Plastic Pollution Essay

What is Plastic Pollution? Plastics are synthetic materials that are made from synthetic resins or organic polymers. Examples of these polymers include nylon, PVC, and polyethylene. Plastic pollution involves the accumulation of plastic products in the environment that adversely affects wildlife, wildlife habitat, and humans. The prominence of plastic pollution is correlated with plastics being inexpensive and durable, which lends to high levels of plastics used by humans. However, it is slow to

16 April 2012 Essay III How Plastic Pollution is Out of Control 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

Background 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. History of Plastic "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

for example, is among the longest and most remote island chains in the world. The 19 islands of the archipelago, including Midway atolls, receive massive quantities of plastic debris, shot out from the Pacific gyres (Smith, 2011). Some beaches are buried under 5 to 10 feet of plastic, while other beaches are riddled with “plastic sand”. One of the reasons marine debris accumulates in these islands is the movement of debris within the North Pacific Subtropical Convergence Zone (STCZ) (Steiner and

There are many forms of pollution that occur from oil spills, radioactive wastes, urban air pollution, the release of greenhouse gases, or agricultural pollution, and one of the most preventable, plastic pollution. Plastic pollution is an accumulation in the environment of man-made plastic products to the point that they become problematic and harmful to wildlife, wildlife habitats, or human populations. This accumulation is due to the excessive use of plastics, which has become a worldwide issue

When the discussion about pollution rises, the first thought that comes to people’s minds is the long-debated topic of air pollution from greenhouse gases. Certainly, this type of pollution will have a critical impact on the future of Earth’s ability to sustain life, but the widespread discussion on this one specific type of pollution has also masked necessary discussions on some seldom mentioned types of pollution which will be detrimental to the future of some of Earth’s life. One example of the

Effects of Plastic Pollution on the Marine Environment Concern over increasing quantities of marine microplastic pollution has increased substantially in the last decade, becoming a focus for many local and national governments, intergovernmental organizations, environmental advocacy groups, and the private sector. In financial terms, conservative estimates place the harm to marine ecosystems at $13 billion annually. While the available literature on microplastic pollution impacts has grown

Plastic Pollution Outline Thesis Statement: Plastic pollution is an ongoing issue that is quickly growing as time passes by, and if humans don’t try to put an end to it, it will affect them in the long term. It is a serious issue that needs to be addressed because it is affecting humans, animals, and the environment. Plastic pollution affects humans even if they don’t realize it. Plastic pollution harms people’s endocrine system. Chemicals like BPA and phthalates causes development problems.

Throughout my research on Plastic Pollution I learned that plastic is a material that our planet cannot digest but it has become the lubricant growth of globalization. Thus, Plastic is made from oil that contains many chemicals harmful to humans and animals. Humans are barely aware that Plastic is so part of our lives that it can be found in everyday products that we consume and even the food we eat. Humanity plastic foot print in the oceans has caused a major garbage path located thousands of miles

Solutions to Plastic Pollution in our Oceans The Basics 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