Essay on harmful effects of plastic bags in english
Answers
Plastic pollutes soil: Plastic buried in soil can release a toxic chemical which mixes into the ground making it harmful for agriculture and human use, it can also seep into the ground and mix with groundwater. This makes the water unhealthy for human consumption and agricultural use. Sometimes plastic such as polythene bags, get buried under the soil, this makes the soil toxic.
Plastic pollutes ocean: Plastic objects are left over into the ocean for biodegrading it. Plastics degrades faster in the sea, but it also leaves the harmful chemical into it, making it even more dangerous to the life on the earth. It increases the chance of Global Warming. The garbage thrown into the sea such as plastic utensils, polythene, etc. keeps floating into the sea. This prevents the sunlight from reaching the ground level of the sea. As a result, the life in the ocean doesn’t get enough sunlight. This prevents them from developing and stops their growth.
Plastic releases toxic when burned: In many rural and even urban areas, people set old plastic objects on fire in hope to get rid of it. Plastic contains a lot of chemicals which gets released into the atmosphere and mixes with the natural air. This makes the air we breath toxic and harmful. As a result, the air we breath is not pure and contains many types of hazardous chemical. When we breath contaminated air, it hurts our lungs and overall health in the long run.
Introduction:-----
Plastic bags are bags made up of thin, flexible plastic material which is non bio degradable, meaning that it does not get dissolved by natural process and can remain in its present state for thousands of years. Being non bio degradable it poses a threat to the environment, marine life and health of humans and animals and also result in depletion of natural resources.
Harmful Effects of Plastic Bags:-----
According to a study, every year around 1 Trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide, out of which Billions end up as litter and only 1 out of 20 used is recycled. Below is a point wise narration of the harmful effects of Plastic Bags on various factors-
Threat to the Environment:------
Plastic bags are non-degradable meaning it is not broken down by natural processes. Dumped out of our houses and other places of activity, plastic bags slowly find their way into the environment and pollute as well as deplete our natural resources. Mounts of garbage consisting mainly of disposed plastic bags of various sizes can be seen in any city and pose a threat to the environment as well as health of the living beings. Such plastic bags get mixed with the soil, badly affecting the yield of farm produces and result in the premature decay of plants and other organisms affecting the environment.
Plastic Bags and Climate Change:-----
Plastic bags and climate change are very closely associated. Millions of liters of oil is consumed for the production of plastic bags that we use depleting our oil reserves and resulting in release of CO2 and other green house gases into the atmosphere. Plastic bags dumped in larger quantities eventually disrupt our eco system resulting in habitat destruction and climate changes all over the world.
Threat to the Natural Resources:------
Dumped plastic bags get mixed with the soil decreasing its fertility, resulting in lower yield of the farm produces. Plastic bags also broken into pieces are washed into rivers and water bodies depleting them and making the use of such resources difficult. Plastic bags that we dump out of our houses and offices get into the environment and enter water bodies, streams, rivers and oceans affecting marine life and having a depleting effect on our natural resources. Each year thousands of marine animals like turtles, whales and dolphins die prematurely after being suffocated or ingested by plastic bags.
Threat to the Marine Life:-----
Plastic bags find their way into our rivers, streams and water bodies polluting them and also posing a threat to the aquatic life. Marine Animals like Turtles, fishes, crabs swallow the plastic waste resulting in their death. An estimated 1 Lakh marine animals die every year from suffocating on or infesting plastic bags. Plastic bags are a silent killer for the marine life. Many marine animals like sea turtle confuse plastic bags with their natural food, resulting in their premature death. Thousands of sea birds also die pre maturely by getting entangled in the littered plastic bags.
Health Hazards:-----
Mounts of plastic bags can be seen on the outskirts of any big city or human habitation. Even small establishments like colonies, villages, hospitals all have a heap of dumped plastic bags somewhere in vicinity. These dumped plastic bags are a source of diseases like cholera, malaria etc as they aid in the breeding of mosquitoes, flies and other carriers of diseases. The accidental or intentional accumulated plastic bags also release harmful toxic gases into the atmosphere having and adverse effect on the environment and health.
Conclusion:-----
Usage of plastic bags in our everyday life apart from being a threat to the environment, it is also a threat to the health and life of Humans and animals. We must restrain from the use of plastic bags for the sake of planet and instead use paper bags or bags made of bio degradable material. Steps must be taken for proper segregation and disposal of plastic bags and their recycling.
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