plastic :my biggest concern to future
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Short Essay on Plastic Pollution – Essay 1 (200 words)
Plastic pollution is caused due to the accumulation of the waste plastic material in the environment. Plastic is a non bio-degradable substance. It doesn’t get disposed off in the soil or water and its effect is worse when burnt. It is thus a challenge to dispose it off. It remains in the environment for hundreds of years and causes air, water and land pollution. It is hazardous for the humans, animals as well as the plants. Several animals, birds and marine creatures die due to plastic pollution each year.
Plastic plates, bags, spoons, glasses and other material are readily available in the market. These are economical and easy to use. People prefer using these use-and-throw utensils during gatherings and parties as it shuns the hassle of clearing and cleaning the utensils later. All they need to do is to gather these and throw them away. However, little do they realize that this waste is not disposed off so easily. It continues to remain in the environment and harm us adversely.
Not just plastic utensils and carry bags, furniture and various other things made out of plastic are also used extensively world over. It is high time we must realize the harmful effects of plastic pollution and contribute our bit towards bringing it down.
Answer:
This is our main data entry on plastics, with a particular focus on its pollution of the environment. The first synthetic plastic — Bakelite — was produced in 1907, and is said to mark the beginning of the global plastics industry. However, rapid growth in global plastic production was not realised until the 1950s. Over the next 65 years, annual production of plastics increased nearly 200-fold to 381 million tonnes in 2015. For context, this is roughly equivalent to the mass of two-thirds of the world population.1
Below is a short overview of what we cover in this entry. We have also produced an FAQs on Plastics page which attempts to answer additional common questions on the topic.
Plastic pollution is having a negative impact on our oceans and wildlife health. There have been many instances of marine impacts [jump to section].
High-income countries tend to generate more plastic waste per person [jump to section].
However, how plastic waste is managed determines its risk of entering the ocean. High-income countries have very effect waste management systems; mismanaged waste (and ocean inputs) are therefore low. Poor waste management across many middle- and low-income countries means they dominate the sources of global ocean plastic pollution [jump to section].
This makes the improvement of waste management systems across the world critical to addressing plastic pollution.
Overall, approximately 80 percent of ocean plastics come from land-based sources, and 20 percent from marine. But, in particular regions, marine sources can dominate. More than half of plastics in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) come from fishing nets, ropes and lines [jump to section].
It's also important to note that plastic is a unique material with many benefits: it's cheap, versatile, lightweight, and resistant. This makes it a valuable material for many functions. It can also provide environmental benefits through certain supply chains: it plays a critical role in maintaining food quality, safety and preventing waste. The trade-offs between plastics and substitutes (or complete bans) are therefore complex and could create negative knock-on environmental impacts [