This blog contains complete information about Environmental Impacts of Plastic Pollution. It also contains Good Qualities of Plastic as well as Negative Properties of Plastic. We also discuss the Major Causes of Plastic pollution along with its Environmental Impacts. Also learn about the Call to Action and Case Studies for reducing Plastic Pollution.
1. What is Plastic ?
Plastic is a synthetic material made from a wide range of organic polymers such as polyethylene, PVC (Polymer of Vinyl Chloride), Nylon etc. It is invented to replace costly materials such as glass, fabric, and other materials used in packaging and transfer of goods from one place to another.
Plastic is widely used in every sector and is mainly used for transportation of goods and packaging purposes. Our world is full of plastic as it comes in our lives as a Cost-effective and suitable material for making products of daily use. It replaces many expensive materials in order to produce or make affordable products for humans. It was considered as a blessing and everyone was amazed for this invention by the scientists. Some of the qualities of Plastic that was promoting it among people are as follows:
Qualities of Plastic:
- Plastic is a very durable material that has resistance to wear and tear and it persist for a long time.
- It also has a remarkable heat resistance to bear a great limit of heat conditions and thermal pressure.
- This is a light weight material that can be converted into any size and shape for different purposes.
- It is a tough material and does not damage easily by pressures and hazards.
- Plastics are poor conductors of Electricity, so they are safe to use for every purpose.
- It has built in chemical resistance to avoid damage from chemical hazards.
- Its processing cost is extremely low as compared to other options used for the same purposes in our daily life.
- This is a cost-effective material for the production of products and goods for daily use.
- We can use the plastic goods and products roughly in our daily routine. It is durable and does not destroy easily.
These are some of the remarkable qualities of Plastic. This blog is all about Plastic, Causes and Environmental Impacts of Plastic Pollution.
2. What do you know about the Use of Plastic?
Plastics are so common in almost every sector and are used in every kind of product and good that we use in our daily life. It is the part of our food, usable things, accessories and almost everything we use. Lets have a look on plastic use in our daily routine. In the start of the day, we brush our teeth with a plastic toothbrush and use the toothpaste from a plastic tube. Then we brush our hair with a plastic hair brush. We also apply lotions and creams that are in plastic bottles.
In the same way, our cups, glass, and all the cutlery is mostly of plastic. So this is a valid statement that we eat, drink, and breathe plastic. The use of plastic has increased with every passing year and the plastic has been a huge addition in our Waste since its invention. We are facing a serious situation in our Environment regarding Plastic.
3. Is Plastic a Danger for the Earth?
Plastic has become a danger for Earth because of its excessive use and its properties that it shows into the Environment. We should be aware of the negative properties of Plastic along with knowing its Positive properties. Following are some Negative Properties of Plastics:
1) Most of them are Single-use Products:
Most of the normal routine products of plastic are Single-use products. It means that most of them are once used, and then they become part of trash or garbage. This is the biggest reason of the Pollution and contamination of the Environment.
2) Microplastics:
Microplastics are the microscopic particles that are released from plastics every time it is used. The older a plastic gets, the more it release microplastics. These microplastics may be carcinogenic, infectious or disease causing when they comes in contact with humans and their body organs.
3) Persistent in the Environment:
The most harmful property of Plastic is that they are persistent in the Environment for 100s of years and sometimes thousands of years. They keep moving in different components and cycles of the Environment and they keep emitting toxic gases and microplastic resulting in pollution.
4) Non-Biodegradable:
They do not degrade naturally in the Environment. Their degradation may take hundreds and thousands of years naturally in the Environment and making them degraded by treatments will add tons of Atmospheric pollutants and Air Pollutants into the Environment.
These are few dangerous Properties of Plastics.
4. What is Plastic Pollution?
Plastic Pollution is a new term in Pollutions. It refers to the pollution that contains the plastic wastes. Every major type of pollution contains plastic in it as a pollutant. As a whole it is called as Plastic Pollution.
