Causes And Effects Of Plastic Pollution

It has a direct and deadly effect on wildlife. Plastic debris, laced with chemicals is often ingested by marine animals and can injure or poison wildlife. Cattle and other animals are ingesting it, a substance that doesn’t break down, piling up within them. Thousands of marine mammals are killed after ingesting plastic mistaking it for food or getting caught in it. The marine animals mainly affected are: sea turtles, ingesting plastic; seals and sea lions, entangled in packaging; seabirds like the Laysan albatross, ingesting plastic; fish, consume and breath plastic; also whales and dolphins, consume 31% of the marine plastic

Plastic's end of life cycle involves being discarded, either recycled for reuse or dumped into a landfill or the ocean. Recycling's popularity has significantly grown since the 1970's, as well as the overall number of plastic products being produced. In addition, the amount of plastic products being created as significantly increased over the past 60 years. Due to the endurance of polymers, plastic is filling up landfills faster than it should and invading our natural habitats. Recycling is one of the most critical things we can do for our environment. It can cut down on the amount of plastic in landfills as well. Recycling plastic reduces the need to create more plastic, which also cuts down on oil use and pollutants being released into the air. In the time that recycling has become more popular, technology has advanced to create more job

The problem with plastic ending up in the ocean is that marine life is being harmed by the presence of it. A study done on the harbor seals in the Netherlands found that more than 12% had plastic in the digestive system (California Coastal Commission). The list of affected species indicates that marine debris is affecting a significant number of species. It affects at least 267 species worldwide, including 86% of all sea turtle species, 44% of all seabird species, and 43% of all marine mammal species (Save our shores). The problem is underestimated because the marine life that ingests plastic or dies from entanglement often goes undiscovered due to the vastness of the ocean, as they either sink or are eaten by predators before they are discovered (Plastic Debris). The potential harm from ingestion of plastics is not restricted to seabirds. Plastic bags drifting on ocean currents resemble the prey of turtles. There is evidence that their survival is being hindered by plastic debris with young sea turtles being vulnerable (Ocean pollution). Over the past 20 years polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have polluted marine food webs at an increasing rate, and are prevalent in seabirds. Though their adverse effects may not always be apparent, PCBs lead to reproductive disorders, increase the risk of disease and alter hormone levels. These chemicals have a detrimental effect on marine organisms even at very low levels and plastic pellets could be a route for PCBs into marine food

In conclusion, it should have been learned that the issue of plastic pollution has become ruinous. The cost of repair and the inconvenience of lifestyle changes cannot compare to the frightful future this planet is headed. At current rates, hazards are not just inflicted on Earth's oceans but individual human health and the other creatures that rightly inhabit this land. With this concern

Every year, millions of tons of plastic are tossed into the ocean, harming all types of marine animals as well as the environment. Hundreds of marine mammals like whales and dolphins are found washed ashore filled with bottle caps, plastic bags and basically anything they can swallow. Not only does plastic pollution harm marine life, but it affects the entire ecosystem. If a predator is dependent on a certain species for prey and the predator has a role in the environment, it is important for the prey to not be disturbed by pollution. If that species of prey were to go extinct, then the predator species could be seriously impacted as a result. These problems warrant the need for more research into the magnitude and causes of plastic

According to ecowatch.com, all the plastic humans added up thrown away added up can circle the Earth four times. This is around 500 billion plastic bags, and most of them end up on landfill sites. The plastic bags in landfills usually lay there for over 300 years until they are completely photodegraded, or decomposed by the light, especially sunlight. During the process of being photodegraded, the plastic bags break down into small toxic particles that are either released into the air, or into the soil. These small toxic particles contaminate many different things such as soil and waterways. Since it is in the soil and waterways, animals often come and end up eating these dangerous toxic particles. Some supermarkets use biodegradable bags that are said to be “environment friendly,” but that is a total lie. According to an article about plastic bag pollution by Sharon Jacobsen, it says, “...the truth is that the process of breaking down these petrol based bags causes carbon to become methane which is a greenhouse gas.” Greenhouse gases are very dangerous to the environment since it causes temperature increase around the whole entire globe. Therefore, in conclusion, neither plastic bags or so-called “environment friendly” bags are good for the environment all around us, and we should not use them. Instead, we should use reusable

Chemical compounds that are commonly heard of today such as BPA (bisphenol A) is a toxic compound found mostly in plastics and then are dumped into oceans that begin to poison our waters where humans, but mostly animals drink and ingest through the nose. (Barry, 2009). Another toxic chemical such as PVC (polyvinyl chloride) can be harmful to animals on land and in sea can leak from plastic water bottles. This intoxicates the water where animals drink and swim, causing them to grow ill and maybe even die. (Breast Cancer Fund, http://www.breastcancerfund.org/clear-science/environmental-breast-cancer-links/plastics/?referrer=https://www.google.com/) By eliminating much of the plastics consumption that ends up in the oceans, we will prevent animals and humans also from being affected by the harmful chemicals being produced.

