Plastic Pollution Essay

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

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

Sea life can mistake plastic, inedible, objects for food. Sea turtles often mistake plastic bags for jelly fish, which is one of their favorite foods, and quickly die (Geographic). Resin pellets, which are used to make just about anything plastic, are often mistaken for food, especially due to the resemblance with fish eggs. Ingesting hard plastics can easily become lodged in an animal’s intestines or stomach and cause a slow and painful death. These marine animals do not know better than to eat what looks like food, it is not their responsibility to avoid the garbage.

Is plastic really that harmless innovation that saves us time and energy without any repercussions? “80% of plastic waste in the ocean originates on land, and recycling rates are poor, with just 9% of plastic in the U.S. recycled, according to the EPA.” - Kieron Marks. Massive amounts of our plastic begin on land and appear in the ocean. The majority of plastic that is in the ocean is in a microscopic form which makes the plastic extremely difficult to find let alone clean up. This affects not only the ocean life by killing 1 million sea creatures a year, but it also has effects on the fishing and the shipping industry, along with tourism. Furthermore, the pollution causes 13 billion dollars in damage to the marine environment every year. This

In the article, "Plastic in Our Oceans", Kimberly Amaral discusses the everyday uses of plastic and how it can be beneficial to humans, but harmful to marine life. As fishermen casually dump waste overboard, animals mistake it for food sources, such as a turtle mistaking a plastic grocery bag for a jellyfish. From the trash brought out to sea, gyres, large circulations of water, carry the garbage through currents, spreading it to all over the ocean, specifically to the central gyre. Amaral notes common ways for marine life to die from plastic, which include entanglement by plastic rings, consumption of plastic bags and pellets which stuff the intestines and lead to health problems, and suffocation. As researchers today work hard to discover

From the polar regions to the equator, these microplastics are everywhere (Avio, 2017). While we know there are tons of plastic in the ocean, it is difficult for researchers to give an exact amount. However, after twenty-four expeditions, a team of researchers in 2014 estimated that there are at least 5.25 trillion plastic particles weighing 268,940 tons floating in the ocean (Eriksen, 2014). They estimate that the North Pacific and North Atlantic oceans contain 55.6% of the particles found in the oceans (Eriksen, 2014). These researchers have helped give emphasis and proof as to why the worlds plastic consumption needs to be dealt with, either by banning non-biodegradable plastic all together, or by providing people all around the world with an easier way to recycle plastic.

In the documentary “Inside the Garbage of the World”, the main social problem being explained is that there has been a great influx of plastic and other type of garbage in oceans and their beaches. This buildup of pollution has largely affected the wildlife population ranging from animals on the beaches to the creatures of the ocean. In oceans, what is called ‘garbage patches’, a large buildup of garbage that flow to one area in the oceans, are being created. Approximately 50 percent of all plastic sinks to the bottom of the ocean floor but about 2 times that much is actually already on the ocean floor. In fact, according to the documentary, there is a garbage patch that is to the left of California that is the size of half of the United States. Each year, about 4.7 million tons of plastic goes in the ocean a year and it is estimated that by 2050, there will be another 33 billion tons of plastic added to the present amount. Eighty percent of the current pollution comes from the land. According to marine researchers, twice as much plastic debris is one the ocean floor than it was 10 years ago. In the futures, plastic will break down into smaller pieces of plastic, creating a bigger problem from the habitat. This plastic pollution is one of the leading cause for beach and ocean inhabiting creatures be extinct because animals are mistaking these plastic pieces for food. When scientist began to dissect beach animals such as birds, they discovered that at least fifteen pounds of

In an article written by Adam Vaughn for The Guardian, the issue of marine debris is briefly addressed while a solution to the issue is analyzed. Marine debris can be commonly known as plastics in the ocean, and Vaughn’s article analyzes biodegradable plastics. While this essay will not analyze biodegradable plastics, solutions to the issue are an important part of creating a picture of the issue at hand. Marine debris, or plastic in the ocean, is an issue in consequence to its negative environmental impact. It is not common for this negative environmental impact to be argued against. It is more common for this negative environmental impact to be ignored for the sake of human convenience. In one perspective

