Category: Garbage

Plastic is ubiquitous! From water bottles, bags, clothing, straws and coffee cups to toys, DVDs, Styrofoam, plumbing materials, and furniture; inevitably, it is in our everyday lives. The mix of positive and negative aspects makes this material so controversial. It can save human lives; knee and hip joints to plastic heart valves, however, at the same time it can also destruct an entire ecosystem; entangling, suffocating and killing wildlife. An example is the ocean’s ecosystem; it is beneficial to the planet as well as humans. The ocean provides ingredients for medicine and food, transportation, climate regulation, economic benefit, recreation use and the air we breathe, producing more than half the world’s oxygen; absorbing 50 times more carbon dioxide than the atmosphere. If we don’t protect the land and waters from predators such as plastic, the material will continue to have a chemical impact, leaching its’ free-floating pollutants into their surrounding lands and waters. Some chemicals that plastics contain, adhere to their surfaces; polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and heavy metals are a few.

Plastics marine debris from home: When you think of plastic pollution; bottles, straws and Styrofoam come to mind. However, diminutive know that plastic pollution is much more than that.

Plastic materials takes thousands of years to decay, although plastic waste situated in the environment becomes brittle, breaking down from wind, waves and due to its’ photodegradative effect; the sun’s Ultraviolet light provides energy for oxygen atoms to integrate into the polymers of plastic, allowing it to break down into microplastics; however plastic waste located on the seafloor takes longer to break down due to the deficiency of oxygen and sunlight. The microplastics found in the ocean’s ecosystem includes microfibers that come off clothes in the washing machine, washing down freshwater systems and the ocean; a single fleece jacket can produce 100,000 microfibers in only one wash. Microbeads is another source of microplastic, they are tiny plastic beads, typically made of polyethylene and act as an exfoliant, found in facial and body cleansers, tooth paste and cleaning products. Similar to microfibers, microbeads wash off into the drain and eventually into our waterways and ocean; According to the Environmental Audit Committee of the House of Commons in Britain, a single shower can direct 100,000 particles of plastic into ocean. The first documented records of microplastics in the Atlantic Ocean developed, in the early 1970s. today, 2019 “microplastics make up 85% of plastic pollution found on the shorelines around the world”.

Marine wildlife already has a figure of threats from marine predators to commercial fisheries and now plastic marine debris through entanglement, ingestion, bioaccumulation (Hamlyn, 2019), and changes of habitats. Plastic has existed for nearly a century with mass production starting in the 1950s; In other words, plastic marine debris has been accumulating subsequently. Data collected over 3 and a half decades (1974-2008) state that when researching in Australian waters, at least 77 marine wildlife species were found to be impacted by plastic through entanglement or ingestion. whereas at the present time plastic marine debris affects more than 700 species worldwide.

Sarah Hamlyn a biologist experienced that in Florida keys, plastic debris (broken down pieces of polystyrene, food wrappers, plastic bottles and microplastic) would often become trapped and entangled with other plastic debris such as fishing line, rope (polyethylene or nylon line for traps -both plastic polymers) buckets and polystyrene. Due to the ocean’s currents, these large and small entangled bits of plastic flow towards the ocean’s gyres, on the way collecting more plastic debris and entangling wildlife on its way to its deemed destination. In the ocean there are 5 major gyres, also recognized as the ocean trash vortexes. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a gyre that contains 16 times more waste than before, covering a 1.6 million-square-kilometer area; virtually the same size as Queensland. Entanglement of marine creatures can lead to abnormal shell development, starvation and drowning. Helena Ivancic provided an example of common entanglement; often associated with seals. ‘Plastic rings from soft-drink or alcohol packaging can become stuck around animals’ necks, restricting blood flow to the animal, causing serious injury’.

