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Plastic and its effect on environment
Plastic and its effect on environment
Plastic and its effect on environment
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Plastics are one of the most used materials on a volume basis in U.S. industrial and commercial use. Plastics are commonly into today’s lifestyle and make a major contribution to virtually all product areas. Although the plastics industry in the United States is now in its second century, the most important developments have occurred since 1910. The roots of these modern developments go back not only to the research of cellulose nitrate by John Wesley Hyatt in the 1860s, but also to the plastic-like compositions used by man through the centuries. Humans probably don’t realize how often we use plastics or use something that has plastic particles. From the bristles on our toothbrushes, to bulletproof vest, to fibers that help in the making textile clothes. As you can see plastics keep us clean, keep us safe, and keep us clothed. Plastics are a human’s most durable, colorful, best friend.
Before plastic was discovered many people would buy things by weight amount which we still do today. Items weighed a lot more because they lacked the fillers that plastic contains. Another way society was different was that many airplanes and automobiles weighed a lot more because certain parts that would be made out of plastic in this day and age were heavier. Since planes were heavier they held less stuff, which caused more trips to be taken, which then caused more energy to be used that was unnecessary and more carbon dioxide was emitted. Also talking about an important aspect of health, preserving food, meat markets for example would wrap their meat in paper. Once wrapped in paper it would spoil faster and cause infections in the meat. The type of plastic used for packaging now is Polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC) (Saran). (Wikipedia). Lastly s...
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...ns. Plastics help in many ways. They hold the liquids we drink out of, the containers we use for storage, the hangers we put our clothes on, parts in cars, and everything in between. I do not support pollution but I support recycling. I don’t support pollution because like I stated in the paragraph above, when people throw plastics out the window it endangers animals and causes death among the raises of the different species. The moment a plastic Kroger bag is thrown out the window of a car a bird picks it up and flies with it, then there is a possibility that it could get wrapped around its neck and the bird is strangled and now dead. I do support recycling because it is a better way to save energy and take care of waste in a safer way. Recycling compacts what would be a huge mound of trash into a small compactable reusable substance. Also it saves time and energy.
Cities, towns, streets, everything has plastic litter all about and this too has repercussions. Source F tells us that there is a multitude of litter and plastic bags are the most easily spread. Plastic bags are light so they can be blown all about and can get stuck on things such as streets and fences. Since plastic bags are so versatile in their spreading Source B tells us that they can often clog drainage systems causing floods later on. Causing problems for us as humans, a bigger reason why plastic bags should be removed or banned. Generally plastic lying all about can really make an area look horrendous. Source C reports a high amount of plastic items. With all this junk lying about it makes our cities and beaches look dirty and ragged. What better motivation to get of plastic when it hurts us as humans. Plastic bags cause way too much problems compared to their ability to aid
National Center for Manufacturing Sciences. (2004, August 11). Environmental Roadmapping Initiative. Retrieved October 14, 2011, from Plastics Impacts, Risks and Regulations: http://ecm.ncms.org/ERI/new/IRRPlastics.htm
According to Laura Parker, a Senior Staff Writer for National Geographic, 40% of plastic is manufactured for single use, and 91% of all plastic manufactured never gets recycled.3 One of the most detrimental types of single-use plastics are microbeads, tiny plastic bits used in various cosmetic products that get washed into sewer systems and ultimately end up in our oceans. Other plastic products also become as small as some microbeads over time through the process of degradation, which turns otherwise-large plastic products into dangerous microplastics. The problem of microplastics was first realized in 2004, and the first assessment of its prominence was carried out as recently as 2015.3 As for the dilemma of the Garbage Patch itself, it was brought to the world’s attention by Charles Moore who discovered the patch in
There is also debate on how much better biodegradable plastics are in the first place. This is because as biodegradable plastics break down, they break up into smaller and smaller pieces, but never quite disappear. This leaves the potential that the plastic would continue entering the food chain. But although biodegradable plastics aren’t perfect, they are still much safer than standard plastic and present a much lower risk. In addition, by making the shift to ban single use plastics, research towards better plastic alternatives will speed up and better solutions will become available. Over time, these new alternatives to plastics may spread to other items that aren’t single use, making an even greater impact on the health of humans and the
The recycling process of plastic begins at the recycling department wherever it may be located. The plastics are categorized according to plastic type. Plastic is then separated by color, the plastic is sterilized then crushed and chopped into plastic flakes. The plastic flakes are then melted and stirred. As a result of the stirring and melting a thick liquid is produced. This thick liquid is processed and spun into fiber strands that could be used for making fleec...
In recent years, it has become blatantly obvious that the Earth’s environmental deterioration is showing signs towards a cause of global concern. Drastic increases in water pollution, global warming, and deforestation, among other environmental issues have caused a sudden desire to raise awareness of and to resolve human-initiated problems. One of the more controversial topics involving human impact on environment is the excessive use of plastic, specifically in the form of plastic bags. Used for their convenience, durability, and inexpensive nature, plastic bag production and consumption has exploded, allowing them to become a seemingly necessary part of everyday life. Unfortunately, however, this abuse of plastic bags has brought a slew of environmental health
Ironically, plastic, which is a material designed to last forever, is generally used for things we tend to throw away. Every year, about one hundred to two hundred billion pounds of plastic are manufactured. Only 31% of that plastic is actually recycled. Biomass packaging estimates 10% of that plastic ends up in the ocean annually. About 20% of it coming from ships and other platforms, and the other 80% coming from land derived sources, such as international garbage dumping, winds or tides, either way it finds its way to the ocean.
