Plastic Awareness Essay

Millions of tons of plastics are disposed of into oceans and other water sources (i.e. rivers, ponds, etc.). The incorrectly discarded plastics are swept up by large ocean currents, and over time degrade into microscopic particles. These microparticles may be the cause of various adverse human and wildlife health effects, such as infertility and the inhibition of growth. This distressing issue must be brought further to the public’s opinion, and heavily regulated to reduce the effects. Microplastics carry various additives and harsh chemicals to give them their properties. Decades of research on the plastics used in grocery bags, liquid containers, and utensils have provided the public with useful information regarding their chemical makeup

Various medical journals, research papers, and critics have pushed to ensure that people aren’t exposed to these harmful chemicals, by increasing overall public awareness. Currently, there is a steadily growing stigma against plastics, resulting in many people opting to use safer alternatives to plastics for utensils and liquid containers (glass and metal water bottles over plastic). If asked, almost any person would say no to the question of, “Would you be ok with plastics in the drinking water, or in your food?” However, most people don’t realize that the careless disposal of plastics in waterways and oceans results in the creation of microplastics, which fish and other wildlife consume. Microplastics are mainly formed in the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch”: the Pacific Ocean’s currents cause millions of tons of plastics to slowly degrade from the extensive exposure to sunlight and abrasion from water. As a result,

The plastic industry may be dealt with by regulating what chemicals are used in and for the production of plastic. Furthermore, there must be a few regulations prohibiting or significantly reducing the disposal of plastics into oceans, rivers, etc. Command-and-control regulation is an effective strategy for tackling this. Essentially, Congress would determine a few goals for the regulation, scientists would gather data on the plastics (types of chemicals, and their effects), quality and emission standards are created based on the criteria, and an effective plan to enforce the standards is put in place. For example, Congress might outline a goal to limit the production and use of BPS, a substitute to BPA that’s currently in use of water bottles and other plastics, to a quantity that some agency dictates as being effective in reducing whatever negative effects arise from it. Researchers are tasked with determining what the chemical composition of BPS is, its prevalence in various plastics, and the negative effects posed by it. This is exceptionally difficult to do as lab equipment capable of determining chemical compositions are expensive, and since most of the effects of chemical consumption generally take several years to surface it is challenging to decide what amount of the chemical is dangerous. It takes a substantial amount of time and money to gather data. Criteria acquired