Plastic swallowed by animals does not need to be large in quantity to cause serious damage. plastic marine debris such as bags and Microplastics, become ‘food’ in the eyes of marine wildlife; to them looking and tasting like food .Yet there Is a huge down fall to the food chain’s latest addition, animals ingesting plastic’s often leads to cases of starvation (Hamlyn, 2019); plastics accumulate in the stomachs of animals, preventing them from getting enough nutrients (Ivancic, 2019) and may cause punctured organs and obstruction to the digestive tract, up until the animal can no longer truly consume genuine food an example by Hamlyn, states necropsy had showed animals (fish, mammals and birds) stomachs filled with plastic. Marine wildlife cannot tell the difference between artificial and authentic. Sea turtles frequently mistake plastic bags for jelly fish; sadly, the bags obstruct the turtle’s mouth and digestive system (Ivancic, 2019).

Noise pollution from ships is the intense noise made from boats, ships engines, military SONAR and offshore developments which can cause serious acoustic trauma for marine animals. The Ocean is full of rich, diverse soundscapes of bubbles, grunts, clicks and chirps from a large variety of marine animals like dolphins, whales and a mixture of fish. The noise of ships disrupt marine animals to find food, mate, avoid predators and communicate with other animals as it masks their signals to other animals. Scientists are finding out that noise not only interrupts their ability to hear but also to see and smell. During their testing they found out that only some/a very small amount of fish were trained to avoid motorboats.

During their testing they looked at the effects of small motorboat noises on young damselfish, they trained them to recognize the smell of their predators. Some of the fish were trained in the presence of the motor noises, while the other fish were trained by their surrounding sounds of the ocean. They found that the fish that were trained to the motor sounds showed no fight reactions when they were exposed to their predator, and they acted like they had no predators at all. While the other fish that were trained to ambient sounds were scared and reduced their activity. They released them back into the water and three days later 80% had died, showing that they were not fast learners and that it would be hard for them to evolve. Over the past 60 years the noise levels in marine environments has doubled due to the mass amounts of cargo ships passing through as the import and export trades worldwide have increased over the last decades.

Naval SONAR noises can travel up to 16,000 kilometers, blocking any other noises that are in their way. Even though whales can hear up to 15,000 kilometers they can still be influenced by noises from a very far away distance. The signaling and communication between sea creatures is drastically affected by noise pollution. A side effect of this is that whales and dolphins etc beach themselves, as they become disoriented by the noise, which can cause the whole pod to follow, a chain reaction. Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies like lakes, rivers and oceans, usually as a result of human activities. It was thought that our seas were so vast that any pollution would become diluted and disappear, but we now know that litter like plastic can take tens of years to decompose and some will never. The poisonous chemicals flushed into our oceans and leaching from rubbish accumulate within the water and food chains poisoning marine life and causing serious threats. Our waterways are a key transportation for plastic and other pollution to find their way into the ocean from land.

80% of ocean pollution comes from land based activities, destroying entire ecosystems and putting thousands of plant and animal species endangered. Marine animals like turtles mistake rubbish like plastic bags for their food, blocking their airways and stomachs, as well as “ghost nets” and fishing gear which have been discarded from boats tangling vulnerable animals. It’s not just sea animals that are affected by ocean pollution, sea birds that feed mainly or entirely on fish and krill often get stuck in “ghost nets”, mistake rubbish for food and eat fish that have eaten pieces of plastic. There are two types of micro plastics; Primary micro plastic are the tiny particles or fragments of plastic, these include microfibers from clothing and nurdles (tiny plastic pellets) which are no larger than 5mm. The other type of micro plastic is secondary microplastic which are created from the degradation of larger pieces of plastic once they have entered the habitat through the natural weathering, these include plastic bags, straws and fishing nets.

The Great Pacific Garbage patch is equivalent to ten Tasmanias in area, with an estimated weight of 80,000 tonnes and 94% beeing microplastics. It has been created by warm sea currents, holding plastics together creating a “Plastic Island”. It is estimated that by 2050 there will be more plastics in our ocean by weight then there will be fish in the ocean. Every year roughly eight million metric tons of plastic enters our oceans, with currently 150 million metric tons already there.