The plastic pollution is an integral and significant part of pollution in the present era. Plastics are becoming a part of every ecosystem on Earth and Plastic pollution is a very serious issue for the Human Population and living organisms on Earth. We are facing an exponential increase in Plastic Pollution and facing many health and Environmental Problems on Earth. This blog contains the Causes and Environmental Impacts of Plastic Pollution. You will have a complete explanation and awareness of Plastic Pollution by reading this.
Global Scale of Plastic Pollution:
Almost 460 million metric ton plastic is produced for different purposes every year. Almost 20 million metric ton plastic litter ends up into the Environment polluting different ecosystem. 14 million tons of that litter ends up into the Ocean annually. The main reason behind ending up to the Ocean is because of flowing rivers that take plastic wastes from the land and throw them into the Oceans due to high flow and the River ways. This amount of Plastic waste is expected to increase significantly by 2040.
We use plastic excessively. This is the major reason for Plastic Pollution. As we know that pollution cannot occur if a large amount of waste is not produced. As plastic is a part of most of the Commercial and Industrial Sectors, so its wastes lead to Plastic Pollution.
5. What are the Causes of Plastic Pollution?
Plastic usage is not the problem, but its excessive use is a big danger for the Environment and cast many Harmful health impacts on the Humans and living organisms. Following are some of the Causes of Plastic Pollution:
i. Inefficient Waste Management:
Plastics are the frequently used for different purposes and then in a very short period of time, it is left as a trash. And most of it is not reused or recycled. It is used for a short time and then it transforms into waste to persist in the Environment for next hundreds and thousands of years. This includes in inefficient waste management. This is the biggest reason for the Plastic Pollution and Environmental Impacts caused by Plastic Pollution. We should be aware of Plastic Waste Management Strategies in order to control Plastic Pollution.
ii. Inefficient Waste Disposal:
We dispose of plastic wastes, glass wastes, food wastes and other forms on wastes in the same bins or containers. This makes the recycling and reusing purposes very difficult and the wastes are polluted with different chemicals and also pollutants by exposing them to other wastes. The efficient waste disposal will help us to distinguish between different types of wastes and their amounts more accurately. This will also be useful for recycling and reusing purposes. We should spread awareness about efficient waste disposal and importance among the populations.
iii. Lack of Coordination:
Many sectors use plastics in different ways. Some use as a raw material, some use it as main material for the manufacture of goods and products. Unfortunately there is no coordination between industries and sectors about the utilization of Plastic and they produce tons of wastes because of lack of coordination. In this way, the large amount of emissions, pollutants and microplastics are released in the Environment as a result of Plastic utilization. With coordination, we can reduce and limit the plastic waste production and eventually limit the Environmental Impact of Plastic Pollution.
iv. Uncollected Waste:
When the plastic wastes stays on the roads, streets, water and in open Environments, they add microplastics in the air, water and soil. This is one of the biggest way of increasing Plastic Pollution because it opens ways for the transfer of polluted gases, microplastics and harmful materials in the Environment. This is why, it is compulsory to collect the plastic wastes from the open Environments and open places. Plastic pollution in parks and gardens makes the Environment unhealthy for the visitors and other forms on Biodiversity that lives there.
v. Single-use products:
Most of the plastic products are single-use. We use them once and then throw them in the garbage or trash. In this way they contributes in most of the Plastic Pollution in the World. These products provide benefits for a very short time and pollute the Environment for a very long time. This time is much longer than the time taken in their Manufacturing and the time of their use by people. These products and goods are the basic reasons for Plastic Pollution. They are bulk so their management is very difficult to implement properly. We should prefer reusable things in place of Single-use plastic products.
Other causes include extreme mismanagement of Plastic Wastes, Inefficient Recycling, and many such other things contribute in Plastic Pollution.
