Abigail Ryan
November 28, 18
The Effect of Plastic Waste
Since its popularization as the saving grace for the modern housewives in the 1950s, plastic has been incorporated into thousands of products that we use every day, and it has helped make our lives easier in so many ways. Now we are seeing plastic in everything from furniture to clothing, and it packages. Not only is plastic in our consumer products but in some of the handiest scientific innovations which benefit our lives. Such as 3D printable biomaterials, and some implants such as knee implants, and in lasik eye surgery. However; despite all of these benefits which we have received from plastic for the last 70 years, some might argue that the negative consequences of our plastic dependence will far outweigh any of the positives. It is perhaps time to consider whether science should have considered more carefully the future created, when plastic came into our lives.
While plastic was invented in the early 1900s, it arguably made its most significant impact on popular culture in the 1950s, when it was marketed to American housewives. Describe the history of plastic from this perspective. Our lives have helped us live a much easier life style. Without it we would not have made some of the advancements that we take for granted every day, food storage, some advances in the medical field, even advances in our nation’s defense system, without plastic they would not be at the level they are at today. However; with the amount of plastic we are using and throwing away every day we give little thought to the negative impact and the way it is growing every day, how large will it grow in 10 years?
So here we are 70 years later, and what was first marketed as a housewife’s convenience is now an indispensable reality in our lives. Plastic is used in medical operations such as knee and hip replacement surgeries and even in some lasik eye surgeries where the surgeon takes out your cornea and either fix it or in some cases replace with a clear piece of plastic. Without plastic Tupperware we could not be able to keep our food fresh for long periods of time. Seats on the buses and subway stations are made of plastic even the windows are made up of plastic because it is harder to break plastic than it is glass.
To make the amount of plastic that is in demand, more petroleum gas and natural is used as well as oil. The plastic that is made as a result will eventually wind up in landfills where they can sit and slowly degrade. Up to “8.3 billion metric tons-most of it in disposable product that end up as trash. If it seems like an incomprehensible quantity, it is.” (Parker National Geographic July 19, 2017, 2-3) We hear and read about how much plastic ends up in the lakes, river, streams, and oceans. There are photos of plastic contaminated areas of water that look like there is not water just plastic. In some areas of the world it is more of an issue that others. In India, these problems seem to be most apparent, not only are some of their bodies of water grossly contaminated with plastic, they have an issue with air pollution to combat as well.
Unfortunately, despite all the convenience which plastic has provided for us, we have failed to acknowledge a significant downside of that plastic. Specifically, the average piece of plastic has a shelf life of 450 years. Now it is in our landfills, where is simply sits there some item can take longer or shorter time periods to degrade for some “straws can take up to 200 years to biodegrade and foam and plastic cups can take 50 years” (Wright, Kirk, Molloy, and Mills The Telegraph UK www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/01/10/stark-truth-long-plastic-foo/10nt-will-last-planet/ 10 Jan 2018 26-27) With those products now in landfills around the world many of them will end up in our oceans, where some plastic debris will affect the marine life and wildlife in devastating ways.
There are millions of pieces of plastic in our environment, our oceans, even in our tap water. The plastic that is thrown away and ends up in the oceans can be mistaken for food by marine wildlife the eat or ingest it. “Ingestion of debris by animals is another serious problem. Plastic pellets can look like fish eggs, and plastic shopping bags can look like jellyfish to a hungry sea turtle. Many animals confuse debris for food and cannot regurgitate an item once it has been swallowed, it often becomes lodged in their throats and digestive tracks. Debris that will not pass out of the stomach gives a false sense cessation causing some animals to stop eating and slowly starve to death” (Sheavly, Register 151-159). Elaborate on quote don’t just leave
Some animals that are larger in size can ingest more debris than others as such it may take longer for them to feel cessation but they do eventually feel it. Some of these animals wash ashore on beaches around the world both dead and alive with plastic debris in their system, or they are entangled in plastic nets, fishing lines, and other debris. Workers then have to try and save the animals that are still alive. Unfortunately, they are not always successful “… But the survival of a pilot whale that washed ashore in southern Thailand last week, in critical condition and with a belly full of plastic bags, became a case celebrate for ordinary people. And its death a few days later was a vivid reminder of a staggering global problem: plastic in the oceans and seas” (Ives New York Time June 2018 4-7). There are areas around the world that have tried to get more information about this to young individual that are more inclined to help find a solution to this problem. Two of these organizations are bye-bye plastic bags, which teaches kids about pollution and has the children help in cleaning up beaches, the other organization is The Nature Conservatory which now has locations in 72 countries, individuals can volunteer to help clean up efforts or learn more about what they can further do to help.
