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Causes and effects of plastic pollution
Annotated bibliography plastic pollution
Causes and effects of plastic pollution
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Imagine a cute little turtle crawling on the beach. Awwwww….right? Now imagine that cute little turtle coming across some leftover food in a plastic bag.Once the turtle finishes eating it starts to eat the bottom of the bag,once the plastic is consumed by the turtle the turtle will die. The plastic will fill its stomach and starve to death. Paper is also hazardous. Now imagine the huge forests in South America, beautiful, full of wildlife. In just a 40 years, 20% of the forests will be cut down(in the article Farming the Amazon), already the forests are a fraction of what they used to be( “Destroying Forests”).So,which is better? Paper or plastic? The answer is neither, reusable bags are the best. Paper and plastic are both very popular resources used to make bags. They are both extremely harmful to the environment. When made paper gives off toxic chemicals into the air.Making paper is pretty awful for the environment,around 14 million trees a year are chopped down to make brown paper bag(“Plastic vs. Paper Bags”)Plastic is harmful to the environment. 4 billion plastic bags ...
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 &
The article Plastic bags are Good for you, by Katherine Mangu-Ward was written to explore the pro’s and con’s of three different types of bags. Which is better between plastic, paper, or reusable bags has always been a debatable question with an opinionated answer. In the article Mangu-Ward characterizes the cause and effect relationships which have lead to the unpopularity of plastic bags in terms of guilt.
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
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.
Plastic makes our lives easier, but they will make more difficult through the damage, they cause to our air quality, soil, and water. We need to change our habit of using the plastic and be part of the solution to make this world better place.
Do you hate seeing litter on the streets, or seeing and smelling heaps of garbage sitting, and rotting away? Humans recycling more will help to reduce this. We throw many things that can be recycled. Recycling glass, plastics, paper, and metals will reduce solid waste dumped into the ecosystem daily. “96 percent of U.S. plastic, and 50 percent of its paper, goes into landfills. Mexico, not exactly a bastion of environmental awareness, recycles more glass than the U.S.” (Alice Horrigan 1). That’s 96 percent of the millions of tons of plastic, which will outlive most of us in a landfill that we could recycle and keep it out of our landfill. Paper is made from trees, if we recycle it, we can decrease our rate of ugly deforestation and the destruction of animal habitats. When paper gets to the landfill, it is guaranteed to get wet. The wetness and decomposition of paper atracts mold spores, which produce an odor and are potentially bad for your health. Also k...
...Are Plastic Grocery Bags Sacking the Environment?." . National Geographic, 02 Sep 2003. Web. 25 Jan 2012. .
When most people hear the word recycling they think of plastic water bottles, milk jugs, or even old paper that they can reuse, but this is not necessarily the case anymore. Scientists and researchers have discovered a new form of recycling that is going to help better the environment and it can even help make people money! Smokers around the world do not think about recycling their used cigarette butts, but this new form of recycling has changed some of their minds on this subject. Recycling has been a major environmental issue, but most people have forgotten about it or they just do not care for it anymore. Paper recycling dates back to as far as 400 B.C. Some people even say that the early Romans recycled their bronze coins so that they
Plastic or paper, is a choice that people face when going to the grocery stores. Plastic bags are often the choice that is made. A controversial issue in the world today is the use of plastic bags. Plastic bags are used because of the convenience they give, by being able to carry several items at once. However, in the article, “Banning Bans, Not Bags”, Jennifer Schultz claims, “Plastic bags clog up local waterways, litter roadways, and get swallowed up by unsuspecting fish” (6). Plastic bags are used once, then are discarded or, littered all over the place. When they are littered all over they become problems for more than just humans. These plastic bags pose a big hazard for animals on land and in especially the ocean. Humans eat land and
So dependent, that people have been blinded by their own convenience. So blinded, that people do not realize the harm and damage plastic is causing. Going to the grocery store and bagging food in plastic bags is more convenient than carrying and hoarding reusable bags. Using plastic pencils with refillable led to write and essay, is more convenient than pulling out a pencil sharpener and sharpening a number 2 wooden pencil, then having to dispose to shavings. In the book “Garbology: Our Dirty Love Affairs With Trash” author Edward Humes discusses a great deal about plastic. One message given in chapter 10 was plastic is wasted terribly. Chapter 10 of Garbology discussed a man named Andy Keller. Keller was looking for a new job after the company he worked for was bought out. One day while dumping a load of yard trash in the landfill, Keller was extremely surprised by all of the plastic, and plastic bags flying around. Keller was then at that point motivated to do something about the problem. Keller invented a new product called Chicobag. Chicobag was a reusable, drawstring, pocket-sized, grocery bag. The product he created became so astonishing, San Francisco banned plastic grocery bags in stores. Plastic is disposed into landfills, and tons of plastic is just completely
Millions of plastic bags are given out to consumers by supermarkets and stores to carry their goods in. They are also cheap, light, durable, easy to carry and in many cases, free. The most commonly used shopping bag is made of High Density Polyethylene (HDPE). This type is used in the majority of supermarkets and stores. After these bags are used, they often end up in landfills or as litter, roughly only three percent of plastic bags is actually recycled per year (Planet Ark, 2011). The materials used in making plastic bags make them non-biodegradable. According to the science dictionary, 2011 refers to “these materials cannot be decomposed into environmentally safe waste materials by the action of soil bacteria.” These harmful substances are toxic and take approximately four hundred years to break down, or in this case photo-degrade; which is how plastics made from (HDPE) break down. Since they are not biodegradable, they remain in the environment and are absorbed in soil or water (Indian Centre for Plastics in the Environment, 2010). This essay will discuss the various harmful effects of plastic bags, and demonstrate the risks that these bags impose on humans, animals and the environment. It will also discuss a series of suggested solutions that could help reduce plastic bag usage.