First and foremost, the two types of pollution are different in their sources of origin. Atmospheric pollution of the 19th Century was a result of coal-burning to heat homes and industries. The plastic pollution seen today primarily results from shoreline activities, recreational activities, sewage and fishing related practices. Unlike atmospheric pollution, such as excess CO2, SO2, and methane, plastics are not natural and cannot be assimilated into nature. Plastic polymers are a man-made product that are built to be durable and long-lasting; it is estimated that their degradation takes 450-1,000 years at sea. In addition to their origin and chemical compositions, another difference between the two types of pollution resides in their health effects and impacts on ecosystems. When plastics decompose they release chemicals into water, such as bisphenol A. In one study, it was found that high concentrations of bisphenol A in urine was linked to increased liver enzymes, diabetes, and heart disease.

Plastic is one of the major resource humans use to pollute the earth. Some scientist believe that the more plastic being added to the ocean the more polluted it becomes. According to Tobias Kukulka, a physical oceanographer by University of Delaware stated in, Plastic below the Ocean Surface, "You have stuff that's potentially poisonous in the ocean and there is some indication that it's harmful to the environment, but scientists don't really understand the scope of this problem yet." What Tobias Kukulka is trying to tell us is that the more plastic we put into the ocean, soon it drifts from the ocean onto the surface and that’s causing animals to mistake plastic as food. Working with collaborators at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and University of Washington, Kukulka used computer modeling to look at the effect that waves,

Sub-point A: With plastic being everywhere, everytime it gets thrown away or washed down, the toxic pollutants enter the environment and do harm. Trash dumps and landfills are also major problems as they allow pollutants to affect the land and water. It sends chemicals everywhere to harm the environment. The landfills are taking too much space and releases greenhouse gas, methane. It is 25 more times potent than carbon dioxide.

To marine life, plastic is like a poison. Filter feeders suck the tiny particles up resulting in their bodies being marred. Some animals eat the plastic which sometimes poisons them or leads to fatal blockages. Because there is a lot of predation in the ocean, the poison that encompasses the bodies of marine life affects the entire food chain (Silverman). The accumulated plastic and trash sometimes wash ashore, affecting beaches and oceans all over the world. This damages boat and submarine equipment, litter beaches, dissuades swimming and harms the

Plastic pollution affects every waterway, sea and ocean in the world. When we damage our water

With the combination of polymers that don’t biodegrade and mass overproduction, companies are harming the environment in severe ways. Plastic, a material seen everywhere, is a polymer made from oil. It is mass produced to make everything from shampoo bottles to automobiles and does not biodegrade. When it is eventually thrown out, the waste usually finds it way into the ocean, where it is either buried under sediment or eaten by marine life (Weisman 287-295). Creating a material that will ultimately kill marine life will undoubtedly wreak havoc on the

Plastic bags cause a massive amount of pollution to the earth. It lets out lots of CO2 into the air with the production of it. CO2 is a greenhouse gas that if let out too much at one time can hurt the planet. Not only do plastic bags produce pollution while being made, but also when they are decomposing. Plastic bags go on to last for up to 10-1000 years. That is possibly 1000 years that a plastic bag goes on to add the huge amount of trash in the world. Although plastic bags take so long to decompose they do eventually break down. Exposure to a lot of sunlight and wind will also speed up the process of the decomposition of plastic bags. The breaking down of plastic bags seems like a good thing, however it is the complete opposite. Plastic bags are broken down into microscopic particles that are toxic. Those toxic particles then go on to hurt the environment. An articles states, “They break down into tiny toxic particles that contaminate the soil and waterways and enter the food chain when animals accidentally ingest them.”. This goes to show that those

Due to their regurgitation ability; most studies have focused on the ingestion of plastic pollution by bird, this does little harm to birds used in the studies. The effects of ingestible plastic on fish have not been studied as thoroughly and no studies have been conducted on filter-feeding organisms, which do not possess a feeding mechanism which would allow them to distinguish between plastic and plankton. Plastic pollution is only getting worse due to increasing population of developing countries. A wide variety of marine species is known to be harmed by plastic debris. This could threaten the survival of certain species, especially since many are sadly endangered by other types of anthropogenic actions.