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harmful effects of plastic
plastic and its effect on the enviroment
harmful effects of plastic
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Plastic has taken over our world, and if something does not change, so many things will be effected. Plastic is found all over the place, on the side of interstates, in our homes, in schools, and in our cars. People liter plastic bags on the side of the road, people sit on plastic toilet sits at home, people type on a plastic keyboard at school, and people change the station in their car with a plastic button. Plastic is everywhere and in today’s society it has become almost a necessity. Many people cannot and won 't stop using their computers, or sitting on their toilet sits, but we can stop drinking from plastic water bottles. People have gotten comfortable with plastic, as it is apart of our everyday lives. We are spending money on plastic …show more content…
What I mean when I say all this, is we as people need to food to survive, so a majority of us eat meat and fish. We are not the only ones who need food to survive. Animals need food to survive as well, so they eat what is available, and sometimes that means plastic. When animals eat plastic and we eat animals, we are also eating plastic. When people do not recycle plastic, it ends up on the side of roads, in the ocean, around the shell of a turtle, and almost everywhere it is not supposed to be. “Plastic bags mistaken for food can and often do kill animals who eat them” (Jensen, Waste, 18-19). Many ocean fish that we consume are consuming plastics that has been thrown into the ocean. In plastic there are toxic chemicals that are harmful to people and animals (Angus paragraph 12). “Plastics are polymer, and are composed primarily of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.” Plastic is soft and flexible due to the phthalates used to make it. Phthalates are known to cause physical problems to those who consume it. We consume it we when drink from plastic bottles and some food containers (Jensen, Plastic,
People are hurting the animals, and they don’t realize it. That’s one of the issues that the people don’t realize what they are doing. All of the sea creatures about 100,000 marine animals and countless fish are being harmed by the floating plastics. Those animals die in the North Pacific every year from either eating the plastic junk or becoming ensnared, and even drowning in it. Since there is plastic in the ocean and it’s killing fish over time and from the over time it could actually make the fishes go extinct because we are throwing our garbage in the ocean, which is killing the species and affects the food chain in the ocean. Also, every people are eating plasticizing additives, drinking them, breathing them, and absorbing them through their skin every single day. Only 3 to 5 percent of plastics are recycled in any way. Which means each person tosses about 185 pounds of plastic every year. So, the plastic never really goes
So many of the ocean animals are eating tiny pieces of plastic and causing them to ingest toxic
Since 1950, Americans alone have used more resources than everyone who ever lived before them. Each American individual uses over twenty tons of basic raw materials annually and over two million plastic bottles an hour. Just by Americans alone, the total yearly waste could fill up multiple garbage trucks and wrap around Earth six times and reach half way to the moon. In the book Affluenza by John De Graaf, David Wann and Thomas H. Naylor they state, “In 1996, we used nearly a third of its resources and produced almost half of its hazardous waste” (--). Which has resulted in millions of tons of plastic that has entered the oceans. The survival of many species are being jeopardized by the plastic
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
Plastic bags kill thousands of marine animals. For example, in the text, “ Plastic Bags: Convenient and Cruel,” Lauren Magaziner says that marine animals mistake the plastic bags for food. If the marine animals swallow the plastic bags, it will block the digestive tract, causing a slow and agonizing death. Marine animals including sea turtles, seals, seabirds, dolphins, whales, and sharks die from these plastic bags. Also from the text, “ Plastic Bags: Convenient and Cruel,” Lauren Magaziner states that since bits of plastic are found in fishes stomachs that
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
The food we consume everyday touches plastic infinitely, whether it is during the preparation stages, packaging, storage or even just eating the food from a plastic plate. There is no escaping the fact that the food we eat has a huge contact with plastics. However, what does this mean for our food? There is an adverse effect to plastics and their contact with foods, particularly acidic, fatty or salty foods. The chemicals in plastics go through a process called “leaching” or “migration” which leads to transfer of polymer additives, impurities and polymerisation solvents into packaged goods with a consequent risk of toxic hazard to the consumer (Crompton, T. (1979). [book]). In this
It generates hazardous waste that is ultimately deposited in the oceans’ shores. As most of the plastics deposited are non-biodegradable. The plastic pollution is damaging the marine life as well as the well being of human. In the article “Plastic Pollution” by Kiener, it is stated that the plastic comprises of 10 percent of all ocean debris. It has been estimated that about 100 million tons of plastics are used worldwide everyday, and only 5 percent of the plastic is recycled because most types of plastic cannot be recycled economically. Kiener also notes in his article that approximately 2.4 million pounds an hour of plastic enters in the world’s oceans everyday. Therefore, the most important thing that we can do is, to stop plastic waste from entering the oceans in the first
Albatrosses might eat plastic resin pellets as a mistake for fish eggs and die of starvation because they are not actually eating the nutrients they need. These pellets also have the ability to tear apart their organs. These organisms might also be caught by fisherman for human consumption and end up in human diets as well. The toxins from the plastic build up in the fat and muscle tissues of fish, that humans eat, therefore emptying the stomach is not quite enough. Plastics that sit inside of waters long enough will break down into smaller pieces called microplastics that will never decompose. The sun is what initially breaks down these products with the help of ever moving ocean waves and ocean salt. It is referred to as photodegradation. Most of the pollution within the garbage patches of the oceans are made up of this microscopic material mixed in with larger pollution items such as shoes or dropped cargo. This can be referred to as a smog like environment created by the amount of microplastics. A good example of a small microplastic many people know, are the microbeads used in toothpastes and facial scrubs that are starting to be banned worldwide. Some microorganisms
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
And there are some respective solutions for these three aspects. For government, good policies must be implemented to try to mitigate the disastrous impact that plastic exerts on marine life. For company: The beverage industry has the responsibility to decrease and minimize the consumption of plastic. Companies must find new approaches that work in accord with good environmental policies. Cafes and restaurants should also offer reusable bottles and cups instead of disposable ones. For consumers: Consumers should realize that plastic is not ecofriendly. The effect of Raising public awareness and improving education cannot be ignored. Education on excessive use of plastic may be useful to improve a movement to reduce plastic among
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).
Plastic is used everywhere around us, but as humans, we are skeptical OF its negative effects on the environment and our lives (Plastic not so fantastic, 2009). Plastic is a widespread commodity in our contemporary world. Although humans are civilized in different aspects, they are skeptical of certain things that do not affect their lives directly. Yet, they cannot disregard the consequences of using plastic on the environment. Moore (2014) stated in his article that “Plastics are now one of the most common pollutants of ocean waters worldwide.” Yet, many are blind to the bitter fact that plastic leads to the death of marine animals and destroys the future behind the excessive usage of it. The following essay will focus on plastic usage and
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.