g) Explain the impact of plastic on rivers. anwer in detail yaar
Answers
Answer:
Plastic pollution is the accumulation of plastic objects and particles (e.g. plastic bottles, bags and microbeads) in the Earth's environment that adversely affects wildlife, wildlife habitat, and humans.[1][2] Plastics that act as pollutants are categorized into micro-, meso-, or macro debris, based on size.[3] Plastics are inexpensive and durable, and as a result levels of plastic production by humans are high.[4] However, the chemical structure of most plastics renders them resistant to many natural processes of degradation and as a result they are slow to degrade.[5] Together, these two factors have led to a high prominence of plastic pollution in the environment.
Plastic pollution in Ghana, 2018
A stream in the Madagascar district in Douala flooded with plastics
The pathway by which plastics enters the world's oceans
Plastic pollution can afflict land, waterways and oceans. It is estimated that 1.1 to 8.8 million tonnes of plastic waste enters the ocean from coastal communities each year.[6] It is estimated that there is a stock of 86 million tons of plastic marine debris in the worldwide ocean as of the end of 2013, with an assumption that 1.4% of global plastics produced from 1950 to 2013 has entered the ocean and has accumulated there.[7] Living organisms, particularly marine animals, can be harmed either by mechanical effects, such as entanglement in plastic objects, problems related to ingestion of plastic waste, or through exposure to chemicals within plastics that interfere with their physiology. Effects on humans include disruption of various hormonal mechanisms.
As of 2018, about 380 million tonnes of plastic is produced worldwide each year. From the 1950s up to 2018, an estimated 6.3 billion tonnes of plastic has been produced worldwide, of which an estimated 9% has been recycled and another 12% has been incinerated.[8] This large amount of plastic waste enters the environment, with studies suggesting that the bodies of 90% of seabirds contain plastic debris.[9][10] In some areas there have been significant efforts to reduce the prominence of free range plastic pollution, through reducing plastic consumption, litter cleanup, and promoting plastic recycling.[11][12] As of 2020, the global mass of produced plastic exceeds the biomass of all land and marine animals combined.[13]
Some researchers suggest that by 2050 there could be more plastic than fish in the oceans by weight.