Jack’s Part MP3 Peer Review Draft
Plastic’s Overstayed Welcome
Plastics have gained a place in our modern world that is hard to ignore. For all the benefits of plastic use on our daily lives and the economy, serious issues are impossible for a health conscientious public to ignore. Nearly two thirds of the plastic made per year is used for food and drink packaging. Roughly two thirds of the textiles created are made of various plastics. Public awareness and a collective effort towards more sustainable consumption and growth patterns are necessary for the continued health of the environment, animals, and consequently, humanity.
When plastics are improperly disposed of, they pose a serious risk to the environment and the living creatures within. Inadequate waste management practices can lead to plastic waste being burned which will result in a release of toxic fumes that contribute to air pollution. Plastic waste can leach harmful chemicals into these environments which may cause issues for the ecosystem and animals. The global usage of plastic has given rise to multiple issues regarding environmental impacts from plastic usage and waste management.
One such issue being the prevalence of microplastics in the available water. The world economic forum estimates that 75 million to 199 million tons of plastic may reside in our oceans with roughly fourteen million tons added yearly. This waste may be found at all levels of the ocean from floating upon the surface to deep sea trenches and in the floor’s sediment. The cost of this pollution is estimated to be around thirteen billion dollars in marine ecosystem damage.
Plastic waste poses several risks to wildlife including ingestion. Plastic can be consumed by animals that mistake the waste as food. One such example being that sea turtles may choke to death from them mistaking a plastic bag for a jellyfish. Microplastics are especially dangerous because these microscopic pieces are eaten by small animals, which are eaten by larger animals, and therefore will accumulate within the food chain. These microplastics will affect whales, birds, fish and other animals in multiple different ways from internal injuries to hormonal disruptions to malnutrition.
Animals experience a risk of becoming entangled by plastic waste. This waste can take the form of CDs, fishing nets, plastic bags, six pack rings and other such items. These waste items can snare, entangle, and otherwise inhibit movement or growth. Animals have a level of risk for having plastic waste become stuck to them like a tire becoming stuck around the neck of a giraffe as an example.
The chemicals within plastic pose a similar level of danger to the animals that may consume it. Such chemicals include bisphenol A (BPA), flame retardants and more. BPAs, when consumed, are known to interfere with hormonal systems which inhibits the functions responsible for growth, reproduction, and overall behavior. Water and earth contamination is prolific with trace amounts of plastics and accompanying chemicals found in rainwater globally. This risk of health deterioration isn’t expressly for wildlife; people have experienced these negative health effects. Other complications have been recorded such as neurodegeneration, obesity, immune system issues, and cancer.
Overuse of plastics has generated a yearly total of four hundred million tons of plastic waste. Packaging comprises around thirty six percent of the plastic generated; of which upwards of eighty five percent will find itself filling a landfill. The United States of America contributes forty million tons of plastic waste with only around two million tons being recycled; a rate much lower from what has been recycled in the past.
Plastics are made primarily of nonrenewable fossil fuels which will experience a significant loss of quality from the recycling process. Of the multiple varieties of plastics, they must be sorted by type before recycling due to each type possessing specific process requirements and properties. This recycling process is often more energy intensive and costly than making new plastic. Several varieties are even labeled as recyclable when they are in fact not reliably so.
Materials such as aluminum or glass have a high affinity for recycling due to their ability to be reshaped and reformed many times over. Glass is comprised from natural materials such as sand, limestone and soda ash and can be melted an endless number of times into whichever desired shape with no loss of quality and will remain food grade. Aluminum is also able to be melted repeatedly with minimal loss of quality and will require less energy than making new aluminum from raw materials.
Besides recycling, reusing items can prove to be a vital step in our efforts to reduce consumption and waste. Single use plastic bottles have an enormous degree of waste with millions being disposed of every hour in the United States. Reuseable bottles are the obvious choice for reducing this number. When grocery shopping, reuseable bags brought from home eliminates the issue of single use plastic bags. Choosing alternatives to single use plastics and choosing to buy items with less plastic content and less plastic packaging is overall a solid step forwards to a more ecologically friendly way of life.
Awareness of plastic waste reduction is crucial for the global effort towards reducing the catastrophic effects of plastic waste on the environment, animal and human health, and sustainable growth globally. Everybody has a role to play in this effort, but many are unaware of how they can personally contribute. Immediate action can take many forms with public awareness and education on this matter being among the first steps. This might include school programs, consumer awareness campaigns, or public service announcements. The next logical step in this process would be to encourage personal attitude shifts towards plastic usage and purchasing habits. Steps towards this may include the decision to consume less single use plastics, recycle more and even government orchestrated psych-ops.
With the rate of plastic consumption, and therefore plastic waste, growing on a yearly basis, public awareness for this and adjacent issues are vital for healthy growth and consumption practices for the world moving forward. However, many on this planet are inadequately informed on this front and any nuances exist for living an eco-friendly life here on Earth, but awareness and education on those matters is the first and most important step that many people can take towards change.
Iverson, Jack. “Major Writing Project: Plastics.” 3 April 2024. 2024 Spring Writing and Rhetoric, College of Eastern Idaho, student paper.
Wakefield, Faith. “World Recycling Facts for 2022: Plastic, Paper and More.” World Economic Forum, 22 June 2022,
www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/06/recycling-global-statistics-facts-plastic-paper/#:~:text=The%20world%20produces%20about%20400%20million%20tons%20of. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024
Plastic Soup Foundation. “Properties of Plastic – Monomers and Polymers.” Plastic Soup Foundation, www.plasticsoupfoundation.org/en/plastic-problem/what-is-plastic/monomers-and-polymers/.
