What are the effects of plastic on earth?

Answer 1

Plastics are one of the largest consumables used by humans. From bags, to eating utensils (knives, forks, spoons), to cups, to storage containers, to ... raincoats, plastics make up millions of useful products. Plastics will undoubtedly continue to stay around and be used in the future.

But the fact that plastics do "stay around" is one major point concerning why humans should reduce their use of plastics. Even if a plastic item is broken, cracked, or damaged, the bulk of the product will remain intact in landfills or anywhere it is disposed. If you walk creeks or woods, you will indeed find plastics entwined with nature's falling leaves, growing vines, etc. This waste blocks the natural process of leaf breakdown which fertilizes the soil.

In landfills, plastics can be found hundreds of feet down into the layers. While paper, cardboard, wood and metal will eventually break down, but leather and plastics won't disintegrate quickly. Even ships made in the late 1700s of timbers have been found at the bottom of landfills in New York; if timber hasn't disintegrated in over 150 years, how much longer plastics will take is unknown. Some scientists theorize plastics could remain for millions of years.

Some plastics were made with chemicals that can leach out. The major concern has been with microwave use. But, the center of a deep landfill also retains heat. How much chemicals leach once plastics are in landfills may not be known immediately.

Many large shore cities, as well as ship traffic, have used the oceans as dumps. When garbage contains plastics, especially anything with loops (bag handles) or pre-fabricated circles (6-pack rings) present a huge risk to sea life. Turtles have had amputations from a flipper being entangled by fishing line or other man-made waste. The biggest issue is that sea life cannot help themselves once they get injured by waste. If humans spot the injured dolphin, whale, or sea turtle, and if the humans can figure out a way to help, the sea animal might be saved. Otherwise, they may never be disentangled and may die. Their ability to swim, hunt, procreate, and fend off enemies may be severely impaired.

Along beaches all over the world, non-degradable waste washes up every day. Sea turtles and other wildlife who bury their eggs in sand can be hurt if they accidentally get caught up in plastic type waste. Whales and large ocean mammals get caught in heavy netting (reinforced with plastics) and biologists have to help to cut the items off the animal-- no easy job.

Humans have a mindset that plastic is a disposable good. But humans have yet to firmly understand that "disposable" does not mean leaving the items behind if you no longer need them, or tossing them into weeds or streams, and that even so-called responsible disposal into garbage cans still means the plastics end up in landfills. We need to practice more recycling. And even better, we need to use more biodegradable products rather than plastics.

Answer 2

The Basics

We're treating the oceans like a trash bin: around 80 percent of marine litter originates on land, and most of that is plastic. Plastic that pollutes our oceans and waterways has severe impacts on our environment and our economy. Seabirds, whales, sea turtles and other marine life are eating marine plastic pollution and dying from choking, intestinal blockage and starvation. Scientists are investigating the long-term impacts of toxic pollutants absorbed, transported, and consumed by fish and other marine life, including the potential effects on human health.

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What it Means to You

Plastic pollution affects every waterway, sea and ocean in the world. When we damage our water systems, we're putting our own well-being at risk. This pollution also has huge costs for taxpayers and local governments that must clean this trash off of beaches and streets to protect public health, prevent flooding from trash-blocked storm drains, and avoid lost tourism revenue from filthy beaches. NRDC analyzed a survey of 95 California communities and found their total reported annual costs for preventing litter from becoming pollution is $428 million per year. See NRDC's Waste in Our Waterways: Unveiling the Hidden Costs to Californians of Litter Cleanup.

Solutions

The most effective way to stop plastic pollution in our oceans is to make sure it never reaches the water in the first place. We all need to do our fair share to stop plastic pollution: individuals need to recycle and never litter, but producers of single use plastic packaging need to do more too. We need producers to design packaging so that it is fully recyclable, and so there is less waste. We also need producers to help cover the costs of keeping their products out of the ocean.