Other institutions around the world dedicate themselves to helping the animals that have eaten plastic or been caught by other left over debris such as fishing nets and have gotten seriously injured such as losing fins and bodily damage, to their deaths. One such institution is The Georgia Sea Turtle Center which helps rehabilitate injured sea turtles to learn to cope and live without their injuries seriously affecting them. The have tours through the center where both locals and tourists can visit and see some of the turtles in the tanks as they go through rehabilitation. Center employees then explains how each turtle got injured and how we can help by learning more about sea turtles and how they are being affected by the pollution. The center is the only hospital for the purpose of rehabilitating sea turtles in the state of Georgia.
The wildlife are not the only ones affected by the plastic in their food and water sources. We are also seeing increased number of plastic in our own systems as well. Plastic can take years to even start degrading in the environment, let alone inside our own bodies. Plastic was made to last many years; the downside is that the process of degrading. “Plastic can take more than 400 years to degrade, so most of it still exists in some form. Only 12 percent has been incinerated.” (Parker, National Geographic July 19, 2017, 15-16.) Though we do take measure to try to help lessen the impact we are having on the environment and the wildlife, such a cutting plastic rings, and recycling other items, it is not enough. More plastic is being bought now than ever before, more plastic is also being thrown away than ever before.
Many animals are endangered and are in danger of not being removed from the endangered species list for many years. There are 5 different species of marine that could face this in the future. Whales and dolphins, sea turtles, fish, even some birds that we always see around a body of water are in danger due to the amount of plastic that is around them. These species are critical to life in the ocean. They balance out the ocean’s food chain. Certain whales eat squid for example, even some sharks. Without them the shark and squid populations would rise with no other to combat them.
There are micro plastics that cab break down in our food and our water. As a result, we consume the food and water without knowing that we are ingesting thousands of micro plastics a year. In a recent article from the New York Times journalist Douglas Quenqua writes “Several studies have found high levels of micro plastics in marine life, and last year, micro plastics were detected in 83 percent of tap water samples around the world [the highest contamination rate belonged to the United States, where 94 percent of samples were contaminated). (Quenqua New York Times Oct 22, 2018 26-30.) The number that belongs to the United States was a shocking fact for me as I didn’t think the number would be that high. We have seen and felt the negative effects that plastics in our food and drinks have had, now the question is what can we do to try and fix this?
There are many companies that are producing degradable product that are better for the environment and ourselves. Even restaurants and cafes are banning some plastic products that they use such as plastic straws to reduce their use. “Some of these restaurants and cafes are Starbucks the coffee giant ‘announced in July that it will go “strawless” by 2020,” (Richardson Grubstreet Aug 2018 20-21) the Union Square Hospitality Group started using biodegradable straws this past summer.
As a child in elementary school you are taught the importance of recycling, reducing and reusing the three r’s. As an adult you see just how little of this is being practiced. We try every day to make our environment better, but now it is more apparent than ever the problems are much bigger. If we make the decision to buy less plastic and instead by more environmentally conscious products a small impact would be made yes, but over time with more and more people doing this and more people willing to help clean the oceans and help the animals that are caught and being affected by the plastic then we can go forward to reducing our use of plastic drastically.
Works Cited
Ives, Mike. “Whale's Death in Thailand Points to Global Scourge: Plastic in Oceans.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 4 June 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/06/04/world/asia/thailand-whale-plastics-pollution.html
Parker, Laura. “A Whopping 91% of Plastic Isn't Recycled.” National Geographic, National Geographic Society, 19 July 2017, news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/07/plastic-produced-recycling-waste-ocean-trash-debris-environment/.
Quenqua, Douglas. “Microplastics Find Their Way Into Your Gut, a Pilot Study Finds.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 22 Oct. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/10/22/health/microplastics-human-stool.html.
Richardson, Nikita. “Every New York City Restaurant That Will Eliminate Plastic Straws.” Grub Street, Grub Street, 3 Aug. 2018, www.grubstreet.com/2018/08/all-the-new-york-city-estaurants-ditching-plastic-straws.html.
S. B., Sheavly, and Register K. M.“Marine Debris & Plastics: Environmental Concerns, Sources, Impacts and Solutions.” Journal of Polymers and the Environment, vol. 15, no. 4, 2007, pp. 301–305., doi:10.1007/s10924-007-0074-3
Wright Mike; Kirk Ashley; et/al. “The Stark Truth about How Long Your Plastic Footprint Will Last on the Planet.” The Telegraph, Telegraph Media Group, 10 Jan. 2018, www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/01/10/stark-truth-long-plastic- footprint-will-last-planet/.
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