The population needs to stop using plastic bags and other single use plastics because, the plastic makes up the largest part of our waste streams, the recycling process is difficult and expensive, and it harms the delicate oceanic ecosystems.
There are many ways to get rid of plastic wastes, plenty of them are more harmful than the waste itself, but there are ways to put the nasty waste out of sight and mind. In 2012 the United States generated 32 million tons of plastic waste which took up 12.7 percent of the total waste (United States Environmental Protection Agency). One way that the United States gets rid of the waste is by exporting it to foreign countries. The United States shipped out 200 million pounds of plastic to 28 different …show more content…
Once the plastic is collected the it gets sorted into six different categories. Then the plastic is grounded or heated into flakes and pellets to be ready for the final product. One reason that plastic is recycled less than glass or metal is because the sorting process is very labor intensive and therefore expensive, but the cost and accuracy of sorting these out makes the process more feasible, because different plastics have different qualities and when single out can be reused. (Holton 388-399) Some complications with this process is that the machines used to prepare the plastic for recycling can not tell when the plastic has certain additives that make the plastic chemically unstable. (United States Environmental Protection Agency). Sometimes the recycling process of the plastic waste does not happen on US soil and takes place overseas. An investigation done Greenpeace shows that the waste is being shipped to places that ban waste imports and much of the plastic ends up being dumped in a landfill. (Leonard 26-31)
Besides all of the complications with the recycling process, there are benefits to recycling plastic. Recycling reduces the amount of waste sent to landfills, conserves natural resources such as timber and water, reduces pollution by cutting the need for collecting more resources, and it helps create well paying jobs in the recycling and manufacturing industries in the US. (United States Environmental Protection Agency) If a collection of the majority of these plastics is not achieved then the plastic wastes get into the ecosystems and cause more problems for the animals that get affected than
There are many ways to get rid of plastic wastes, plenty of them are more harmful than the waste itself, but there are ways to put the nasty waste out of sight and mind. In 2012 the United States generated 32 million tons of plastic waste which took up 12.7 percent of the total waste (United States Environmental Protection Agency). One way that the United States gets rid of the waste is by exporting it to foreign countries. The United States shipped out 200 million pounds of plastic to 28 different …show more content…
Once the plastic is collected the it gets sorted into six different categories. Then the plastic is grounded or heated into flakes and pellets to be ready for the final product. One reason that plastic is recycled less than glass or metal is because the sorting process is very labor intensive and therefore expensive, but the cost and accuracy of sorting these out makes the process more feasible, because different plastics have different qualities and when single out can be reused. (Holton 388-399) Some complications with this process is that the machines used to prepare the plastic for recycling can not tell when the plastic has certain additives that make the plastic chemically unstable. (United States Environmental Protection Agency). Sometimes the recycling process of the plastic waste does not happen on US soil and takes place overseas. An investigation done Greenpeace shows that the waste is being shipped to places that ban waste imports and much of the plastic ends up being dumped in a landfill. (Leonard 26-31)
Besides all of the complications with the recycling process, there are benefits to recycling plastic. Recycling reduces the amount of waste sent to landfills, conserves natural resources such as timber and water, reduces pollution by cutting the need for collecting more resources, and it helps create well paying jobs in the recycling and manufacturing industries in the US. (United States Environmental Protection Agency) If a collection of the majority of these plastics is not achieved then the plastic wastes get into the ecosystems and cause more problems for the animals that get affected than