The main effect of plastics in our oceans is that fish and sea creatures mistake it for their food as it looks and smells like their food. The water underneath the floating mass of plastics is toxic with no light penetrating causing algae blooms and sickness to marine life for animals nearby. Animals that swim near the surface are very vulnerable to getting tangled in loose rubbish or “ghost nets” causing them to starve, suffocate or be eaten by other predators. Fish caught by fishing industries for the consumer market sell fish for human consumption with plastics inbedded in their bodies.

Noise pollution upsets the whale migration up the Mid North Coast past Coffs Harbour causing whales to become acoustically traumatised. Along Coffs coastline there are a number of rivers that deposit plastics/rubbish into the ocean which can wash up along the shore, helping to contribute to more rubbish in the ocean environment.

We can help by collecting any visual rubbish along beaches and river banks, not using as much plastic, by reducing unnecessary items thus reducing imports which come by sea, recreationally more wind powered boats and less fuel driven boats. Both noise pollution and plastic pollution are major issues that need more attention, these issues are killing thousands of marine life and destroying hundreds of habitats. We need to find a solution if we want to protect the future of our oceans.

“In a cringe-inducing video that’s gone viral, a team of scientists spent nearly ten minutes pulling a plastic straw from the nostril of an Olive Ripley sea turtle” (Lee [2]). In this horrifying video, many have realized how bad plastic pollution has become in the oceans. The future needs clean oceans. As more and more industries use plastic, there will be more and more of it in the ocean and more and more creatures, like the turtle, will suffer for it. “Over 300 million tons of plastic are produced every year for use in a wide variety of applications. At least 8 million tons of plastic end up in our oceans every year, and make up 80% of all marine debris from surface waters to deep-sea sediments. Marine species ingest or are entangled by plastic debris, which causes severe injuries and deaths” (“Marine Plastics” [2-3]). The Plastic is intoxicating the oceans. This turtle and all the other marine creatures need help to save the ocean.

Plastic pollution is spreading and spreading and is making what an article called “Marine Plastic Pollution” calls a “plastic soup.” Being an ocean creature and having to swim around dangerous plastics all of the time is not the best life. It is not just marine animals that are having problems, but also countless marine birds. “Our plastic addiction and waste mismanagement is condemning countless marine birds and animals to death by entanglement or poisoning, and even leading to chemical contamination of the fish we eat” (“Marine Plastic Pollution” [2]). If that is not enough, it can affect humans. Author Gianna Andrews writes in her article, “Plastics in the Ocean Affecting Human Health”, “Different plastics spread throughout the ocean. As styrofoam breaks into smaller parts, polystyrene components in it sink lower in the ocean, so that the pollutant spreads throughout the sea column. In fact, not only do the toxins in plastic affect the ocean, but acting like sponges, they soak up other toxins from outside sources before entering the ocean. As these chemicals are ingested by animals in the ocean, this is not good for humans. We as humans ingest contaminated fish and mammals” ([3]). Humankind needs to have no more plastic in the ocean just as much as the animals in the ocean. If people will not do it for the animals, why not for the rest of humankind.

Many pieces of plastic enter the ocean each day, but just how does the plastic actually get into these waters? Author Joe McCarthy writes in his article, “What You Need to Know About the Global Epidemic of Ocean Plastic Pollution”, “Plastic enters the oceans in three main ways — direct dumping, indirect dumping, and leakage — that all have one overarching similarity: dysfunctional waste management systems. Direct plastic pollution happens when a boat or garbage truck dumps plastic straight into the ocean as a way to dispose of it” ([2]). Also, that plastic entering the world’s ocean costs loads of money each year. “The plastic pollution that end up in the Earth’s oceans is costing world governments as much as $2.5 trillion a year” (Ranosa [1]). This money could be contributing to other necessary resources that the economy needs, but it is all being spent on cleaning up plastic because of careless littering. People need to think about the money that could be saved by the simple acts of using a garbage can or recycling bin to dispense of garbage. Littering is like dropping a dollar down the sewer.

