(photo = https://www.standard.co.uk/futurelondon/theplasticfreeproject/plastics-is-killing-the-planet-a3973081.html)

Plastic. Plastic is a material consisting of “any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic compounds that are malleable and can be molded into solid objects” (wikipedia). It is lighter than steel and stronger than glass. It is so durable that it is used almost everywhere. I bet that when you lift your eyes from my article right now, you will be able to see at least one product made of plastic. We love plastic because of its weight and strength but there is a dark side of this two faced material. It may be all colorful and pretty right now, but when it is thrown away it becomes a monster.

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It takes up to 1,000 years for plastic items to be decomposed. This means if a plastic bag was buried into the ground just when you were born, it would be there even when you die. If the time you just buried the plastic bag was 2004, it would finally be decomposed in 3004. Until then, the pile of trash would end up as layers of plastic and who knows? Maybe future generation of the next century would use the plastic bags as ‘trash fuels’. Plastic bottles take 450 years to be decomposed. If you throw away a plastic bottle right now, your great-great-great-great-grandchildren would be able to see it just before it is decomposed. Because of us, future generations may live on the ground full of plastic. Have you ever imagined a world with thrown-away plastics? Can you imagine eating an apple that was grown in a pile of trash? Sleeping and living on a pile of trash? What is worse is that the land isn’t just our only problem. We are dumping plastic into the ocean as well! The size of trash we have thrown so far is so big that it is 15 times bigger than that of Korea!

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Koreans love plastic as much as other people in the world. Like any other country, we have a lot of plastic products and we use plastic to fix our body parts. No wonder there is a new medical treatment called ‘plastic surgery’. We might as well as say that plastic is our best friend. Best Friends Forever.. Literally.. At present Korea is going through problems caused by plastic. Tires and micro plastic have been detected far below the Korean sea floor and that place was full of junk. Plastic waste was everywhere and we could clearly see that marine life was badly affected in that area. The government announced a new law that forbids customers to eat or drink from plastic containers in a restaurant. This law is certainly making a difference in our daily life. However, we need to respond more proactively in order to save this plastic waste world. Micro plastics that are used in toothpaste and cosmetics are deadly. It is too small for marine life and animals but as it is plastic, it takes up to 1,000 years to decompose. We may be eating fish that is full with plastic inside its body. This is the same as eating plastic for dinner.

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Why is plastic so hard to get decomposed? This kind of decomposition needs sunlight, not bacteria. When UV rays strike the plastic, it breaks the bonds that hold the long molecular chain together. This is the proper and faster way of decomposing plastic. However, this can only chop bigger plastics into smaller ones. As a conclusion, this too ends up as a micro plastic. The best way would be using biodegradable plastic. This kind of plastic is made of corn and is called as polylactic acid or PLA. This decomposes four times faster than a PET product and is easier to do so. Another way would be using less plastic. Use eco bags, water bottles, and etc. We all should be aware of the dark side of plastic and watch out for its outcome.