We are being drowned in plastic … How are Why

Plastic products are everywhere. The use of plastic is a wide topic which is gaining attention over the last few years considering its use in our lives, the menace it has caused to our environment and marine life at large.  We use them every day in our homes, schools, offices, and during our travel.

Our need for modern products and latest technology has given rise to the use of plastics in absolutely everything; however, plastic have various negative effects.  The negative effects of plastics do not appear to affect us directly but has adverse and catastrophic damage to our planet and health. Plastic pollution causes harm to humans, our marine life and land animals through toxic pollutants.  These toxic pollutants work their way up the food chain from the animals and marine life that ingest this plastic unknowingly through waste and water to people who consume the meat and fish eventually.

Unfortunately, plastic takes around hundreds to thousands of years to break down which actually explains the plastic landfills which we are left with.  It is also estimated that by 2050 the volume of plastic in the ocean will be more than the fish unless we combat our use of plastics and seek alternatives.

Plastic manufacturing and use is the major contributor to Global warming.  Plastics are actually made from chemicals that come from the by-product of fuels such as gas, coal and oil.

There are relevant studies to prove that we are ingesting smaller than 5mm of plastic per week through seafood, bottled water, taps, clothes etc. 

Single use plastics such as bags, straws, cutlery and stirring sticks are cheap to manufacture and widely used; but do you know that these are the most destructible forms of plastics to our environment?

A plastic takeaway container, a plastic water bottle or plastic carry bag used individually seem harmless.  It’s a quick use and throw solution that hardly registers in our mind; as the need for cost effective; convenient and durable products are so in abundance that we underestimate the devastating impact on our health, marine life and wildlife.

Single use plastics are not recyclable and many countries are implementing bans for their use.

Practically we cannot imagine our lives without plastic; however there are various alternatives where we can replace plastics such as using cloth or reusable shopping bags, instead of plastic containers; use of glass, wood, bamboo or metal products.

Different species of our sea world have suffered the curse of plastic debris that we create; from entanglement, chocking to ingestion of plastic debris. We have witnessed in horror various images of hungry turtles devour jellylike plastic bags while seabirds choke on plastic straws, small plastic objects floating in the water which is mistaken for prey or food for themselves or their little ones.

Plastic fishing nets and lines are major evils that is taking a toll on animals in our marine life.  The abandoned nets in the oceans and seas trap and drown thousands of large sea creatures such as seals, sharks, dolphins, sea turtles etc.  These nets not only trap them but cause starvation, cuts and infection in the animals; ultimately causing them difficulty in breathing, suffocation and death.

Most of the plastic that is present in the seas and shores are so called micro plastics and are smaller than the 5mm and can be hidden or too small to be seen with the naked eye.  Different environmental changes disintegrate plastic further and changes the properties of these micro plastics to small sizes and chemical fragments, some of these plastics are then ingested by our sea creatures mistaking it for food.  These dangerous micro plastics then enter them and get stuck to their gills, mouth, stomach and digestive system, making it hard for fish to breathe and eat.  Eventually these fishes are then consumed by other animals and also humans eventually.

Some of our beautiful beaches are paying a price for our obsession with plastic. The plastic on the ocean shores and beaches will eventually end up in the waters.  A walk on the beach is become an overwhelming situation as plastic debris is found in one form or the other.  Mounds of trash, plastic bags and water bottles are ruining our beaches and endangering our marine life.

Plastics and human health is become a major topic of discussion.  Plastic has adverse effects on our body due to its toxicity and it being leached through various means in our food chain, which could potentially cause severe health issues.