Pollution is a serious global issue that has occurred for as long as humans have inhabited the planet. There are several different varieties of pollution, as well as an abundance of materials, both natural and synthetic, that the earth is contaminated with. Shifrin (2005) states: “To date, wastes remain a fact of life and there are only three places to dispose of wastes-air, water, or land. Waste management always involves tradeoffs” (p. 676). Even though Shifrin is correct in his analysis, it does not excuse the amount of environmental poison that continues to exist today, nor the amount of environmental problems that it has caused throughout history. The “tradeoffs” of pollution have devastated entire communities, causing waves of …show more content…
952). Low-density polyethylene is very thin and stretchy, while high-density polyethylene is stiffer, more durable and has a higher melting point than its low-density counterpart. Both of these types of polyethylene are used to create many different items of plastic, including pipes, toys, and the one that consumers use every day in grocery stores: the plastic bag.
Issue of Concern
Plastic bags can be found by the hundreds in stores all across the country and in many parts of the world, but what exactly is a plastic bag? According to Rujnic-Sokele and Baric (2014): “A plastic shopping bag is a polymer carry bag provided or utilised at the retail point of sale for carrying and transporting retail goods and which is only
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR POLLUTION 3 intended for one way use” (p. 41). Therein lies the concern: while they are convenient because of their lightness and durability, when the consumer no longer has need of them, they are cast aside without a second thought. Littering is very common, and many individuals simply don’t care that they aren’t being good stewards of the earth; this in turn can have a disastrous impact on the environment as it can lead to potential cases of large-scale buildup in an emergency situation. In an article on plastic waste in the country of Jordan, M. Saidan, H. Saidan and Ansour (2017) reveal:
In 2012 Amman’s tunnels and streets were flooded by rainfall water within a few
Plastics are light and convenient handling, achieving widespread customer acceptance. In general, plastic packing growths fast and posts significant threats of substitution to cans
Post World War II plastic started to become a way of life. Early plastics were made from cellulose and also known as "green plastics" but most of today's plastics are made of hydrocarbon molecules that is used from the refining of oil and natural gas. Depending on how the plastic is made will decided wheter it's used for something like sandwich wrap or making some sort of plastic handle on a tool.
That we don't have to worry if we lose any of them. Sure it makes our lives easier, but we need to stop thinking of ourselves and start looking for ways we could use to replace plastic bags, without it causing any harm to the environment and wild life. For example,” But the problems surrounding waste plastic bags starts long before they photodegrade. Our planet is becoming increasingly contaminated by our unnecessary use of plastic bags,”( Sharon Jacobsen, para.4). Sharon Jacobsen is explaining in this quote that plastic bags are, basically, unnecessary. For another example,” Big black bin liners, plastic carrier bags carrying advertising logos, clear sandwich bags and a variety of other forms are all polluting our environment. They're lightweight, handy and easily discarded. Too easily discarded,”( Sharon Jacobsen, para.5). By saying this, she meant since plastic bags are easy to get rid of, this is how problems are created, problems such as landfills and destroying marine life. What we need to start improving is to not think about our selves entirely and discuss what should do to help the things around
One of the world’s most common forms of plastic found is known as polystyrene. Polystyrene an inert plastic used for the creation of disposable equipment such as plates, cups and packaging equipment. (American Chemistry, 2016) The
Now that you understand the above benefits of using polypropylene sacks for fresh produce, you will undoubtedly utilise them in a broader way than you have in the past. Remember that these bags also are biodegradable and recyclable in keeping with today's belief of leaving less of a carbon
"Plastic" entered the world through chemistry in 1909 and was originally coined to describe Bakelite, the first fully synthetic resin. What make's plastic so unique is when it is heated it can be molded but it retained its shape when cooled (Reddy, 2010). The modern plastic bag was not possible until the accidental discovery of the first industrially practical method of polyethylene synthesis in 1933. Fast forward to today, the use and
Polyethylene is the world’s most widely used plastic. Polyethylene plastic’s principal application was in packaging, from trash bags to milk jugs. It was widely used in the manufacture of everything from trash bags, picnic cutlery and garbage pails, to plastic toys. Polyethylene also replaced glass, wood, and metal in certain applications.
Plastics and petroleum are essential for modern society and we often rely on it to make our lives easier. Petroleum is the key resource for every human, it starts out as oil that comes out of the ground and its a key ingredients for our cars since most factories need it in order to convert it to fuel. Without petroleum, plastics would not exist since plastic made of many carbon molecules that are polymers. Plastics were essential a product that were supposed to replace other materials and people often called it polymer, which most people see as hard plastics that had the properties of being lightweight and strong. In the early 20th century plastics was relatively a new material and there were not a lot of companies producing it, but during World War II, the demand for them increased since its properties were very useful from the production of weapons to vehicles such as plane parts. After the war had ended, society wanted more of this new material and eventually the creation of the plastic bag helped many customers hold multiple items without breaking. Microbeads came from plastics as it was in form of a small spheres that, companies that created toothpaste, shaving cream, or shower gel, began to replace the natural elements in the ingredients with microbeads since they were cheaper to produce than the making the natural part, but in the early 2000, people began to realize the harmful
Recycling plastics doesn’t only benefit the wellbeing of earth itself it also benefits consumers so they can have a wide range of products made from plastic recycling like the utensils you eat with or any kitchen gadgets or even your dinner table at home. Recycling plastic began in 1972 in Conshohocken, Pa. They had the first mill to accept residential plastics and began their operations there. Then in the 1980s many U.S citizens began curbside collection programs in which they recycled plastics and other materials that could be recycled. In 1984 is where recycling really started to expand they had topped over 100 million pounds in recycled plastic for the first time in US history and from their they continued to expand and the number in recycled plastic increased and is still increasing
Plastic is a general term for material consisting of a wide range of synthetic and semi-synthetic organic compounds that are malleable, hence can be moulded into different solid objects. Depending on the chemical process used in their synthesis, different types of plastic can be made, characterised by their hardness, resistance to heat, tensile strength, density and glass transition temperature. One such type is acrylic plastic.
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
Using these plastic bags are increasing the dangers of thing that are happening in the world.
Plastics are materials that can be moulded into any shape by applying heat and/or pressure while soft but obtain a hard a rigid structure when hardened. Plastics are mainly carbon based and can be made out of materials such as crude oil, plants, minerals, natural gas and coal. Plastics are made up of large molecules called polymers which are made up of shorter compounds called monomers. To make various types of plastics, chemists use different types of monomers in different arrangements to change the chemical and physical properties.
Polypropylene, PP, is a lightweight plastic that is both tough and heat resistant. PP is used for food packaging, disposable diapers, bottle caps, and packing tape. PP is safe to reuse, and is recycled in some areas. Currently, only 3% of PP is recycled, but more programs are beginning to accept PP products.
Environmental pollution is a major problem in the world, posing many health risks to both humans and the environment when exposed to the pollutants for long periods of time. Environmental pollution can simply be defined as “the presence in the environment of an agent which is potentially damaging to either the environment or human health (Briggs, 2003, 2).” There are many different types of pollution, such as air pollution, water pollution, and soil pollution. Environmental pollution needs to start subsiding before it becomes an even more serious problem.