Plastic Pollution and its Impact on Environment (original) (raw)
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Pervasive Pollution Problems Caused by Plastics and its Degradation
International Journal of Online and Biomedical Engineering (iJOE), 2019
We are living in a period of time where gaining access to clean water, food and even air is almost impossible. Everything on the planet Earth is contaminated in one form or another. Not only humans but all the creatures of the planet are under constant threat from at least one of the forms of pollution. Like other forms of pollution, plastic pollution is also a huge and mounting problem and it demands a similarly ambitious and influential solution. As ‘human-caused climate change’ received so much attention, this issue also needs the same consideration and it should be approached in the same way. Plastic pollution is killing our planet! It’s choking our oceans by making plastic gyres, entangling marine animals, poisoning our food and water supply, and ultimately inflicting havoc on the health and well-being of humans and wildlife globally. With the exception of a small amount that has been incinerating, virtually every piece of plastic that was ever made in the past still exists in ...
A Review Study of Waste-Plastic and Its Deadly Effects on Eco-System
Plastic waste is a developing concern and the drivers behind it look set to proceed. Plastic is a profoundly valuable material and its applications are relied upon to increment as more new items and plastics are produced to meet requests. The effects of plastic waste on our wellbeing and nature are just barely getting to be evident. A few market-based instruments have been investigated, for example, store plans to energize the arrival and multi-utilization of plastics, and tax collection on single-utilize plastics that don't fit into store return frameworks. Finally, there are various research crevices that should be tended to give a more grounded proof base on which to create strategy. Some of these are at the nitty-gritty level of effect, for example, the real levels of concoction presentation brought about by plastic waste. Others are more activity orientated, for instance, distinguishing potential hotspots where plastic waste is tricky, recognizing high-chance items that utilization plastic or distinguishing untamed life and human gatherings that are more helpless against the effects of plastic waste. In any case, the very way of plastic waste as a fluctuating and versatile issue implies that science is unrealistic to have the capacity to answer every one of the inquiries. It might be desirable over make strategy move before sitting tight for a totally clear research picture to develop to dodge the danger of effects intensifying and turning out to be more hard to oversee later on. This research was founded on the study of Plastic Waste and its bad effects on eco system and on human beings as well as on marine biology.
Plastic is an ecological problem of mankind 3
Plastic is an ecological problem of humanity. Every year, 8 million tons of plastic waste enter the sea. In the sea, plastic does not decompose, but breaks down into smaller particles that animals can easily eat. Scientists have estimated that 4-12 million tons of plastic wash ashore every year. Objects found on the beach prove that ocean pollution is a global problem. Scientists emphasize that plastic garbage kills a huge number of birds, marine mammals and destroys the ocean ecosystem. Plastic items like discarded fishing nets kill dolphins, sea turtles and other animals. Plastic particles often get stuck in the throats and digestive systems of ocean dwellers. Plastic is the largest, most harmful and most persistent part of marine litter, accounting for at least 85 percent of total marine litter. It causes lethal and sublethal effects in whales, seals, turtles, birds and fish, as well as in invertebrates such as bivalves, plankton, worms and corals. Consequences include entanglement, starvation, drowning, rupture of internal tissues, suffocation and deprivation of oxygen and light, physiological stress, and toxicological damage. Plastics can also alter the global carbon cycle through their effects on plankton and primary production in marine, freshwater and terrestrial systems. Today, the combined annual economic loss from damage to the maritime industry, including cleanup costs, is estimated at US$6-19 billion. Because this estimate does not include the costs of degradation of ecosystem goods and services due to marine debris, it is likely to significantly underestimate the total economic loss. The combination of cheap fuel and inadequate waste collection and recycling has led to predictions that by 2040, the estimated amount of plastic leaking into the world's oceans could reach US$100 billion. These figures indicate significant losses for the market and highlight the need for urgent action. Ways to solve the problem of pollution of the World Ocean are to increase the volume of disposal. There are 14 million tons of plastic at the bottom of the ocean. This is 30 times more than on the surface, and this is still according to "modest calculations". According to estimates by the Commonwealth of Australia for Scientific and Applied Research (CISRO), there are at least 14 million tons of plastic particles less than 5 millimeters wide at the bottom of the world's oceans. This is about 30 times more than on the ocean surface. This is stated in a study published in the scientific publication Frontiers in Marine Science. If the removal of plastic from the reservoir is postponed, the harmful effect will increase. Oil is the main raw material in the process of manufacturing plastic, and its production will not decrease, so the production of goods from it will not decrease. Humanity immediately needs to create the conditions for the correct measures to neutralize the harmful effects of the use of plastic, not to follow the path of inventing its replacement with some other types of materials. All natural materials and resources have already been tested, only plastic remains, and the plastic that quickly decomposes in nature will not be available soon. Estimating the amount of plastic on the ocean floor is difficult, at least for technical reasons: the pressure increases at depth, and not all measuring equipment can withstand it; in addition, sunlight does not reach there, so it is also impossible to do it visually. Justin Barrett and colleagues from CISRO, the government agency that coordinates scientific research in Australia, made a rough estimate of the pollution of the ocean floor with plastic. To do this, they collected 51 water samples at a depth of 1.6-3 km from six different locations in the Great Australian Bight.
