PLASTIC'S AFFECTS ON THE ENVIRONMENT

Plastic's Affects on the Environment

Plastic's Affects on the Environment

Introduction

Plastic can be found anywhere because it is a very useful material used to create products of every size and shape due to its resistance and flexibility. You can look all around you and find a plastic for example; parts of your car, television and even toothbrush are made of plastic. Even places in which you would not expect to find plastics contain it. The life cycle of plastic starts in a factory but ends nowhere near, studies have found that a big part of plastic ends up in the ocean and in our own bodies and the only way to reduce our reliance on plastic is to have a public commitment which requires consumers to become responsible for their health as well as their children's also a series of laws that promote this habit must be passed, including the ban of single use plastic bags in stores and the ban of chemicals like BPA in food and drink containers, in order to decrease the contact between life and these malign chemicals (Andrady 2009).

The Effect of Plastic Pollution

Most plastics found in the ocean end up becoming part of a gyre, an immense isle of plastic garbage, which damages our environment by creating toxic waste that will not disappear easily and will most likely be consumed by marine life. Terrestrial plastic pollution has become a significant problem because the mass production of plastic pollution is causing us to run out of places to place the waste. Landfills are a way in which we try to get rid of plastic waste by hiding it, but it has become dangerous because toxic seepage from the landfill can result in the contamination of water sources. Also, the waste might stop the flow of water movement toward roots found nearby, therefore, affecting the soil and organic processes. Another negative effect of terrestrial plastic pollution is that the plastic can clog drains and sewage systems ultimately creating contamination of water, soil and air. Additionally Plastic pollution affects the economy in the sense that everything from landfills to recycling becomes really expensive due to the facts that space in landfills is running out and machinery used for recycling is really expensive. But, the economy is the least of the problems at this time because test results have shocking evidence that plastic has found its way into the habitats of many marine species and their bodies.

Plastic kills marine life by entangling birds, turtles and seals. “Plastic's devastating effect on marine mammals was first observed in the late 1970s, when scientists from the National Marine Mammal Laboratory concluded that plastic entanglement was killing up to 40,000 seals a year (Andrady 2009). Annually, this amounted to a four to six percent drop in seal population beginning in 1976. In 30 years, a 50% decline in Northern Fur Seals has been reported.” It also affects animals because when plastic breaks down into smaller pieces animals tend to eat it ...