Many are trying to solve plastic pollution problems, some of which work and some of which that do not. At least the ones that fail are at least trying to solve the problem. Believe it or not more recycling will not solve plastic pollution. “Recycling plastic is to saving the Earth what hammering a nail is to halting a falling skyscraper. You struggle to find a place to do it and feel pleased when you succeed. But your effort is wholly inadequate and distracts from the real problem of why the building is collapsing in the first place. The real problem is that single-use plastic—the very idea of producing plastic items like grocery bags, which we use for an average of 12 minutes but can persist in the environment for half a millennium—is an incredibly reckless abuse of technology” (Wilkins [2]). Another failed solution is ocean cleanups. In an article called, “Upset about the Plastic Crisis? Stop Trying So Hard”, the author Royal Geyer states, “The best known of them, The Ocean Cleanup, last year launched a 2,000 ft-long boom, made of plastic, to gather plastic in the North Pacific Gyre. Unfortunately, the boom didn’t work, broke apart and had to be towed back onshore. Even if the world also somehow figured out how to vacuum plastics from the ocean floor, these technologies would not stop new plastic from constantly entering the oceans” ([4]). All these attempts to solve the plastic pollution issue has narrowed down so many solutions that could work and it is time to put these solutions to use.

So, from the solutions that have failed, there have been solutions developed upon these failed attempts that actually would work. It is time to put these solutions to use. As demonstrated in the following quote, it does not always have to be an extravagant solution: “The cheapest and most effective solution to ocean plastic is strangely also the one that is least talked about. It is this: making and using less plastic.” (Geyer [4]) Saving the ocean does not have to be rocket science, it is as simple as limiting the amount of plastic we use in everyday stuff. Another way in contributing to stopping plastic pollution is spreading the word. An article called “7 Ways to Reduce Ocean Plastic Pollution Today” by Brian Hutchinson says, “Stay informed on issues related to plastic pollution and help make others aware of the problem.” Combining these two solutions and beginning to spread the news, that simply reducing the amount of plastic in the world; could save our ocean. As more people spread this ultimate solution, less plastic will be used and oceans will be saved. The good people of the world will contribute to this mission, but education is key.

Educating people about using less plastic, and the positive effects it has on the ocean, could potentially contribute to plastic being used less. Optimally, less plastic being produced, would naturally lead to less plastic in our oceans. There are already schools teaching how to eliminate single-use plastic. “The education secretary, Damian Hinds, has urged headteachers in England to consider using sustainable alternatives instead of non-recyclable plastic for items such as straws, bottles, bags and food packaging. Hinds said teachers should ensure pupils were aware of the damage that discarded plastics could do to the environment and wildlife” (Sparrow [2-3]). Teaching people at a young age will encourage them to teaching other generations. Educating the garbage truck companies would be a great help too. “Direct plastic pollution happens when a boat or garbage truck dumps plastic straight into the ocean as a way to dispose of it. Fortunately, countries have largely agreed to stop getting rid of plastic in this way, but over the years the practice has led to millions of tons of waste” (McCarthy [9]). Even adults and companies need educated on what is hurting the environment. Through education and making people aware of the situation, the plastic pollution in the ocean may be eliminated.

Putting this education into effect through learning seminars would most likely make an impact in the prohibition of plastic in the oceans. There are already many education programs in place making a difference, one being “Plastic Oceans.” “Our education program includes a comprehensive film, which is fully supported by scientific review, and an educational supplement that emphasizes key facts from the film and suggests a number of activities to stimulate creative ways to start rethinking plastic” (Andersen [3]). Another education program is called “Debris Free Oceans.” “Thinking holistically, Debris Free Oceans teaches pre-kindergarteners through adults how to practice the “5 Rs” of reduce, reuse, recycle, recapture, and redesign, specifically focusing on “reduce” (“Marine Debris Education” [1]). Joining one of these education programs and spreading the word could contribute to the health of the ocean. It is time to teach the way to a plastic free ocean.