Plastic Pollution: A Major Environmental Threat
Plastic pollution is the increase of plastic bottles and much more in the Earth's environment that adversely affects wildlife, wildlife habitat, and humans. Plastics that act as pollutants are categorized into micro-, meso-, or macro debris, based on size. Plastics are inexpensive and durable, and as a result levels of plastic production by humans are high. However, the chemical structure of most plastics renders them resistant to many natural processes of degradation and as a result they are slow to degrade. Together, these two factors have led to a high prominence of plastic pollution in the environment. Plastic is a polymeric material-that is, a material whose molecules are very large, often resembling long chains made up of a seemingly endless series of interconnected links. Natural polymers such as rubber and silk exist in abundance, but nature's plastics have not been implicated in environmental pollution, because they do not persist in the environment. Today, however, the average consumer comes into daily contact with all kinds of plastic materials that have been developed specifically to defeat natural decay processes-materials derived mainly from petroleum that can be molded, cast, spun, or applied as a coating.
Plastics: the big environmental problem of our time (Atena Editora)
Plastics: the big environmental problem of our time (Atena Editora), 2024
Con la actual contaminación del planeta, se han venido a poner en evidencia algunos de los materiales y substancias que causan mayormente esta contaminación. Los plásticos son uno de esos productos que, en los últimos años, han contaminando cada vez más y de manera importante al ambiente, esto debido a la gran dificultad para ser absorbidos por el suelo y a las dificultades para poder ser reutilizados. Nuestra vida está rodeada de plásticos y cada vez dependemos más de los artículos elaborados con este material, lo cual nos dificulta mucho el poder prescindir de ellos. Este trabajo aborda el gran problema que representan en la actualidad los plásticos y, al final del mismo, se presentan algunas propuestas para modificar nuestra manera de vivir, es decir, el intentar vivir sin tantos plásticos.
Journal of Environmental Pollution and Management
The paper critically examines the rising global demand of plastics including the role of major countries responsible for the mismanaged plastic waste by 2025. It also outlines the growing importance of adopting Plastic Replacement Alternatives as global solution to mitigate plastic pollution. Plastic pollution affects the health of millions of people around the world. Synthetic plastics are slow to degrade posing a huge threat to the entire ecosystem. Recent studies conclude that human beings are daily consuming bits of micro-plastics through food and water. Micro-plastics have also been found in 90% of the packaged drinking water. Approximately 9 million tons of plastic waste is disposed annually and it is expected to double by 2025. If present trend continues there will be more than 18 billion metric tons of non-biodegradable plastic both in land and oceans. Also, due to recent Covid-19 pandemic, there is a sudden increase in demand for single-use plastic items. The problems related to post pandemic plastic pollution will become even more complex requiring a collaborated and sustainable approach in collection and effective disposal of plastic waste in order to mitigate its harmful impact on the environment.
Plastic Pollution: A Perspective on Matters Arising: Challenges and Opportunities
ACS Omega, 2021
Plastic pollution is a persistent challenge worldwide with the first reports evidencing its impact on the living and nonliving components of the environment dating back more than half a century. The rising concerns regarding the immediate and long-term consequences of plastic matter entrainment into foods and water cannot be overemphasized in light of our pursuit of sustainability (in terms of food, water, environment, and our health). Hence, some schools of thought recommend the revisitation and continuous assessment of the plastic economy, while some call for the outright ban of plastic materials, demonstrating that plastic pollution requires, more than ever, renewed, innovative, and effective approaches for a holistic solution. In this paper, dozens of reports on various aspects of plastic pollution assessment are collated and reviewed, and the impact of plastic pollution on both the living and nonliving components of the environment is discussed. Current challenges and factors hindering efforts to mitigate plastic pollution are identified to inform the presented recommendations while underscoring, for policymakers, stakeholders, and the scientific community, the exigency of finding sustainable solutions to plastic pollution that not only encompass existing challenges but also future threats presented by plastic pollution.
Plastics, the environment and human health: current consensus and future trends
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2009
Plastics have transformed everyday life; usage is increasing and annual production is likely to exceed 300 million tonnes by 2010. In this concluding paper to the Theme Issue on Plastics, the Environment and Human Health, we synthesize current understanding of the benefits and concerns surrounding the use of plastics and look to future priorities, challenges and opportunities. It is evident that plastics bring many societal benefits and offer future technological and medical advances. However, concerns about usage and disposal are diverse and include accumulation of waste in landfills and in natural habitats, physical problems for wildlife resulting from ingestion or entanglement in plastic, the leaching of chemicals from plastic products and the potential for plastics to transfer chemicals to wildlife and humans. However, perhaps the most important overriding concern, which is implicit throughout this volume, is that our current usage is not sustainable. Around 4 per cent of world ...
Impacts of plastic products used in daily life on the environment and human health: What is known?
Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology, 2019
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Plastic Pollution and Its Effect on the Environment
Advances in Environmental Engineering and Green Technologies, 2020
Chlorinated plastics releases harmful chemicals and toxic substances into the surrounding soil, which can then seep into ground water or other surrounding surface water bodies in the form of a black thick liquid known as leachate causing sever water pollution. This water, if used as drinking water, causes serious harm to both plants and animals. Many advanced polymer composites used in various fields can leach into water forming hurdles. Plastic pollution is potentially poisonous to animals, which can then affect human food supplies. Plastic materials contain a number and variety of chemicals that are carcinogenic and mutagenic in nature. The five R's (recycle, reuse, reduce, remove, and refuse) can control the plastic pollution in our environment. This chapter explores plastic pollution and its effect on the environment.