Are Plastics a Boon or a Curse?

The majority of our products contain plastic or come in plastic packaging. As cheap, convenient, versatile and essential as plastic has become to our everyday lives, it has also created a deadly planetary crisis. Made from fossil fuels, plastic is not biodegradable and takes hundreds of years to break down. The EPA claims that all the plastics that were ever created are still in existence.

Worldwide, 280,000,000 tons of plastic becomes waste every year. Leading the world, America generates 42,000,000 tons of that total. 22% of the total is litter. That figure is expected to triple over the next 40 years and exceed one billion tons. The potential damage to our environment, health, wildlife and economy are incalculable.

Plastic breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces called microplastics. This continual degradation makes plastic extremely hard to remove. As microfibers travel up the food chain, scientists are urgently trying to determine just how much damage plastics are causing. Plastic microfibers are found in drinking water, in the air, in our blood and organs, and in the soil where we grow our food. Several studies have shown that plastic microfibers affect the body’s endocrine system, and can cause developmental, neurological, reproductive and immune disorders, hormone imbalances, respiratory problems, and cancer. 

Plastic accumulates in gigantic oceanic areas called gyres, where massive circular currents trap garbage and buoyant plastics for decades, if not for centuries. There are 5 major gyres, the largest of which is The Great Pacific Garbage Patch located between Hawaii and California. This gyre weighs 100,000 tons and covers an area twice the size of Texas! According to Ocean Cleanup, the plastic count in this gyre is equivalent to 250 pieces of debris for every human in the world.

Sea turtles snagged by fishing vessels near the gyres have up to 74% of their diets composed of plastic. 100,000,000 animals are killed by plastics every year, including mammals, birds, fish and other marine organisms. These are just the ones we find. Some of the stomachs have been so packed with plastics that the urge to eat was reduced, causing starvation.

Plastic litter weighing 8,000,000 to 10,000,000 metric tons makes up 80% of all the annual marine pollution. Floating plastic can circulate for years before reaching shore and becoming deadly meals for animals. A Portland State University study discovered microplastics in almost every seafood sample gathered off the west coast of America. Another study revealed that roughly 210 edible species of sea life ingest plastic debris. Plastic found on the ocean floor exacerbates the problem and is impossible to study with any accuracy.

Governments, companies, and consumers must work as one to advance next-generation solutions if we are to head off the pending disaster.

Things to do.

• Improve waste recovery and recycling.
• Plastic must be kept out of rivers and oceans.
• Avoid plastic decorations and packaging.
• Say no to plastic bags and bottles.
• Utilize reusable bags.
• Adopt major cleanup campaigns.
• Reduce single-use plastics.
• Invent biodegradable plastic.
• Discarded plastic must be turned into something useful.
• Use plastic to build and repair roads worldwide.
• Support organizations addressing plastic pollution.
• Support legislation to curb plastic production and waste.

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