Plastic Pollution has impacted, the health of animals, humans, and the oceans. By informing and educating people of this issue, the ocean can become a lot cleaner. Spread the education of plastic pollution as the waves deliver plastic to the sea. Future generations need clean waters as much we need them, which means this change needs to occur. “It’s only one straw,” said 8 billion people”( Nini [4]). One piece of plastic turns to one, then turns to two, until is spreads out of control. It is necessary that this 8 billion tons of plastic found in the ocean every year, turns into 7 billion and then 6 billion until there isn’t any pollution in the ocean The future needs these pollution numbers to go down and without help, those people will be swimming in plastic.. “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed it’s the only thing that ever has” (Mead [6]). Now is the time to create a clean future for the future and inspire countless others to do the same. The future is counting on present day society to clean these polluted waters and restore them to what they once were. This hardwork will all be worth while when, the ocean is once again that stunning aquamarine blue and and the sands will be as soft as powdered sugar.

In your room, in your home, on the street you live in, and in your workplace, it’s everywhere. Since the discovery of plastics in the early twentieth century, and has penetrated in all aspects of life in an unreasonable way, it was able to replace the natural raw materials, which were used widely in successive centuries, which began to drain heavily, whether wood, rocks or metals, was A person must provide a suitable alternative that meets his needs, while at the same time reducing the burden and cost he incurred. But because everything has a price, plastic has become a threat to us and the environment in one way or another. It is slowly decomposing unlike other organic materials, and its recycling process is much less than that of its manufacture, resulting in the accumulation of huge amounts of it across the planet awaiting an uncertain fate. Scientists are trying to explore it, which appears to be the price paid by a human for the great benefits he or she earned from these substances. The theme of “ Overcoming Plastic Pollution ” was the theme of World Environment Day 2018, chosen by host country India last year, which calls for changes in our daily lives to cut back the serious burden of plastic pollution on our natural places, wildlife and health.

Plastic and human health. Micro-plastics, very small plastic parts, can affect human health by eating seafood such as fish and mussels that ingest plastic. Health also threatens their access to salt flakes, as plastic waste has reached sea salt used by humans in food daily. Because these molecules originate from seawater from which salt is extracted, the researchers believe that there is a very high possibility that table salt in other countries may also be contaminated with plastic particles. To stop ocean pollution, experts believe that the source of pollution must be closed by a waste prevention strategy of reducing the rate of plastic garbage significantly. Soft plastic bags that are used in commercial markets and fill garbage streets and estuaries should be recycled. Several countries have banned the use of plastic bags, including France, Belgium, and China.

Degradation of plastics takes hundreds of years. In a shocking recent study of the recycling industry, the University of Georgia reported that more than 91 percent of the world’s waste ends up in the ocean, in Europe, with seventy percent of its waste ending while not utilization. Plastic materials take between 10 and 1,000 years to decompose. Plastic bottles, for example, take an average of 450 years to decompose. Glass residues, although made from dirt, are never degraded, while leaves take two to six weeks to decompose. Even the cigarette butts, despite their small size, have a decomposition period of up to 12 years. Scientists agree that the best way to tackle the overcrowded waste crisis is to minimize the plastics industry as well as to try to make materials that replace plastic bags but are environmentally friendly to be reused or decompose quickly even if disposed of.

Research has revealed that plastic pollution, in the world’s oceans, costs the international community billions of dollars each year, through its impact on the resources that benefit man. Fisheries, aquaculture and recreational activities are particularly affected by plastic pollution, with an estimated loss of between 1 and 5% of the benefits to humans from the oceans. The loss of these benefits, known as the value of the marine ecosystem, amounts to $ 2.5 trillion (£ 1.9 trillion) a year, according to a study published last week in the UK in the Marine Pollution Bulletin. The study showed that an estimated eight million tons of plastic pollutants enter the world’s oceans every year. Dr. Nicolas Beaumont, an environmental economist at Britain’s Plymouth Marine Laboratory, who led the study, said the investigation was the first of its kind to explore the social and economic impact of plastics at sea.