6. What are Environmental Impacts of Plastic Pollution?
With providing many benefits and luxuries in Economic and Commercial Sector, Plastic Pollution is unfortunately very dangerous for the Environment. Its Environmental Impacts are increasing with passing years due to over-use of plastic products and uncontrollable Plastic Wastes. The Economic Impacts of Plastic Pollution includes Waste management costs, damage to tourism and fisheries, and health costs. Following are some of the Major Environmental Impacts of Plastic Pollution:
1: Plastic Pollution and Green House Gases:
Plastics manufactures in the Industries and Factories. As we know they produce in bulk quantities, so they are big contributors of Anthropogenic Green House Gases Emissions. These gases are warming gases and they are major reason behind Global Warming. Most of the Green House Gases emits by the production of Plastic Products and Power Generation in the Environment. They are toxic for the Environment and also cause extreme Air Pollution.
2: Loss of Biodiversity and Plastic Pollution:
Loss of Biodiversity is a common and significant impact of Plastic Pollution. As we all know, that when plastic wastes are added into the Ecosystem, they destroy its composition and cause chemical contamination that harms the living organisms. Plastic Pollution can choke the birds, fishes, plants and other forms of biodiversity and the ingestion of Microplastics can cause death and diseases wildlife at great level. So, we can say that Plastic Pollution is a significant cause of Biodiversity Loss.
3: Plastic wastes and Water Pollution:
Plastic contributes in every type of pollution and contamination of different ecosystems. When plastics interact with Water in the form of Solid or liquid wastes containing microplastics and toxic chemicals, they cause Water pollution of dangerous levels. It cab destroy the natural composition of water resources and cause the death of marine life at great levels. The micro particles of plastics are added into the freshwater resources and cause health effects to Animals and humans, also destroy the plants.
4: Plastic wastes and Land Pollution:
Plastic wastes are produced in bulk everyday. Unfortunately, many regions of the world have lack of management and When the plastic is left on the Land or soil, it adds pollutants to the land that can cause harmful impacts on its fertility and productivity. It can also accumulate in the plants and then it enters into the food chain effecting the entire chain of organisms. The main reason behind Plastic Pollution on land, is single-use plastic, inefficient disposal and poor waste management.
Other impacts includes the Acidic releases, Contamination of Ecosystems etc. This blog is all about Environmental Impacts of Plastic Pollution.
7. What is the relation between Ocean Acidification and Plastic Pollution?
Ocean comprises of 70% of the area on the Earth. It is a biggest Natural Carbon sink. The GHGs from the plastic production adds a huge concentration of CO2 in the Oceans causing Ocean Acidification. Other ways by which Plastic Pollution contributes in the Ocean Acidification by addition of Plastic Wastes into the Ocean. Plastic wastes such as shopping bags, disposable cups, cans etc. can act as a trap for Marine organisms and many of them are found dead entangled in the Plastic wastes.
Marine life disruption by Plastic Pollution:
Marine life depends a lot on the Natural Composition of the Ocean. The condition of Ocean Acidification leads to chemical contamination of the Ocean Water. It automatically changes the composition of the water and disturbs the normal living or Sensitive Ecosystems and sensitive marine species in Oceans. For example, it damage the Coral Reefs and disrupt the lives of 75% marine Biodiversity that depends on Coral Reefs for security and survival. This is the cause of death of millions of Marine Species every year.
Microplastics and Marine Ecosystems:
Microplastics are nano particles of plastics that enters into the Marine Ecosystem when plastic wastes stays in the water. They cause many Environmental Consequences in the Marine Ecosystem. They leads to Chemical Contamination of the Ocean water, they can Bioaccumulate in the Marine organisms and they ends up in disturbing the food chain that includes all the Marine Species and even Humans and Animals that use these species as their food. Small animals and larvae can get choked by the tiny particles of plastics and they can die due to Microplastics.
