Plastics And Our Environment

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Our Environment
While plastics are cheaper to manufacture, new government regulations should be developed to curb over-packaging because they are a big concern to the environment. The biggest concern is that they are non-biodegradable. They have also had a severe and negative impact upon the environment, which is a result of poor disposal of waste materials which in turn, has also endangered the health of human beings.
Plastics aren’t just bad for the environment, their hurting humans as well. For many years we have taken advantage of our planet by allowing trash to pile up, with very little consideration to where it goes. In the town La Chureca “250 families lived next to and on top of the garbage” (Hartmann, 2013, 63). More than 1,500 people work at the dump there collecting and selling recyclables; but because plastics are not recyclable they continue to pile up. This has led to several environmental hazards, as well as causing countless illnesses. Plastics just sit there in landfills and because they are not decomposable they destroy the environment around them.
Think about this we might be around the top of the food chain but our food comes from the bottom. If we allow our waters and land to become polluted with these plastic packages then what will our dinner eat? “Plastic breaks up into very tiny pieces, but it will never disappear and it gets swallowed by fish, turtles, dolphins, seals, birds and ultimately by humans. The smaller the plastic, the more difficult it is to identify, but also the more dangerous for the health of humans and wildlife alike.” (Capricorn Coast Mirror, 2013)
Not only do plastics harm the environment and bring diseases but they can also cause hormones to “go out of wack”. Studies have even shown...

... middle of paper ...

...only yield positive results. We’ve worked hard to get where we’re at, now we need to work hard to protect what is left around us.

References:
Anonymous (2007, May 24). Plastic not so fantastic. Waikato Times. p. FS14.
Capricorn Coast Mirror (Rockhampton, Queensland) Wednesday, June 12, 2013 plastic is a threat
HARTMANN, C. D. (2013). Garbage, Health, and Well-Being in Managua. NACLA Report On The Americas, 46(4), 62-65.The environmental toll of plastics
Jessica A. Knoblauch, (July 2, 2009). The environmental toll of plastics, Environmental Health News http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/news/dangers-of-plastic
Matt kallman, world resource institute, 2008. Environmental pollution causes, consequences and solutions
T.J. Pignataro, May 15, 2014 ; News Staff Reporter Schneiderman renews call for microbead ban - Plastic articles’ threat to lakes is growing

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