The Environmental Problem with Plastic
It seems like plastic material is everywhere you look. From the cars we drive to the products we consume, from the pipes in our lawns to the brushes we use in our bathrooms. If plastic is everywhere how can it be so bad?
Our oceans are the source of most of the earths oxygen and are an integral part of our global ecosystem. The waste we create from our plastic addiction is literally threatening our oceans. According to the Californians Against Waste (CAW), "In some of the most polluted areas of the Pacific, plastic already outweighs plankton by a factor of six!"
According to a recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle there is a "a heap of debris floating in the Pacific that's twice the size of Texas." This continent sized debris heap has been titled the Great Pacific Garbage Patch by marine biologists. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is comprised of literally millions of points of trash - most of it plastic. In 2006 the United Nations Environment Program estimated that in each square mile of ocean you can find 46,000 pieces of floating plastic. It is literally the world's largest landfill, and it is floating in the Pacific ocean.
From Our Litter to Our Oceans
How does the plastic bag you took home from the grocery store end up in the Pacific ocean? Up to 90% of the plastic found in our oceans sadly comes from urban runoff.
A Growing Epidemic
While more and more waste collects, more is being created. In the past 20 years plastic production has doubled and is still continuing to expand. With plastic products offering manufacturers a lifespan of 1,000 years unless consumers respond to this issue, it will only grow.
The amount of plastic found in our oceans is having a profound effect on many different animals. Some biologists estimate that millions of birds and other marine species have simply died from starvation or some sort of poisoning after mistakenly ingesting plastic when looking for food. Our dwindling sea turtle population is at extreme risk.
An Impossible Problem
According to the United Nations Environment Program we are facing what some may consider an impossible problem, they state that in "some areas, big fragments can be collected, but it's simply not possible to thoroughly clean a section of ocean that spans the area of a continent and extends 100 feet below the surface."
Our only real solution is managing our waste on land before it reaches our oceans.
Can Plastic Be Recycled?
While plastic can be recycled its not a cut and dry process. Recycling petrochemical resins or plastics is both an expensive and complicated process. When plastic are recycled post-consumer they are usually " downcycled." When a plastic food container is downcycled it is reused, but it will never qualify as food grade plastic again. Each time the plastic is downcycled some level of value is lost. If any product requires downcycling it should not be considered a sustainable option.
Doesn't Plastic Biodegrade?
Unlike many other materials plastic does not biodegrade - instead it photodegrades. As plastic photodegrades it breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces of plastic instead of splitting into simpler compounds. With so much plastic in our ocean the small bits of plastic created through photodegradation are called mermaid tears or nurdles.
It's these small particles that are eaten first by filter feeders in the ocean and then slowly work their way up the food chain as they are consumed by larger creatures.
The Effect of Plastics on Humans
With the astounding quantities of plastic waste found not only in our oceans but also our landfills it shouldn't be surprising that chemicals are slowing working their way through the food chain and into foods commonly food in our human diets. The CAW states, "Nearly all of us carry in our bodies chemicals present in plastics -- raising alarming questions about the role plastics play in human health and diseases such as cancer and autism."
However convenient plastics are, however common they have become it's time for us to look at the effect they are having on our environment and our health. With more sustainable options such as glass already available isn't it time we cured ourselves of our plastic addiction.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1065756
Our oceans are the source of most of the earths oxygen and are an integral part of our global ecosystem. The waste we create from our plastic addiction is literally threatening our oceans. According to the Californians Against Waste (CAW), "In some of the most polluted areas of the Pacific, plastic already outweighs plankton by a factor of six!"
According to a recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle there is a "a heap of debris floating in the Pacific that's twice the size of Texas." This continent sized debris heap has been titled the Great Pacific Garbage Patch by marine biologists. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is comprised of literally millions of points of trash - most of it plastic. In 2006 the United Nations Environment Program estimated that in each square mile of ocean you can find 46,000 pieces of floating plastic. It is literally the world's largest landfill, and it is floating in the Pacific ocean.
From Our Litter to Our Oceans
How does the plastic bag you took home from the grocery store end up in the Pacific ocean? Up to 90% of the plastic found in our oceans sadly comes from urban runoff.
A Growing Epidemic
While more and more waste collects, more is being created. In the past 20 years plastic production has doubled and is still continuing to expand. With plastic products offering manufacturers a lifespan of 1,000 years unless consumers respond to this issue, it will only grow.
The amount of plastic found in our oceans is having a profound effect on many different animals. Some biologists estimate that millions of birds and other marine species have simply died from starvation or some sort of poisoning after mistakenly ingesting plastic when looking for food. Our dwindling sea turtle population is at extreme risk.
An Impossible Problem
According to the United Nations Environment Program we are facing what some may consider an impossible problem, they state that in "some areas, big fragments can be collected, but it's simply not possible to thoroughly clean a section of ocean that spans the area of a continent and extends 100 feet below the surface."
Our only real solution is managing our waste on land before it reaches our oceans.
Can Plastic Be Recycled?
While plastic can be recycled its not a cut and dry process. Recycling petrochemical resins or plastics is both an expensive and complicated process. When plastic are recycled post-consumer they are usually " downcycled." When a plastic food container is downcycled it is reused, but it will never qualify as food grade plastic again. Each time the plastic is downcycled some level of value is lost. If any product requires downcycling it should not be considered a sustainable option.
Doesn't Plastic Biodegrade?
Unlike many other materials plastic does not biodegrade - instead it photodegrades. As plastic photodegrades it breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces of plastic instead of splitting into simpler compounds. With so much plastic in our ocean the small bits of plastic created through photodegradation are called mermaid tears or nurdles.
It's these small particles that are eaten first by filter feeders in the ocean and then slowly work their way up the food chain as they are consumed by larger creatures.
The Effect of Plastics on Humans
With the astounding quantities of plastic waste found not only in our oceans but also our landfills it shouldn't be surprising that chemicals are slowing working their way through the food chain and into foods commonly food in our human diets. The CAW states, "Nearly all of us carry in our bodies chemicals present in plastics -- raising alarming questions about the role plastics play in human health and diseases such as cancer and autism."
However convenient plastics are, however common they have become it's time for us to look at the effect they are having on our environment and our health. With more sustainable options such as glass already available isn't it time we cured ourselves of our plastic addiction.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1065756
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