The Plastic Problem
Plastic is big news these days. Plastic is used extensively in all areas of our modern life, and avoiding it isn’t easy. So, what’s the issue with plastic?
The Bigger Picture
The main issue is that plastic takes an incredibly long time to decompose. The amount of plastic used in everyday life, particularly single-use plastic, creates huge amounts of waste. This plastic waste, and the plastic particles it breaks down into, have been found in formerly pristine areas of the Earth such as the Antarctic and the tip of Mount Everest. Plastic particles have also recently been found in human blood.
Plastic is a product of the fossil-fuel industry, mainly from crude oil. As plastic decays, it emits greenhouse gases. Plastic produces toxic particles and chemicals, and studies on microplastics have found the highest concentrations are in the air we breathe in our own homes. Not only has the fossil fuel industry caused huge amounts of pollution and carbon emissions, but their products are also highly toxic and are damaging whole ecosystems.
Furthermore, plastic waste is being generated at unsustainable levels. The UK produces one of the highest amounts of plastic waste in the world. Unfortunately, we are not dealing with this waste the way we should. Plastic can take hundreds of years to breakdown in the environment, and the sheer volume of plastic waste is swamping our streets, countryside, waterways and seas.
The Smaller Picture
Once you start looking at plastic at home, you realise it is used in everything. It makes you wonder how people managed without plastic before. However, there are alternatives to plastic. Whatever plastic we cannot avoid using needs to be recycled properly.
Want to keep learning?
Further reading:
Here is an interesting read on how supermarkets could reduce packaging waste:
If you prefer to watch a programme, the BBC produced a series on plastic and ways to tackle it:
BBC One - War on Plastic with Hugh and Anita
Further technical reading for more detailed information on plastic and plastic recycling:
Sources:
1 How long does it take for waste to decompose? | Packaging Online
2 Discovery and quantification of plastic particle pollution in human blood - ScienceDirect
3 Double trouble: plastics found to emit potent greenhouse gases (unep.org)
4 Microplastics in air: Are we breathing it in? - ScienceDirect
5 US and UK citizens are world’s biggest sources of plastic waste – study | Plastics | The Guardian
6 How is Plastic Recycled? A Step-by-Step Guide to Recycling (bpf.co.uk)
7 Generating energy from waste: how it works - Energy Saving Trust
8 Exporting plastic waste for recycling (bpf.co.uk)
9 Trashed-Greenpeace-plastics-report-final.pdf
10 What is PLA? (Everything You Need To Know) - TWI (twi-global.com)
11 The UK Plastics Pact | WRAP
12 Introduction of Plastic Packaging Tax from April 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
13 Using tea leaves in the garden: to boost your plants' health | Country (homesandgardens.com)