300-400 words essay on " plastic waste"
Answers
Answer:
Plastic pollution has become one of the most pressing environmental issues, as rapidly increasing production of disposable plastic products overwhelms the world’s ability to deal with them. Plastic pollution is most visible in developing Asian and African nations, where garbage collection systems are often inefficient or nonexistent. But the developed world, especially in countries with low recycling rates, also has trouble properly collecting discarded plastics. Plastic trash has become so ubiquitous it has prompted efforts to write a global treaty negotiated by the United Nations.
Answer:
Plastic waste, or plastic pollution, is ‘the accumulation of plastic objects (e.g.: plastic bottles and much more) in the Earth’s environment that adversely affects wildlife, wildlife habitat, and humans.’
It also refers to the significant amount of plastic that isn’t recycled and ends up in landfill or, in the developing world, thrown into unregulated dump sites. In the UK, for example, over 5 million tonnes of plastic is consumed each year — and yet only 1 quarter of it is recycled.
The three quarters that isn’t recycled enters our environment, polluting our oceans and causing damage to our ecosystem. In less developed countries, the majority of plastic waste eventually ends up in the ocean, meaning that marine animals are especially at risk.
So much of what we consume is made of plastic (such as plastic bottles and food containers) because it’s inexpensive, yet durable. However, plastic is slow to degrade (taking over 400 years or more) due to its chemical structure, which presents a huge challenge.
Reducing plastic consumption and raising awareness about plastic recycling is crucial if we are to overcome the problem of plastic waste and pollution on our planet.