Unfortunately, plastic does not break down into organic substances, which means that instead of breaking down into natural components that will go back into the earth, plastic breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces of plastic until they become nurdles, which are small pellets of plastic. This opposes an issue because as plastic gets smaller, not only does it turn into a large pile of nurdles that can be ingested by seabirds and fish, it also releases the chemicals that are contained within it. According to The National Geographic, Bisphenol A, a major component in plastic, is one of the chemicals that gets released when it breaks down. Bisphenol A is a chemical that is harmful to marine animals in a number of ways. For example, algae gains it’s nutrients through absorption. Algae can absorb bisphenol A, which will affect the entire food web in the end. Small fish tend to eat algae and zooplankton, and when a fish consumes algae that has absorbed bisphenol A, the concentration of the chemical will increase for the fish through a process called bioaccumulation, which causes the chemical to build up in the body of the fish. Not only are these fish at risk of death by toxic chemicals, but when a larger fish eats the smaller fish, they are also consuming the bisphenol A, only an even larger concentration of the chemical. This will continue up the food chain, until the largest marine animals, for example, a dolphin, consumes a fish and gains a high enough concentration of bisphenol A to kill them (nationalgeographic.org). This process is called bioaccumulation, and it has a great impact on the health of marine…
There are many methods people can use to reduce plastic pollution. They can reduce, reuse, and recycle. This is the oldest method that is effective if done correctly. They can buy recyclable products with little or no packaging. Buying these products will reduce the use of plastic and will reduce recycling needs which will lead to a cleaner Earth. They can also use biodegradable plastics so we don’t have to worry so much about plastic pollution. Keeping storm drains clean and never littering will also help reduce the plastic that end up in the oceans. Everyone can join the banning of plastic bags which will reduce a significant amount of plastic pollution. Refusing to use disposables and choose to use reusable or Tupperware products. This can reduce plastic pollution because instead of just throwing the container away after using it, it can be washed and reused. People can also help to clean up your local beaches. This will help to reduce the amount of litter and plastic pollution that will eventually end up in the ocean. If one cannot help clean up the beaches, they can make donations to help the clean-up. There are a number of organizations people can donate to such as the Natural Resources Defense Council or NRDC. NRDC is one of the nation’s most effective action groups. They work to safeguard the earth — its people, its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends.…
In our effort to make cognitive for the bettering of our environment, we have decided to base our final project around the idea of reducing waste produced by the public and encouraging the public to recycle more of their waste. More specifically, we would like to focus on the reduction of plastics, such as plastic water bottles that are frequently discarded by students.…
The concern is are these ideas being developed quick enough? Only 1 in 5 plastic bottles are recycled and water bottles can take between 400 and 1,000 years to decompose. Fishing lines and nets can take up to 600 years to decompose. Plastic pollution in Lake Michigan is approximately the equivalent of 100 Olympic-sized pools full of plastic bottles dumped into the lake every year. One way to help stop plastic pollution is to stop using plastic water bottles, this simple solution would have a huge impact. U.S. and Canada together discard 22 million pounds of plastic into the waters of the Great Lakes each…
Recycling greatly benefits many aspects of the world, particularly the environment. Almost everything used in today’s society is manufactured from plastic (i.e. water/ shampoo/ mouthwash bottles, food containers, furniture, technology, etc.). Due to this, not recycling plastic can lead to many problems in our environment. Recycling plastic promotes the conservation of energy and natural resources. It also contributes to the decrease of water and air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. To add, recycling plastic can save landfill space, or structure…
Sustainability is a major problem in society today. Over the human population has become so dependent upon artificial products and materials that a life without these consumer goods is unimaginable. In this investigation, the possibility of changing the negative way in which plastic is seen throughout the world, is challenged through the art of biomimicry.…
