Everywhere we look, we can see the usage of plastic in one way or another. This is a huge problem and there is no easy solution to this problem. The fact is that the use of plastic is so deep in our day to day life with various means of items that it might not be possible to get rid of plastic all together. However, we can take action to reduce the usage of plastic in our daily life. We can make a whale of a difference on the plastic usage by using our best judgement and common sense.
Solving the problem of plastic pollution may not as easy as just by recycling or cleaning up empty bottles, the truth is that the plastic causing the pollution can range in size from big to microscopic.
Take the Common Sesnse Plastic Pledge
Simply, plastic pollution is when plastic has gathered in an area and has begun to negatively impact the natural environment and create problems for plants, wildlife and even human population. Often this includes killing plant life and posing dangers to local animals. Plastic is an incredibly useful material, but it is also made from toxic compounds known to cause illness, and because it is meant for durability, it is not biodegradable.
Burning of plastic in the open air, leads to environmental pollution due to the release of poisonous chemicals. The polluted air when inhaled by humans and animals affect their health and can cause respiratory problems.
Recycling really doesn't cut down on plastic, as it uses the existing plastic to create new plastic products. The process of recycling plastic can also pollute the environment in many different ways.
There is no easy way out of Plastic consumption. Milk cartons are lined with plastic, and many products contain tiny plastic beads (micro beads). Every time one of these items gets thrown away or washed down a drain, the toxic pollutants enter our environment. We tend to overuse plastic and widely available since it is inexpensive. Many fishing gears are made of plastic and when submerged in the water for long period can leak toxins as well as often broken up or lost and does not get picked up. Disposal of food to a compost in a "plastic" or "biodegradable" bag also cause pollution because these usually break down into small pieces and eventually enter the environment as pollutant.
All these different sizes of plastic pollutants have an effect on world's tiniest organism like plankton and eventually upsetting the entire food chain, which means as we eat fish, we are eating some forms of plastic with it. The leaking plastic hazards pollute air, land and ground water that eventually gets into a vicious cycle of pollutions - Air, water, vegetation, land animals, marine life: the entire life support system of the world!