Everyone has heard a cashier one time or another mumble, “Paper or plastic?” as he put their groceries in a bag, but do shoppers know the effects of each vessel in which they carry their comestibles? There are many issues and benefits to both paper and plastic. The making and recycling of both paper and plastic bags can harm the environment. One must also look at the costs of making each bag. The convenience of each is also something to look at. Many people jump to conclusion that paper bags are better for the environment without knowing the facts. Since plastic bags are preferred by customers and plastic bags actually do not hurt the environment as much as paper ones do, consumers should feel at ease when choosing plastic.
The advantages of paper are it is inexpensive to buy, second it is easy to fabricate and has a lot of uses like plastic bags and inexpensive patio furniture. The disadvantages are it is not biodegradable since it is not biodegradable it makes a large quantities of landwaste, second the production of plastics requires large amount of crude oil as the major ingredient. Increasing the oil prices and difficulity on obtaining oil has meant that the costs of producing plastics have risen. In a study last Feb 2012 that was done by the city government of Illinois showed that 24% most of the time used plastic bags. Also in a pie graph it showed that 31% infrequently used plastic bags and 24% chose to use plastic bags most of the time. 42% infrequently chose paper bags in retail stores and 34% chose to never use paper bags. Therefore I conclude that we should use plastics more than papers but use it properly and wisely should be used. The disadvantages of paper are you are using more tress and the costs it holds every time you cut trees. Therefore I conclude that we should use plastics than paper for the earth to be maintained properly. My recommendation is to have an association for every region to monitor the usage of plastics and if paper is still being used. Also that even though we recommend of using plastics we should still be conscious of how we shall use it. Overall I can say that if we shall use plastics than paper we will
All over the world the debate has been between paper and plastic, but recently there has been the introduction of the reusable bag. This reusable bag is said to eliminate the problems between paper and plastic and be the most environmental friendly compared to both, this would seem to be the most obvious choice when it comes to which bag is the best bag. However, this may not be the case, in fact, using a plastic bag may even be better than a paper or reusable bag in comparison. A plastic bag, unlike the other bag contenders is more energy and cost efficient when it comes to production, it is fundamentally recyclable, and overall just more convenient to have.
Although there have been several initiatives from government towards eradicating these completely, but it is of no use as it has its roots deeper into the society. Irrespective of ban on plastic bags they are being sold and used continuously by the population because it has become an integral and irreplaceable part of our life. Everyday animals are dying due to consumption of polythenes which remain scattered and non-decomposed on grounds. Science has come up with a solution to completely eliminate it by giving birth to “Bioplastic”. Bioplastic has properties which are comparable to the commercial plastic in every aspect but with certain advantages over it. Bioplastic is decomposable and are produced form microorganisms rather than by using chemicals, thus making it completely environmental friendly. Bioplastic will not only make mother earth a better and greener place to live in but will also reduce the death of innocent animals. These bioplastics can be easily used in food industries for packaging to keep food items fresh for a longer duration and in medical industry for packaging tablets and other medically important stuff. Bioplastic has a promising future ahead but we have to work towards developing and including it in the mainstream of our lives. Science has also come up with innovative ideas for treating several deadly diseases like cancer, HIV etc which causes death of billions of people worldwide. Today with several