Plastic is a convenient, strong and universally important product utilized throughout the world. However, despite plastic’s convenience and prevalence, which consumers appreciate, it is a devastating reality that the convenience of use of plastic in so many household goods comes at a very high price for our earth and the beings that live on it. With increasing amounts of plastic polluting the oceans and dangerous chemicals being emitted from plastic products, plastic is a hazard to many animals, humans and the environment.
Plastic is a useful product that may be virtually impossible to eliminate completely from our daily lives. The harmful effects are being handled with insufficient action and attention. As expert Jill Thompson, Citizens …show more content…
Due to consumers nonsensically spending money on something they could get for free at home, “there are 50 billion water bottles consumed every year, about 30 billion of them in the US” (Schriever). To produce these plastic water bottles “we use 17 million barrels of oil each year” (Schriever). This substantial amount of valuable product could alternatively be used to “keep a million cars fueled for a whole year” (Schriever). Additionally, plastic water bottles are made entirely out of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastics. PETs are recyclable, but not biodegradable and break into smaller but everlasting fragments over time. These seemingly harmless fragments “absorb toxins that pollute our waterways, contaminate our soil, and sicken animals (which we then eat)” (Schriever). Despite the plastics potential to be recycled and used for additional products, “eighty percent of the water bottles we buy end up in landfills” (Schriever). While settling in landfills, the plastic fragments from water bottles become “environmentally poisonous time bombs” (Schriever). For example, “Pollution is estimated to be one of the biggest causes of death around the world, affecting more than 100 million people per year, more than epidemics like Malaria and HIV” (Schriever). It is unnecessary but commonly used products such as plastic water bottles that use an abundant …show more content…
Although it is practically impossible to eliminate all the plastic already in the oceans, “experts say the best way to protect animals from plastic is to prevent any more of it from reaching the water” (Smith). Many cities have already placed bans on plastic grocery bags and the sale of plastic water bottles. Since plastic is a material essential for everyday life, it is important to “familiarize yourself with what plastics can be recycled, and keep reusable plastics out of landfills” (Kinnon). Reducing the plastic waste concern will only be possible with the consistent effort of consumers. Notably, “ending plastic pollution is about avoiding plastic in the first place and if unable to, reusing or recycling the material as opposed to tossing it into the garbage towards the landfill or onto the ground embarking it upon a journey to the sea” (Tsiattalos). Despite the continued negligence regarding the issue of plastic pollution, Suzanne Frazer, Co-Founder, Beach Environmental Awareness Campaign Hawai 'i explains that “everyone will be affected by plastic polluting the ocean - we 're going to be swimming in it, surfing in it and ingesting chemicals from the plastic which accumulated through the marine food chain”
Plastic is a useful product that may be virtually impossible to eliminate completely from our daily lives. The harmful effects are being handled with insufficient action and attention. As expert Jill Thompson, Citizens …show more content…
Due to consumers nonsensically spending money on something they could get for free at home, “there are 50 billion water bottles consumed every year, about 30 billion of them in the US” (Schriever). To produce these plastic water bottles “we use 17 million barrels of oil each year” (Schriever). This substantial amount of valuable product could alternatively be used to “keep a million cars fueled for a whole year” (Schriever). Additionally, plastic water bottles are made entirely out of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastics. PETs are recyclable, but not biodegradable and break into smaller but everlasting fragments over time. These seemingly harmless fragments “absorb toxins that pollute our waterways, contaminate our soil, and sicken animals (which we then eat)” (Schriever). Despite the plastics potential to be recycled and used for additional products, “eighty percent of the water bottles we buy end up in landfills” (Schriever). While settling in landfills, the plastic fragments from water bottles become “environmentally poisonous time bombs” (Schriever). For example, “Pollution is estimated to be one of the biggest causes of death around the world, affecting more than 100 million people per year, more than epidemics like Malaria and HIV” (Schriever). It is unnecessary but commonly used products such as plastic water bottles that use an abundant …show more content…
Although it is practically impossible to eliminate all the plastic already in the oceans, “experts say the best way to protect animals from plastic is to prevent any more of it from reaching the water” (Smith). Many cities have already placed bans on plastic grocery bags and the sale of plastic water bottles. Since plastic is a material essential for everyday life, it is important to “familiarize yourself with what plastics can be recycled, and keep reusable plastics out of landfills” (Kinnon). Reducing the plastic waste concern will only be possible with the consistent effort of consumers. Notably, “ending plastic pollution is about avoiding plastic in the first place and if unable to, reusing or recycling the material as opposed to tossing it into the garbage towards the landfill or onto the ground embarking it upon a journey to the sea” (Tsiattalos). Despite the continued negligence regarding the issue of plastic pollution, Suzanne Frazer, Co-Founder, Beach Environmental Awareness Campaign Hawai 'i explains that “everyone will be affected by plastic polluting the ocean - we 're going to be swimming in it, surfing in it and ingesting chemicals from the plastic which accumulated through the marine food chain”