8. What are the Health Risks of Plastic Pollution?
As we already know that Plastic Pollution is harmful for the Environmental Composition. It is even dangerous for the health of Humans and Living materials on Earth. Following are health risks of Plastic Pollution and effects of Microplastics on human health:
- Microplastics in Air cause Respiratory Infections and Diseases.
- The GHGs produced by Plastics may cause Lung Disorders and Lung Cancer.
- Other health effects includes Heart Diseases, reduced Fertility and other diseases.
- Direct ingestion of Microplastics can lead to Stomach issues and Digestive Tract disorders.
- The interaction of plastics with skin can cause long-term skin disorders, rash and infections.
Plastic Pollution interact with living organisms directly and indirectly in the Environment. Both types of interactions cause health effects to living organisms. These were some of the Health effects of Plastics. This blog is about Environmental Impacts of Plastic Pollution.
9. Call to Action to reduce Plastic Pollution:
We cannot stop plastic production and plastic pollution, but we can reduce it with Sustainable Strategies. Following are some of the Mitigation Strategies to reduce Plastic Pollution:
Promote Plastic Waste Management:
Plastic Waste Management includes the group of strategies that are applied to reduce the impacts of Plastic Pollution by managing Plastic wastes. The plastic waste management technologies help us to manage plastic waste to minimize the impacts of Plastic Pollution. For example, 4R Strategy, avoid single-use plastic etc.
Circular Economy:
The Circular Economy is an economic model that aims to reduce waste and pollution by reusing, repairing and recycling existing products and materials. The implementation of Circular Economy and plastic waste have direct connection, to manage and reuse plastic products to avoid excessive plastic waste. It is an effective way to reduce Plastic Pollution.
Policy and Global Initiatives:
Policies and Global Initiatives can play a very integral part in reducing Plastic Pollution worldwide. The Global Initiatives like ISWA Global Initiatives, UNEP Plastic Initiatives, Microbead bans etc. are effective in the reduction of Plastic Pollution. International Policies can be great for the awareness and reduction of Plastic Pollution around the world.
Better Alternatives to avoid Plastics:
The use of plastic products is the core of Plastic Pollution. So, there is a need of using better and eco-friendly alternatives in place of plastic materials and plastic products. These alternatives includes Biodegradable plastic innovation and materials, Reusable Glass and Bottles, Cloth bags in place of plastic bags and many other Eco-friendly alternatives.
These are some of the Sustainable Strategies in order to Mitigate the Impacts of Plastic Pollution. To learn more about How to prevent Plastic Pollution? Click the mentioned link.
10. What are some Case Studies of Plastic Pollution reduction?
Following are some of the Case Studies that proved effective in reduction of Plastic Pollution:
i. Barbados:
The island nation of Barbados implemented the Control of of Disposal Plastics Act, 2019, which bans import, distribution, sale and use of single-use plastics. The aim of this Act is to curb plastic waste and protect marine Ecosystem and Environment.
ii. Duke University’s Plastic Reduction:
The Case studies of Duke University, were implemented by collaborating with restaurants and hotel industries. By partnering with five restaurants and five hotels, the study collected information on plastic usage, reduction initiatives, and motivations for sustainability.
iii. ISWA Global Initatives:
The International Solid Waste Association (ISWA) is working well for the reduction of Plastic Pollution. Their case studies highlight diverse interventions, including recycling innovations, community-based initiatives, and policy frameworks to reduce Plastic Wastes or Pollution.
These are some of the successful Case Studies on Plastic Pollution reduction.
11. Conclusion:
Plastic Pollution is a very serious problem in the Present Era. The main causes of Plastic pollution includes Single-use products, Inefficient Waste Disposal and Management, Uncontrolled Wastes etc. We are using Plastics in every sector in bulk and also we use them in our daily routine. Plastic Pollution has very alarming Environmental Impacts, these includes; Ocean Acidification, Health Risks, Air Pollution etc. In order to control Plastic Pollution we should work on Plastic Waste Management Strategies and their Implementation.
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