To sum up, the issue of waste is at the forefront of health and environmental issues, which are receiving increasing attention at all levels and plastic bags, constitute a large part of them because it is a mass unable to decompose for many years, leading to health and environmental damage in addition to distorting the public landscape. Our country is one of the countries that still use plastic bags extensively to the present time, where the importance of addressing this aspect lies in the priority list of health and environmental issues that developed countries and some developing countries have already paid attention to and eliminate them by finding appropriate and safe alternatives.

There is no doubt that plastic is incredibly useful. However, as author Jessica Knoblauch says “the chemical building blocks that make plastic so useful are the same components that might harm the people and the environment”. Plastic is made of chemical products derived from petroleum. However, most plastics contain other organic and inorganic compounds with in them. These additives make plastic more useful and generally cheaper to produce. The benefits of plastic have made it a necessary part of this century.

However, the problem with plastic how much it has changed our world forever. Plastic has greatly affected the surface of our planet. “One of the most universal and long-lasting recent changes to the surface of our planet is the accumulation and fragmentation of plastic,” says scientific researcher David Barnes. There is nothing that can be done to fix the amount of plastic that is in the world’s oceans and surface. However, there is nothing being done to fix the problem at all because nobody has admitted that there is one. In fact by next year more than three hundred million tons of plastic will be produced worldwide. Plastic Planet, a documentary by Werner Boote goes into the world’s dependency on plastic in more detail. Finding experts who agree and have tested the dangers of plastic and confronting the producers, users and consumers of plastic products on the danger of the products they produce. The filmmaker Werner Boote opens by claiming that he wanted to open the film with a shot of natural earth but no such thing exist any more. The amount of plastic produced in the first ten years of this century will close to match the amountproduced ion the entire century before.

The next question should be why is plastic no matter how much is produced important beyond the fact that I use it? Well the fact of the matter is that plastic can be linked to many problems in human health. As stated before plastic contains a number of additives that are potentially toxic. One of these chemicals and perhaps the most important to discuss when talking about the link between human health problems and plastic is bisphenol A or, BPA. Bisphenol A is used along with other chemicals in plastic. BPA causes hormone problems that make it unsafe to use in consumer products and packaging. However these hormonal effects are estrogen like in nature and can be found in just about all plastics:

Error! Filename not specified. “Bisphenol A (BPA) is used to manufacture polycarbonate plastics. This type of plastic is used to make some types of beverage containers, compact disks, plastic dinnerware, impact-resistant safety equipment, automobile parts, and toys. BPA epoxy resins are used in the protective linings of food cans, in dental sealants, and in other products”. People are exposed to BPA just by

However, there are many advantages and disadvantages of plastic. Plastics are light weight, chemically resistant, can easily be shaped, durable, easy to color, thermally insulating, acoustically insulating, electrically insulating, energy saving. Meanwhile, plastic produces toxic fumes when burn, low heat resistant, non biodegradable, create pollution, and its recycling is costly. Every year, Americans throw away about 100 billion plastic bags It’s equivalent to dumping nearly 12 million barrels of oil. To sum up, plastics are poor conductors of heat and electricity, and are insoluble in water, inflammable and do not rust; plastics can be heated or molded into any shape and size to make a variety of things. So, we need to make use of its advantages and be away of its disadvantages.

Plastic bags, though useful in numerous ways, have attested to be dangerous and unsafe to our environment due to one major factor, that is, they are nonbiodegradable, simply meaning they do not decompose easily hence making their disposal a huge challenge. Plastics are mainly used in the community because they are light weight, durable, defiance to degradation and above all they are cheap. Besides the many benefits individuals gain from using these plastic bags, the problem one faces in disposing them would burden the entire society greatly. In this essay we will discuss briefly why plastic bags should be banned.