The Ocean is full of beautiful and amazing sea life. Unfortunately, humans are polluting the water, which is negatively affecting the Ocean's inhabitants. One major problem facing sea mammals, such as whales and dolphins, is entanglement. Fishing nets, packing strips, and plastic bags are just some of the sources that trap and entangle them, which can cause them to drown. A report done by World Wildlife Fund-U.S. estimates that fishing nets kill around 1,000 marine mammals each day (Owen 2005). Our plastic trash often ends up on beaches and in the ocean, and marine life can mistake it for food. Ingesting plastic frequently kills them. Seagulls, sea lions, and dolphins are some of the most common victims of plastic ingestion. Another pollution

The overuse of plastics in today's society has become major environmental issue for our oceans. Plastic pollution is the dumping, littering, or disposing of any type of man-made plastic that has been produced and has ended up in our ocean and has not been recycled.

We 're treating the oceans like a trash bin: around 80 percent of marine litter originates on land, and most of that is plastic. Plastic that pollutes our oceans and waterways has severe impacts on our environment and our economy. Seabirds, whales, sea turtles and other marine life are eating marine plastic pollution and dying from choking, intestinal blockage and starvation. Scientists are investigating the long-term impacts of toxic pollutants absorbed, transported, and consumed by fish and other marine life, including the potential effects on human health.

of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the exact size remains unknown. In addition, Doucette warns us that this patch contains more than ten million tons of waste. She describes the area to be a “fetid swamp of debris where tiny bits of decaying plastic outweigh zooplankton- one of the most prolific and abundant organisms on the planet- by a ration of six-to-one”(Doucette). It is now apparent that the amount of plastic particles residing in our oceans is damaging the natural habit and this trash is not going anywhere. Due to the currents in the ocean, plastic particles are

Plastic debris pollution in the marine environment is greatest in oceanographic convergences and eddies, where plastic bits accumulate (Day 1986). Gyres make up a large proportion, approximately seventy-five percent, of what we refer to as the open ocean, or the area of the ocean that does not consist of coastal areas. Gyres are an area of junction that forces plastic into a central area with little to no wind and current influence. In oceanography, a subtropical gyre is a connected system of ocean currents rotating clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern. Typically they form in large open ocean areas. A large volume of high-pressure air

Pollution is the introduction of harmful substances or products into the environment (Pollution, 2017). Ever since we were born there has always been a problem with harmful things on our planet. Humans have tried an enormous amount of ideas trying to help the planet. Adults tell the young kids to always recycle or to help the Earth by planting a tree. Those two ideas are spread around the entire world, but there are certain things going around that are not helping the Earth. They are called pollutants. For example, some are water, air, soil, thermal, radiative, noise and light pollution. With all of these pollutants there are many causes of each.

Abstract: Plastic is an indispensable part of our daily life. Its production and consumption has been rising very rapidly due to its wide range of application. plastic waste has become a major element in garbage. However, because most of the most plastic waste does not decompose naturally in garbage dumps and creates toxic smoke after burning, it is not environment friendly and causes very serious environmental problem. Due to its non-biodegradable nature it cannot be easily disposed off .as compare to production of plastic only 60% plastic is recycle and remaining 40% plastic is remains as it is in environment. so in this paper we have focused on proper use of this plastic waste in which we can extract fuel oil from municipal waste plastic by using pyrolysis process at temperature 3500c-6000c In this paper we have done comparison between two methods of fuel extraction one is Thermal cracking and other is Catalytic cracking .we have compare the result obtain from both cracking. In the catalytic cracking we have use Aluminium silicate as a catalyst. also we have taken a test like flash point ,pour point, viscocity,density of both fuels oils obtained.