bags, and also trash liners. Everyone just uses them for all sorts of reasons but when they dispose them, they never seem to think about where it might go. Well first of all them...
Plastic bags waste valuable natural resources. Consider that plastic bags are made from petroleum, a nonrenewable and problematic resource. Petroleum is oil, which damages the environment when it is extracted from the ground and gives off dangerous greenhouse gases when burned. According to the National Resources Defense Council, it takes 12 million barrels of oil to make the 70 - 100 billion plastic bags that Americans use each year.
Sudesh, K., Iwata, T. (2008). Sustainability of Biobased and Biodegradable Plastics, Clean Journal 36(5-6): 433-442.
Silverman, Jacob. “Why is the world’s biggest landfill in the Pacific Ocean?” How Stuff Works. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2010.
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.
Using plastic bags are second nature to people in this day and age. Warner acknowledges, “Much to the dismay of the environmentally conscious citizens worldwide, the ubiquity of the free plastic carryout bag has bred nonchalant consumers who take this modern convenience for granted” (646). Although some people are conscious about the environment, people strive more for convenience and do not think about the impacts using bags have not only on the environment, but on themselves as well. If something is bad for the environment, it will alternatively be bad for humans as well. When plastic bags are exposed to the sun from being littered all around, the ultraviolet rays cause the substances of plastic bags to weaken. After the substances weaken, the substances become invisible to the naked eye. The substances that are no longer able to be seen are toxic to humans (Warner 649). As a result of plastic bags being littered around, animals consume plastic bags. This is negatively affects humans because animals are often consumed. When humans consume animals like, fish, there can be plastic in the fish’s belly, which then transfers to the humans and this poses a concern for human’s health. Humans are negatively affected by plastic bags because of the toxic chemicals in plastic bags, as well as, consuming animals with plastic in their
The world has become very dependent upon plastic products. From household items to industry and aerospace, plastic in its many formulations has transformed modern manufacturing and created conveniences and economies unimagined in the early decades of the 20th century.
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).
In the 1870’s, plastic was discovered in the United States when John Wesley Hyatt was trying to create a different material to make billiard balls (Manrich, 3). Little did he know it would majorly evolve into material we use everyday. However, plastics are now taking over our landfills. The average American throws away one-hundred and eighty-five pounds of plastic a year (Popescu, 121). The answer to decrease this statistic is easy: recycling. I believe that recycling will help eliminate littering and the growth of landfills, while also creating jobs for the unemployed. Not only does recycling plastic help eliminate littering, but also reuses the plastic so there is not a production of additional unneeded plastics. The
These fragments absorb all the toxins that pollute waterways, contaminate soil, and sicken animals (which are then consumed). Plastic trash also absorbs organic pollutants such as BPA. They take centuries to decompose while sitting in landfills, amounting to billions of environmentally poisonous time bombs. Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical compound used to create polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins. Polycarbonate plastics are found in a wide range of products, but food and drink containers are the most concerning.