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Plastic Pollution Essay

Plastic pollution is a critical environmental issue, with millions of tons entering oceans annually, harming marine life and ecosystems. It takes hundreds of years to degrade, breaking down into microplastics that contaminate air, water, and soil, affecting both marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Urgent action is needed to reduce plastic production and consumption, promote recycling, and shift towards a lifestyle free of single-use plastics.

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116 views2 pages

Plastic Pollution Essay

Plastic pollution is a critical environmental issue, with millions of tons entering oceans annually, harming marine life and ecosystems. It takes hundreds of years to degrade, breaking down into microplastics that contaminate air, water, and soil, affecting both marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Urgent action is needed to reduce plastic production and consumption, promote recycling, and shift towards a lifestyle free of single-use plastics.

Uploaded by

dolush25
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Plastic Pollution

Plastic pollution poses a pressing environmental issue in the present time. Nowadays, plastic is
present in our daily life. We can find plastic in a wealth of product packaging that we use every
day. Its growing production and use threaten to contaminate the entire planet, especially the
oceans, the destination of various types of plastics, where they gravely harm aquatic ecosystems
and the survival of a host of marine species.

It is estimated that each year, million tons of plastic get into the oceans. It is a ubiquitous and
almost unmanageable environmental threat because plastic takes hundreds of years to degrade.
Even when it degrades, it breaks down into tiny particles of plastic called microplastics, which
release toxic substances into the environment, affecting the air, water, and soil, and triggering a
wealth of repercussions.

For instance, plastic has adverse effects on marine life. Seabirds, whales, turtles, fish, and other
marine animals ingest plastic because they are not able to distinguish from food. Consequently, it
affects their digestive systems causing them suffering and death. In addition, the ingestion of
plastics or microplastics by fish and other marine animals causes plastic to enter the food chain.
Therefore, we consume plastic microparticles daily without realizing it. Moreover, several animals
become entangled with plastic, which impedes them moving freely and causes laceration,
infection, suffocation, and even death. Some scientists estimate around 100,000 marine species die
every year because of plastic.

On the other hand, plastic also impacts on terrestrial ecosystem. In agricultural soil, it modifies the
chemical composition of the soil, causing its dryness and harming the germination and growth of
plants. For another hand, plastics that end up in landfills remain buried, contaminating the subsoil
and poisoning the aquifers. Furthermore, when plastic ends up in fields or the forest, it is consumed
by animals as food, and often it causes their death. In addition, plastic contributes to climate
change. Most plastics are made from fossil fuel feedstocks; hence plastic production is related to
greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, burning plastic in landfills releases greenhouse gas
emissions into the air.
In conclusion, we have a global crisis due to plastic pollution. In addition, the easy dispersion of
plastic and its slow degradation process makes plastic the number one enemy of the environment.
Evidently, plastics have a host of adverse effects on the environment, and it also poses a significant
threat to climate change. We need to take pressing actions to reduce its production and
consumption and thus prevent this issue from becoming irrepressible. For this reason, we must
change our consumption habits, foremost, reduce the amount of plastic that we use and then
practice reuse and recycling. We must switch to a lifestyle free of single-use plastics and reverse
this situation.

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