Plastic pollution: Problems and Solutions

Plastic pollution can be defined as the accumulation of plastic particles and objects in the environment and it's beyond our imagination to listen the increasing use of plastic in our daily life. Plastic pollution is seriously affecting human, wildlife habitat and vegetation and often taking in the critical situation. In this report, we will be discussing about the problems of plastic pollution and its prior solutions.

Problems of plastic pollution:

Plastic are made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and are indestructible so, they are called as non-biodegradable substance. The impacts of plastic pollution are widely seen in marine ecosystems. Plastic pollution costs $13 billion in economic damage to marine ecosystems per year. In marine, plastic pollution can be life threatening and even kill many marine animals directly through entanglement in objects such as fishing nets and even kill if mistakenly ingestion through food substances. Micro-plastics are directly harmful to many zooplankton and other small life. We can relate the same scenario to terrestrial mammals as well. The increasing plastic pollution can't escape many wildlife. It brings alternation in food web and food chain. Plastic pollution also affects ground water because when the precipitation falls into the landfills, where plastic is stored, it produces a toxic leachate. Burning plastic can release carbon monoxide into air and as the result when inhaled it effects directly and sometimes may damage the respiratory organs of human.

Solutions of plastic pollution:

A) Follow 3R principle of waste management: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

B) Follow environment friendly practices as possible.

C) Avoid the use of plastic in daily life and follow the habit of using paper bags.

D) Educate the people who are less concerned about plastic pollution i.e. raising community-based campaign are the best methods to aware the people.

E) Government policies and plans linked to plastic waste management should be forwarded.

References:

·        United Nations Environment Programme. "Valuing Plastics: The Business Case for Measuring, Managing and Disclosing Plastic Use in the Consumer Goods Industry. Available at: http://wedocs.unep.org/handle/20.500.11822/9238

·        Plastic pollution. Britannica. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/science/plastic-pollution

·        Plastic pollution: Causes, effects and Solutions. Available at: https://environmental-conscience.com/causes-effects-solutions-for-plastic-pollution/

·        Plastic Pollution's Effects on the Economy and Environment. Available at: https://www.thebalance.com/plastic-pollution-s-effect-on-the-economy-and-environment-5070245#citation-6

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