Plastic Pollution : The Environmental Effects Of Plastics

With over 5000 types of plastics, Heather explains that the problem is very complex. As plastic ends up in marine ecosystems it begins to pollute and has massive monetary effects. Marine litter costs Europeans billions annually though cleanup projects, damage to vessels, and fish catches. Heather also mentioned the harmful amounts of microbeads, which Megan Leslie banned in Canada, in the oceans that are harming small ocean ecosystems. She explained that the effects of marine litter on the economy and ecosystems are extensive, however she noted that there is one place that we haven't check for the harmful effects of plastic. People! Plastics are made with harmful toxic chemicals and it only makes sense that people would be as negatively affected by plastic as our ecosystems and economies are. When asked if parents should be worried about the plastic toys parents buy their children Heather explained how when children put plastic toys in their mouths they are potentially being exposed to toxic flame retardants. Heather explained that our economy is linear, which means it destructively uses finite resources and creates waste. Heather believes that we must create circular economies that feed into each other which would allow us to reuse our resources and recycle our waste (Leslie, H. 2017, February, 2). The idea of a circular economy relates back to the “Green Economics” where

In 1988, it was determined that the United States alone, was producing 30 million tonnes of plastic per year (Derraik, J.G.B., 2002). This can be compared with the global and annual production of 260 million tonnes of plastic as of 2012 (Pearson, E., 2014). Plastics are lightweight, durable, and cheap to make. This makes them incredibly easy to sell and manufacture. However, these attributes are many of the reasons why plastics are the most prominent type of marine debris, and why they are a serious hazard to various ecosystems and the organisms that live within them (Derraik, J.G.B.,

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

Plastic pollution is something that has plagued the world for decades, but no one has been able to figure out a viable solution for it, until now. Chãoyùe ping has a solution that first starts out locally, then globally. We are going to create youth groups using fundraisers, and send them out to China to clean beach shores of all of the filth created by big name companies who care nothing of their impact on the environment. The youth groups will also travel by boat out to China’s oceans and drag massive nets through the water to capture as much trash as possible. Many say that Chãoyùe ping can’t complete such a strenuous task, but we know we can. With the help of the community, and the goal to have a better tomorrow for everyone we can achieve any task. Plastic Pollution can be reduced drastically, but the only way we can do that is by we holding those accountable for their contribution to destroying our environment, and getting together as a community and cleaning up our beaches.

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.

This research question aims to think deeper on the circumstances of the overuse of plastic and paper, and what could happen more to the animals/birds, our environment, and our bodies if consumers keep on using plastic and paper products. This research question should be asked to raise awareness to users and most importantly designers, so they consider using other eco friendly material in designing their products.

Many individuals underestimate the amount of plastic we use each day. According to the article “Plastic Bags Wars”, “the world consumes 1 million plastic shopping bags every minute”. Plastic bags, along with many other types of plastics, have become a leading source of pollution worldwide (Doucette). Captain Charles Moore, founder of the Algalita foundation states that we use two million plastic bottles in the United States every five minutes. Discovered by Charles Moore in 1997, the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” is a prime example of the amount of plastic pollution that enters the

Plastic pollution is all over this world. People purchase plastic almost everyday, even if someone does not realize they are purchasing this synthetic product, most of the time the item’s packaging is made of plastic. Even cleaning products and clothes contain plastic. When plastic was man-made the only thought was the benefits it can create, the deficits were not thought of. Humans and animals are being physically harmed by hazardous chemicals inside plastic and sadly, fifty percent of plastic is hazardous. The environment as well is being affected with pollution because of the amount of resources that are taken and used. Many authors have researched the effects of the plastic we use daily. ZHigui He’s article “Pollution characteristics and health risk assessment of volatile organic compounds emitted from different plastic solid waste recycling workshops” researches the various volatile compounds found in different recycling shops that lead to health risks. Charles Talsness’ article is explaining the health risks of the components found in plastic on humans and animals. Along with the article written by Chelsea Rochman, assistant professor, that classifies plastic waste as hazardous as well and W.C. Li’s article focuses on the effects of the plastic waste in the marine environment. All the while, Robert LeBlanc has found many statistics on all negative aspects inside his article “Plastic Recycling Facts and Figures”. All of these articles connect in the agreement of plastic

Plastic pollution is a major threat to our environment and continues to get worse every day. We live in a disposable society where fast food is served in plastic or Styrofoam containers and discarded instead of glass dishes. Many people use plastic water bottles instead drinking from the tap. Plastic soda bottles are used instead of glass returnable bottles. Plastic grocery bags have replaced the brown paper grocery bags. Unfortunately, not enough people properly dispose so all this plastic ends up as plastic pollution by littering road ways, parks, beaches, and oceans, or it gets buried in landfills.