Research made by several institutions like the Marinesight proves that plastic bags is one of the major causes of water pollution. The increased utilization of plastic bags makes the disposal a herculean task which is causing many problems in the society and the country at large. The Korle lagoon is an example of a water body extremely polluted by plastic bags. These plastic bags terms to clog our waterways which is a harmful toxin for the aquatic life. Marine species unfortunately consumes this harmful toxin which eventually leads to their death.

Plastic bags which are disposed on fertile lands make the land highly infertile by occupying the underground and avoiding the uptake of minerals by the plants. The leaching activity of these plastics bags reduces the fertility rate of the soil. These reduction in soil nutrient has a significant impact on the agricultural produce and yielding. Annually about 2.58 million metric tons of raw plastics which are imported into Ghana ends up at waste at a rate of 73 percent. The control of plastic bags by incineration is even more dangerous since it releases harmful gases that can deteriorate the atmosphere. The problem of using plastic bags is much more serious than it appears.

Moreover, the lives of man and animals is also endangered. I will not be surprised to plastics affecting living things on earth. Plastic bags emulate toxic elements which make food product kept in them harmful if contained for a period. Sometimes these turn out to cause cancer as well. Researchers have discovered that the plastic particles entering the food packets are true. Plastic bags that are used and improperly dispose on roads and grass area end up eaten by animals such as cows, goats since they think it as eatables. This may eventually result in animals choking up and prove to be fatal.

To conclude, however using alternative strategies and effective implementation of legislation in order to mitigate the usage of plastic bags and their disposal in the community. Creating a viable environment for the upcoming generation is our top priority and banning plastic bags is one of the ways forward.

There is no doubt that plastic is incredibly useful. However, as author Jessica Knoblauch says “the chemical building blocks that make plastic so useful are the same components that might harm the people and the environment”. Plastic is made of chemical products derived from petroleum. However, most plastics contain other organic and inorganic compounds with in them. These additives make plastic more useful and generally cheaper to produce. The benefits of plastic have made it a necessary part of this century.

However, the problem with plastic how much it has changed our world forever. Plastic has greatly affected the surface of our planet. “One of the most universal and long-lasting recent changes to the surface of our planet is the accumulation and fragmentation of plastic,” says scientific researcher David Barnes. There is nothing that can be done to fix the amount of plastic that is in the world’s oceans and surface. However, there is nothing being done to fix the problem at all because nobody has admitted that there is one. In fact by next year more than three hundred million tons of plastic will be produced worldwide. Plastic Planet, a documentary by Werner Boote goes into the world’s dependency on plastic in more detail. Finding experts who agree and have tested the dangers of plastic and confronting the producers, users and consumers of plastic products on the danger of the products they produce. The filmmaker Werner Boote opens by claiming that he wanted to open the film with a shot of natural earth but no such thing exist any more. The amount of plastic produced in the first ten years of this century will close to match the amountproduced ion the entire century before.

The next question should be why is plastic no matter how much is produced important beyond the fact that I use it? Well the fact of the matter is that plastic can be linked to many problems in human health. As stated before plastic contains a number of additives that are potentially toxic. One of these chemicals and perhaps the most important to discuss when talking about the link between human health problems and plastic is bisphenol A or, BPA. Bisphenol A is used along with other chemicals in plastic. BPA causes hormone problems that make it unsafe to use in consumer products and packaging. However these hormonal effects are estrogen like in nature and can be found in just about all plastics:

Error! Filename not specified. “Bisphenol A (BPA) is used to manufacture polycarbonate plastics. This type of plastic is used to make some types of beverage containers, compact disks, plastic dinnerware, impact-resistant safety equipment, automobile parts, and toys. BPA epoxy resins are used in the protective linings of food cans, in dental sealants, and in other products”. People are exposed to BPA just by

However, there are many advantages and disadvantages of plastic. Plastics are light weight, chemically resistant, can easily be shaped, durable, easy to color, thermally insulating, acoustically insulating, electrically insulating, energy saving. Meanwhile, plastic produces toxic fumes when burn, low heat resistant, non biodegradable, create pollution, and its recycling is costly. Every year, Americans throw away about 100 billion plastic bags It’s equivalent to dumping nearly 12 million barrels of oil. To sum up, plastics are poor conductors of heat and electricity, and are insoluble in water, inflammable and do not rust; plastics can be heated or molded into any shape and size to make a variety of things. So, we need to make use of its advantages and be away of its disadvantages.

