What are the disadvantages of plastic?

Answer 1

It is found to pollute enviroment as it is a polymer of polythene.In schools,colleges and at office people are found to use plastic articles as they are cheap than the other. But they forget that it is harmful to them.

Almost every market that you go today, you will see people carrying their shopping items in plastic bags.

Right from food items to clothes to shoes, there is hardly any item that we do not use a plastic bag to carry.

However, before stuffing your home with different styles, colors and shapes of plastic bags, have you every

considered the dangers that are inherent in using them?

It is found to pollute enviroment as it is a polymer of polythene.In schools,colleges and at office people are

found to use plastic articles as they are cheap than the other. But they forget that it is harmful to them as in

the following cases:-

Dangers Of Using Plastic Bags:-

1 Environmental Damage

Plastic bags have been known to cause a lot of environmental damage. A single plastic bag can take up to 1000

years, to decay completely. This makes the bags stay in environments longer, in turn leading to great build-up

on the natural landscape (much more than degradable materials like paper). In other words, the more plastic

bags you use, the greater the chances of environmental damage.

2 Threat To Animal Life

As per Marrickville Council of Australia, as many as 100,000 whales, turtles and birds die have been reported

to die every year, mainly because of plastic in their environment. Plastic bags not only have adverse effects

on our natural habitats, but have also been found to be responsible for the death of many animals, mainly on

account of the suffocation encountered on eating them.

3 Suffocation

Not only animals, infants and young children have also been reported to have lost their life, on account of

plastic bags. Since plastic bags are thin and airtight as well, children often end up blocking their mouths

and nostrils with them. In case they are not being monitored by an adult, this leads to suffocation and, in

some cases, even death.

4 Pollution

Plastic bags are extremely durable. In case you are thinking of this as an advantage, just bring to mind an

image of the huge landfill that you visited on the city outskirts, the other day. In most probability, majority

of the rubbish present there will comprise of plastic bags only. In other words, plastic bags have led to a great

increase in the pollution levels.

5 Fumes

Since plastic bags are not bio-degradable, the only way to get rid of them is to burn them up. Though lighting

a match to them is easy, it has more than its fair share of disadvantages. The biggest of them is that

smoldering plastics can release toxic fumes into the environment, in turn taking the air pollution to much

higher levels.

6 Non-renewable

One of the main disadvantages of plastic bags is that they are not renewable. The reason behind this is that

they are made of petrochemicals, a non-renewable source of energy. They can be recycled, but not as easily as

paper bags. Plastic bags can last for as much as hundred of years. In other words, long after you are no more,

the plastic bag used by you will be in existence.

7

Typically plastic do not break down and therefore are not environmentally friendly.

Plastic bottles and some containers tend to leach toxins when put through different temperature changes.

For example, freezing a water bottle and then drinking from it as it thaws changes the plastic and then

contaminates the water.

8

Another disadvantage to using plastic is that most are not recyclable in most parts of the world.

Check the bottom of a plastic jar or container and you will see a triangle with a number inside it.

In my neck of the woods plastics with numbers, 5, 7 or 9 are the worst for contamination and aren't recyclable.

Plastic is also greatly over-used in packaging of all kinds of products, creating more garbage then anyone know

where to put it.

9

The Pacific Ocean has one of the largest dumping ground for plastics, unknown numbers of sea birds marine mammals and fish ingest plastics which causes a variety of negative health effects.

Answer 2

The disadvantages of plastic are: -They mainly end up in a landfill when they are broken or not wanted. - Suffocation from breathing in (putting a plastic bag over your head) and choking. (three years of age or younger signs for kids toys such as barbies or beads.) - Last, we will soon run out like we are on oil and people will be in a big giant mess.