Plastic causes pollution in the ocean and endangers the inhabitants of many sea creatures. Plastic comes in many different kinds and variety, some are largely noticeable and some are micro-particles. Tiny plastic objects are the most dangerous to the sea creatures especially to the marine mammals. These micro or tiny bits and pieces of plastics tend to get consumed accidentally by many marine animals. “Plastic is the great pretender, conceived in mimicry and dedicated to the simulation of everything else in art and nature (208, Ebbesmeyer).” Ebbesmeyer claims that plastics can be any sort of form(s). Just like any other object in the world has some plastic incorporated into it such as toys, appliances/electronics, and people’s daily

One of the greatest injustices that we as citizens act upon every day is our environmental waste problem concerning plastic bags. With an estimation of 500 billion plastic bags being produced every year, about more than 300 million of them end up in the Atlantic Ocean. This is not including all of the other places they end up such as landfills, forests, and all over the streets of local communities. Recently, California has instituted a ban on plastic bags in an effort to reduce pollution in the state. With this ban, convenience stores are now required to charge customers 10 cents per each bag. Many residents have been outraged with this ban, expressing it is a total inconvenience for them and unnecessary. While there are many objections to this , the plastic bag ban will be very beneficial to our environment, since it will provide better air conditions, encourage people to start reusing and recycling more, and cause less harm to the ocean and its marine life.

In order to comprehend the environmental impact of plastic, it is important to understand the journey plastic takes from the time one throws it away, to the time it ends up in the vast unknown. The first place most plastic travels to after being disposed of is a landfill. It can sit in these ever expanding landfills for up to 1,000 years before it's able to decompose. During the time plastic lives there, rain water periodically floods through the waste, getting absorbed by the plastic’s water-soluble compounds. Some of these compounds are highly toxic, and when combined together, they create a more harmful compound called leachate. This liquid is often times absorbed by the ground below, draining through and into other soil, into groundwater, and into streams. As a consequence, the ecosystems and wildlife touched by leachate are polluted and poisoned. Other plastic that doesn’t end up in landfills after use is instead sent through our waterways into our ocean. A 2015 study by the journal Science reported that 8 million tons of plastic ends up in our oceans each year. After arriving to the ocean, plastic spends its first few months floating around until it is carried into a massive vortex of accumulated trash. There are five of these plastic-debris vortexes, called gyres, located around the world: The North Atlantic Gyre, The South Atlantic Gyre, The Indian Ocean Gyre, The Great North Pacific Gyre, and The South Pacific Gyre. Plastic is trapped in the currents of these gyres,

The environment of the earth is a widely discussed controversy as to what we do to start helping it. Recently, a law has been passed on the limitation of plastic bags and requires charges for attaining bags. With this law being passed, it prompted situations where communities had mixed emotions towards it. Ever since the age of plastic bags, people have argued on the fact of whether or not this law is actually helping society or not. Although plastic bags can prove to be an efficient use of everyday life, the usage of plastics bags ultimately deteriorate our environment, worsen plastic pollution, and will continue to lacerate marine life.

Our world has become infatuated with the idea of “fast, easy, and comfortable” consumption. We’ve grown accustomed to accommodating a fast pace lifestyle but we have forgotten about the repercussions of our actions. So many products have become “single use” or disposable, from our individually wrapped food to our hygiene products. Since the discovery of plastic it has become the go to material of choice due to its cheap price of production. Unfortunately because of its high production rate and the fact that it’s essentially non-biodegradable it has started to consume our planet from landfills, to rivers, and our oceans. When talking about plastic pollution people usually think about plastic bags and bottles but another huge product of plastic waste is a toothbrush. Currently there’s about 323,060,000 people in the United states; if you take a very rough estimate that there’s at least 5 million people/ babies who don’t have teeth, subtract that from the population, and then estimate that the average person goes through 3 tooth brushes a year, you end up with 955,800,000 toothbrushes being thrown away per year. That’s 1 billion toothbrushes from America alone, disregarding the fact that your dentist recommends you change your toothbrush at least 4 times a year.

Two other uses for Thermoplastics other than film and packaging include to make acrylic and to make plastic bottles.