Every year, more than 300 million tons of plastic is made, this poses as a threat when you take a look at how much of this plastic is only intended to be used once and thrown away. Throughout the entire planet, plastics are being used more often and are being thrown away rather than using the recycling bin. When you throw these plastics away, they are taken to a landfill which often times will bury the garbage underground; nevertheless, although you can no longer see the plastic waste, it is still taking a toll on our health. Burying these products creates issues with the ground water that we humans, as well as our pets and other animals, drink from. When the plastics are buried in landfills, they have the potential to leak harmful chemicals into the ground water. Not only do these plastics effect our ground water, but they often times will find their way to the ocean if the landfill is found near a beach. The trash that has found its way to an ocean can float for thousands of…
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 ocean from land. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch has been described as a filthy plastic collage of discarded cups, straws, lids, bags, and food container’s. These giant patches of plastic debris have also been identified as the nation’s most significant marine debris problem (Murphy). This enormous amount of plastic pollution on our beaches and in our oceans is harming humans and marine life; therefore, to stop this global issue, we must prevent plastics from entering our oceans.…
Born in the 20th century and grew up in the 21st century, my life involves many new development and invention from head to toe and every aspects to benefit our life. Things are changing around us very dramatically and very quickly in each century subject to the demand and resources change. Modern inventions cover from hardware, technology, manufacturing, information, medical, education, telecommunication, sport and even food. I would say that several modern invention that have connected things together and mostly comes from plastic base. We are in the plastic society. Anybody who claims that they don’t want to use plastic, they couldn’t deny that they still depend on plastic from sunrise to sunset by using products that are made from plastic. Therefore, we need to know how to cope with its advantage and disadvantage and how to take care of today world environmental problem which half of the problems are from plastic production.…
The first reason is that the manufacturing of plastics consumes a nonrenewable resource in the earth—petroleum. “Plastics are petroleum-based synthetic materials whose main constituents are carbon and hydrogen” (Wolf, 104). Petroleum, which caused many wars, as known, is in very short supply and used in many different and significant aspects, like the fuel of transportations. As it is nonrenewable, it means the more we use plastic bags, the less petroleum we can use in other essential industry. The wide use of disposable plastic products is damage to the environment.…
Abstract: Plastics have woven their way into our daily lives and now pose a tremendous threat to the environment. Over a 100 million…
The purpose of this research is to find out the damage that is caused by plastic rubbish and how to avoid it. Plastic rubbish is a global problem and affects us all. This research will be based on secondary research, so by existing literature.…
Plastic bags are seen to create many environmental challenges because of their physical and chemical properties. Due to its molecular structure and its inability to rapidly biodegrade, littered plastic bag breaks down into smaller pieces from exposure to natural elements. These microscopic particles can take up to 1000 years to break down (United Nations Environment Programme, 2005), which creates a long list of challenges. Firstly, plastic bags litter the landscape. After they serve their purpose, a large quantity of them go into disposal areas. Each year a high percentage of plastic bags are resulting in littering the environment. Once they become litter, plastic bags find their way into water tubes, waterways, beaches, parks, and streets. In a similar way, U.S National Academy of Sciences (2006) wrote in their fund report that the real reason that the world’s landfills weren’t overflowing with plastic bags was because most of it ended up in ocean-fills. In a like manner, Bags find their way into the sea via drains and sewage pipes (CNN.com/technology, 2007).…
Today it is said that plastic is extremely bad for the environment. It is one of man's worst inventions. Plastic is non-biodegradable. This means that waste plastic cannot be turned into any other substance that is eco friendly. Although tonnes and tonnes of plastic are burned in the most advanced incinerators, all that remains in plastic. It doesn't change into anything else, as many other materials do. Hence plastic waste is dangerous to the environment.…
Today when we go shopping, we will see a lot of people carrying their shopping bags made of plastic. Plastic bags are really convenient for all of us to carry things we have bought. In contrast, there are many disadvantages of using plastic bags. If you know that plastic bags have negative impacts for our environment, I am sure that reducing the use of plastic bags will be happened soon. As we know, using plastic bags are really convenient for all of us to carry things. In contrast, using bags is increasing the severity of Global Warming that we are confronting at the moment. The plastic bags production uses almost ten percent of the world's annual oil…