As more research comes in, resource sustainability and the effects of our daily carbon footprint have come more and more to the forefront of Americans’ consciousness. Given the terrible environmental consequences of both single-use plastic and paper bags, the most socially responsible action for communities to adopt would be to tax all single use bags, as the tax would serve as a deterrent to consumers, thus saving the environment, the tax revenue can be funneled back into much needed research and development, and reusable bags provide a feasible and accessible alternative to single-use bags.

Let us examine the current status quo. Statistics from the David Suzuki Foundation ofers shocking evidence against usage of plastic bags: where Ritch, et. al. tout the newly improved lightweightedness of modern plastic bags as a beneficial feature, Suzuki has found that that exact lightweightedness contributes to plastic bags’ susceptibility to being carried into the ocean, where 95% of beached northern fulmars were found with bellies full of plastic (Sources A, B), a trend confirmed by the Ocean Conservancy’s Coastal Cleanup findings as cited by the Wall Street Journal (Source C). Not only are they a danger to wildlife, plastic bags are also rarely (Source B) and uneasily (Source F) recycled, unsustainably made of petroleum (Source B), and nonbiodegradable (Source F). Yet… paper bags aren’t actually a much better alternative. As Source A states, paper bag production increases methane being released in landfills, further filling our air with greenhouse gases (Source A). As if that weren’t bad enough, they also consume inordinate amounts of water and energy to produce and recycle (Source F). Clearly, both options are terrible for our society and environment.

Before our dear Carrier Bag Consortium (Source A) and similar lobbyists come knocking on my door for taking away their sales and profits, the tax I have in mind doesn’t have to hurt our current paper and plastic bag manufacturers. The tax revenue earned on single-use bags can be funneled into sorely needed research on efficient recycling methods for both paper and plastic bags as well as biodegradable alternatives, such as bioplastics, for currently irreplaceable plastic bag needs like garbage bags. These funds can go into protesting organizations such as the Waste & Resources Action Program or the Carrier Bag Consortium mentioned in Source A in the form of grants or R&D tax credits. The little Colorado ski town of Aspen, with only two grocery stores, shows us a trial run of this taxation program: with a mere 20 cent charge, the town raised $44,826 in approximately a year (Source E). And that’s just with two grocery stores! Imagine the money that could be fundraised to assist current single-use bag sunset industries transition into the future. Now that’s what I call a win-win situation.

With a tax on single-use bags, the alternative would be reusable bags — and that alternative doesn’t come without costs. GreenBiz’s Marc Gunther posits that reusable bags still carry a much higher or equal carbon footprint compared to their single-use peers due to sturdier construction (Source D). While this may be true, many reusable bags are themselves made out of recycled industrial or post-consumer waste plastics, meaning their only carbon footprint comes from the production process, not raw inputs. Furthermore, these inefficiencies only highlight the work that needs to be done focused on how we can better use recycled materials in making reusable products. Given the drastic impacts on the climate and animals we share our Earth with, using slightly more water and energy while we find a better solution seems a worthy sacrifice.

There is no doubt that a tax on single-use bags will strongly impact consumers’ decisions, but an unexpected side benefit is the tax revenue that can be used to address current inefficiencies and find even better solutions than our current reusable-bag model. By implementing a tax, we not only take a strong, proactive stance on saving the environment, we also push our industries to innovate for a stronger, more sustainable future.