The world is getting older way faster than it has in the past few years. The reason why the Earth is slowly dying is because of pollution. Different types of pollution are causing damage to the Earth, and one of the most severe is plastic pollution.

10 Things You Need To Know About Plastic Pollution

Many people around the world are using plastics every day. On average, most people’s waste consists of plastics. This is one of the biggest challenges that humans cannot face and is being neglected. Although there are policies that can make a difference in plastic usage, it still depends on whether people will cooperate. And a lot of people are not working. 

To get a glimpse of how severe plastic pollution is around the world, here are some plastic problems that the world should know about. These plastic facts remain up to this day, and they are still happening in the present. 

Plastic pollution builds up plastic waste in the environment.

This is one of the most truthful plastic pollution facts that a lot of people do not realize. When we use plastic, we are directly damaging the environment. If humans don’t lessen the use of plastic, it will clog up as waste and harm the environment for years. 

Plastics take years to decompose, and if there are tons of plastics being used every day, it will take up space on Earth. Plants will have no place to grow. Oceans will be filled with plastic, and it will also harm the organisms that live under the sea. Also, the continuous production of plastics will harm the air that we breathe. 

Over 370 tonnes of plastic are made each year across the world.

Each year, plastics companies produce over 370 metric tons of plastics, which is on a global scale. These plastics produced will either end up as pollutants or cause damage to our environment and oceans. Humans are not the only ones who will be affected by this pollution; animals and other living things will also be affected. 

Many use plastic because it is cheap and lasts a long time. 

The main reason people keep using plastic is that they can reuse it, and it is durable as well. Moreover, it is also cheap to buy. However, not everyone reuses plastics and recycles them. Some people buy a massive amount of plastic and throw it away right away. 

Plastics have existed since 1907.

Humans have been using plastics for over 100 years now, and the industry is not close to stopping producing and using plastics. A century of using plastics has caused more damage than humans have expected; what more add another century?

Plastic is being traded around the world. 

With the massive amount of plastic being used and thrown away, some organizations and companies trade their plastic wastes across the world. Trading plastics has many sectors involved, including waste traders, synthetic dealers, transport companies, and small recycling companies. 

United Nations’ policies on illegal plastic waste.

To at least control and lessen the use of plastics, the United Nations took the initiative to ban the plastic waste trade unless it met the U.N.’s regulations on plastic trading. The laws are made to ensure that trading is legal and does not bring further harm to the environment. 

Most plastic waste comes from Asian countries.

Asian countries, including China, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Sri Lanka, are the first countries with the most significant plastic waste. The sad part is that most of their plastics are thrown into the ocean. However, one of the reasons they have a massive pile of plastic waste is because first-world countries often send their garbage to these countries. 

Microplastics are the most harmful type of plastic pollution.

Smaller plastics bring more harm to the environment than any person can realize. They bring toxic elements such as DDT. Most microplastics measure only about 5 mm, and it can be possible that animals, such as marine ones, will be able to eat these microplastics and kill them. Also, when humans eat seafood that has eaten microplastics, it will harm human DNA severely.

Some countries ban plastic usage to help the environment.

There are about 127 countries that ban the use of plastics, according to the U.N. in 2018. Moreover, another 27 countries joined the action and banned single-use plastics as well. Single-use plastics include food packaging, straws, cups, and plates. 

Plastics are in very high demand. 

Since plastics are cheap, they are in high demand in the industry. An estimate of about 1 million plastic bottles are being purchased every minute globally. Moreover, with the plastic bottle trade being a new trend, the forecast is expected to increase by 20% annually if humans do not change.

Takeaway

Plastic usage has had a substantial negative impact on the Earth, but not many people realize that. With the daily increase in plastic purchases worldwide, humans are not doing enough to reduce their use of plastic. If humans don’t act now, the Earth might continue to die fast in the future. 

HussaiN

HussaiN is a full-time professional blogger from India. He is passionate about content writing, tech enthusiasts, and computer technologies. Apart from content writing on the internet, he likes reading various tech magazines and several other blogs on the internet. Email ID: [email protected]