It seems nearly impossible to escape plastic so plastic pollution also seems inevitable but are there any ways that we can reduce the damage that plastic is doing to our world?
In this day and age almost everything is made out of plastic and why wouldn’t it? Plastic is durable, cheap and of course the majority is also recyclable yet we still manage to throw away enough plastic each year to go around the earth 4 times. Most people tend to throw away a plastic bottle or container without a second thought but with more awareness of its detrimental effects on our environment and our health I’m sure we would dispose of it with greater diligence.
‘Water and air, the two essential fluids on which all life depends have become global garbage cans’ – Jacques Cousteau
Plastic which is thrown away has a very high chance of ending up in the world’s oceans and this can have devastating effects on marine life. Small particles can end up inside the bodies of marine species and consequently kill them – 44% of all seabird species, 22% of cetaceans, all sea turtle species and a growing list of fish species have been documented with plastic in or around their bodies. Unfortunately some people turn a blind eye to all this destruction because it has no effect on them; well these people couldn’t be more wrong. As radio show host June Stoyer said, ‘When it comes to marine life, our existence depends on their existence’, humans couldn’t survive without these species. Three out of every seven people in the world depend on seafood as their main source of protein and by polluting the ocean with plastic we are increasing the chances of their extinction which will immediately reduce the amount of sea food humans consume. Not only do humans depend on seafood, some larger sea predators rely on fish and plankton to survive so thoughtless disposal of plastic disturbs the food chain.
As well as affecting marine life, plastic can also have devastating effects on our health. Firstly, plastic particles in the animals which we consume result in plastic chemicals being absorbed into our bodies. One particular compound is BPA which is used in many things including plastic bottles and food packaging material and as the polymer chains of BPA break down over time, they can enter the human body in many ways from drinking polluted water to eating contaminated fish – it is a chemical which is known to interfere with hormonal functions. Certain types of plastic can also be cancerous if absorbed in unsafe quantities so plastic is something which can severely damage our health as well as that of sea creatures.
It is unreasonable to ask people to completely stop using plastic as it is something that so many people depend on but one thing we can ask others to do is recycle instead as this will significantly decrease the negative impacts caused by plastic pollution.
Alaynah Nawaz, Ursuline Academy Ilford