Recycling helps protect the environment. Recycling creates sustainable environment. All of the wastes and all of the industrial processes creates air and water pollution. Process of recycling helps to minimize the risks of air and water pollution. It helps to solve the problem of global warming. The waste we produce come in the form of bottles, boxes, cans, refuse, furniture, clothing, paper products, packaging waste, glass, aluminum, plastic, metals and paperboard. It take so many years if we just throw them away to spoil on its own and to destroy. During the disposal process, this waste releases poisonous gases and chemicals into the environment. When the non-biodegradable products in our waste are burned, they often emit gases that deplete the ozone layer in the atmosphere, which in turn allows more ultraviolet radiation to reach our living atmosphere, giving rise to global warming and rising sea levels. Now in this present world global warming is the major issue. Like in the North Pole and South Pole the ice caps are melting. This is just because of the failure of the ozone layer to block the ultraviolet rays coming from the sun. This means we are heading to the age of global warming. We can stop
Many people believe that we should not recycle anymore, but this is not the case. We, the people of the world, need to continue to recycle because we do not want our children to grow up in a world where there are no certain species of animals due to recycling failures. We also do not want our children to grow up thinking that it is okay that they throw their garbage on the ground, and not have to pick it up. We need to teach our children that they need to take care of the earth that they are living on, because they only get one. Recycling is one of the most beneficial environmental issues that we have here on this earth. Recycling saves energy, limits pollution and supports several environmental factors of the economy. “In 2003, the savings from recycling 54 billion aluminum cans exceeded the energy equivalent of 15 million barrels of crude oil- or the amount of gas the U.S. uses in one day,” according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA estimates that 200 million gallons of used oil are not disposed of properly, and if we were to dispose the oil properly then we could keep the oil from polluting the ground and the fresh water source. According to E. Takatori, “… While on-going societal regulation treats material recycling as the dominant cycle, the properties of recycled plastic remain the most port
The world population is living, working, and vacationing along the coasts. They are contributing to an unprecedented tide of plastic waste. Pollution is defined as the process that alters a substance or molecule on planet earth, the pollution is caused by the physical contact of an organic decaying particle with a clean particle in the same spot, at the time the two particles join together is when occurs pollution in which the environment is greatly altered. Too many, plastic is a modern day miracle, versatile, inexpensive and durable (Rochman 2014). To others, it is a scourge, a non-degradable pollutant that threatens to choke the global environment. Plastic pollution has led to the deaths of many animals, natural resources, and people (Rochman 2014). It is time to change America’s thinking and to learn from past mistakes.
Using plastic bags are second nature to people in this day and age. Warner acknowledges, “Much to the dismay of the environmentally conscious citizens worldwide, the ubiquity of the free plastic carryout bag has bred nonchalant consumers who take this modern convenience for granted” (646). Although some people are conscious about the environment, people strive more for convenience and do not think about the impacts using bags have not only on the environment, but on themselves as well. If something is bad for the environment, it will alternatively be bad for humans as well. When plastic bags are exposed to the sun from being littered all around, the ultraviolet rays cause the substances of plastic bags to weaken. After the substances weaken, the substances become invisible to the naked eye. The substances that are no longer able to be seen are toxic to humans (Warner 649). As a result of plastic bags being littered around, animals consume plastic bags. This is negatively affects humans because animals are often consumed. When humans consume animals like, fish, there can be plastic in the fish’s belly, which then transfers to the humans and this poses a concern for human’s health. Humans are negatively affected by plastic bags because of the toxic chemicals in plastic bags, as well as, consuming animals with plastic in their
Most importantly, it saves lives. We should all learn the importance of recycling. For example, some sea lions won?t get stuck in plastics if we recycle. We would also breathe better air. We can recycle and aluminum can and put it back on the shelf for something useful. If we just leave it in the landfill, it?ll decompose and it?ll be of no use. It?ll also reduce pollution or else it?ll make a new one.
This essay will discuss the various harmful effects of plastic bags, and demonstrate the risks that these bags impose on humans, animals, and the environment. It will also discuss a series of suggested solutions that could help reduce plastic bag usage. Although plastic bags appear to be fragile and light, their negative environmental effect is devastating. Plastic bags may cause large amounts of pollution at every step of their limited life cycle, from the extraction of raw materials, production, transportation, and recycling or disposal. Plastic bags can be defined as the most damaging form of environmental pollution.
Everyone has heard a cashier one time or another mumble, “Paper or plastic?” as he put their groceries in a bag, but do shoppers know the effects of each vessel in which they carry their comestibles? There are many issues and benefits to both paper and plastic. The making and recycling of both paper and plastic bags can harm the environment. One must also look at the costs of making each bag. The convenience of each is also something to look at. Many people jump to conclusion that paper bags are better for the environment without knowing the facts. Since plastic bags are preferred by customers and plastic bags actually do not hurt the environment as much as paper ones do, consumers should feel at ease when choosing plastic.
In the 1870’s, plastic was discovered in the United States when John Wesley Hyatt was trying to create a different material to make billiard balls (Manrich, 3). Little did he know it would majorly evolve into material we use everyday. However, plastics are now taking over our landfills. The average American throws away one-hundred and eighty-five pounds of plastic a year (Popescu, 121). The answer to decrease this statistic is easy: recycling. I believe that recycling will help eliminate littering and the growth of landfills, while also creating jobs for the unemployed. Not only does recycling plastic help eliminate littering, but also reuses the plastic so there is not a production of additional unneeded plastics. The