As consumers, we perpetually hear and read about plastic pollution. There is a real climate crisis happening on earth, yet there’s so much we don’t know about it.
Plastic is harming our planet at an alarming rate. Despite environmental groups and activists making changes to their lives and trying to guide us,
we’re not doing enough to save the planet. The problem has gone unattended too long for a simple solution.
So, here are some facts and information about plastic waste that you need to know.
What is plastic pollution?
It is the accumulation of all types of plastics on earth, polluting all parts of our ecosystem. This ultimately leads to severe environmental damages.
What about recycling?
Very little plastic actually gets recycled- in fact, the majority of it doesn’t! Less than one fifth of plastic gets recycled, the rest becomes waste that crowds, poisons, and kills our land, water, and air. To make matters worse, not all plastic decomposes fully. It can take over 1000 years for it to disappear.
What kind of damage does plastic pollution cause to the environment and I?
Land
The most obvious problem is that plastic waste is taking over fields, mountainous areas. beaches, and more, turning them into wastelands. However, there are some other problems occurring from this that we can’t directly see. Many plastics contain toxic chemicals known to cause health problems in humans, so it’s concerning that waste is buried in our soil, where we grow food to consume.
Water
Over 8 million tonnes of plastic are dumped into the ocean every year. This plastic waste is killing marine life in various ways. Some are strangled or suffocated by items like plastic bags and six-pack rings, some accidentally ingest small particles of plastic and die from complications from not being able to digest it and absorbing its toxins.
As a result, everything on our planet is affected by the ocean. It generates oxygen, creates rain, regulates climate, and is a source of food, medicine, transportation and recreation. The death and destruction of living beings in our ecosystem is alarming enough. We all fall under the organization of the food chain where every ripple will eventually reach us. It’s no longer a question about if we’re ingestive toxins from micro plastics inside of fish that we eat. The question is now: how much and how toxic?
Air
Burning plastic is a method of destroying it, but by doing so it pollutes the air. Many people consider this the worst possible way to deal with the plastic crisis because of the amount of environmental damage it causes, also affecting ocean life. Without clean air, everything on our planet will eventually deteriorate and die so it’s extremely important to consider air pollution.
What can I do to help?
So, there are numerous ways to make the world a better place, more importantly a safe and habitable place for your future children and grandchildren. We have an entire blog dedicated to it here.