Our Plastic Problem
Consequences of other disposal methods?
Polluting emissions
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{“It’s normally after eight o’clock,” Lim said. “Burned plastic … acidic … it hurts my chest. I try to seal my windows and block under the door with carpet.”}}
“You wake up at midnight because of the smell,” said Christina Lai, a Sungai Petani activist. “One day this land will be taken over by rubbish and not humans.” Every evening at sunset, the smoke of burning plastic will engulfs homes and a local school. The toxic fumes resulting from the burning of plastics expose them to toxic substances (Eg. sulfur dioxide, dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls (BCPs), and heavy metals). This can affect human health and result in developmental disorders, respiratory illness, endocrine disruption, and cancer. It also affects vegetation and animal health as well.
Plastic made up of oil, burning plastic gives off an awful smell and gives us a choking feeling when they are burnt.
A major source of air pollution is when plastic waste is incinerated in an open field. ~12% of most trash is made up of some type of plastic and 40% of it is burned. Most of Africa’s waste is destroyed via burning and thus some places in Africa are starting their plastic ban. For example, Kenya and Rwanda have effectively abide by the bans. {{“This is such positive news and I hope more countries in Africa and the world follow suit in phasing out single-use plastics,” says James Wakibia, a prominent campaigner for Kenya’s plastic bag ban implemented last year. “It’s sad that Uganda's ban is not working,” he adds.}}
Dioxins in the atmosphere fall onto crops and into waterways where they subsequently enter our food and after our bodies. These dioxins can be lethal organic pollutants that could cause cancer and affect thyroid systems. Phthalate is a chemical that gives plastic its flexibility and softness, is actually an endocrine disruptor. They are linked with fertility issues, asthma, allergies, and even neonatal impacts.
Raining microplastics
After analyzing rainwater samples collected from the Rocky Mountains, scientists found that there were tiny flecks and fibers of plastic. He expected to see dirt and mineral dust but instead, he found small pieces of plastics in many colors. This literal rain of plastic was not rare. This wind-blown plastic or plastic rain has been discovered that occurred in many parts of the world in Paris, France, China, and in some regions of the Pyrenees mountains. In reality, plastic is everywhere in our air, water, and food. Plastic never really goes away but will stay for a very long time. Plastic breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces until it’s at the microscopic level. There are microbes, fungi, and even invertebrates that can turn paper to animals into carbon dioxide and water. However, almost nothing can naturally biodegrade plastic. The backbone that makes up plastic is too complex for an organism to break those chemical bonds down. We might think that when the plastic gets smaller in size, it makes it easier to degrade them into simpler components but that is not the case. Plastic out in the natural environment is exposed to sunlight seawater, mechanical forces of waves, and winds. Plastics break down into smaller pieces that have sizes of about 5 millimeters or smaller are called microplastics. When plastics are sized at less than 100 billionths of a meter across, they are called nanoplastics. Collection of rainwater and air samples of 14 months revealed that more than 1,000 metric tons of microplastic or more than 120 million plastic water bottles fall into 6% of USA land area each year. That equals 2 billion plastic water bottles falling into the US land per year. The shocking fact is that every year Americans actually eat more than 74,000 microplastic particles!
Plastic on its own is actually an inert substance, but chemicals are added to plastic to change the color, flexibility, rigidity, heat resistance, UV resistance, and many more of its characteristics. Animal and in vitro studies have revealed that plastic can attracts pollutants like heavy metals and organic contaminants. For example, organochlorine pesticides are attracted to the water-repellent surface of the plastic. The majority of these chemicals and contaminants can negatively affect our health. Consumed microplastic particles can physically tear and poke organs while leached on chemicals can affect the immune system, stymie growth, and even reproduction. In 2008, Blue mussels were experimented on by placing them in water tanks spiked with fluorescent-tagged microplastic particles smaller than a human red blood cell. Afterward, they were then transferred into a clean water tank. The mussels were observed to have suffered from physical damage and health effects. For example, the particles poking the organs result in inflammation. While the chemicals that entered the mussels via binding to the surface of the plastic caused liver damage.
According to a study, fish exposed to microplastics had reproduced lesser offspring. In addition, their offspring who were not directly exposed were also reproducing less. This means that the effects can be passed onto the subsequent generations. Another study on hamsters revealed that hamsters suffered from blood clots after being injected with microplastics. In animals, microplastics can pass through the hardy membrane protecting the brain and enter the bloodstream. In humans, Mothers can also pass microplastics through the placenta to a developing fetus.
Hurting wildlife
Plastics out in the environment can cause animals to be entangled in, animals can ingest plastic debris which causes suffocation, starvation, and drowning.
In an experiment, plastic consumed animals like plankton, marine worms and fish were unable to eat ate their real food efficiently. Plastic consumed crabs had trouble breathing, and the growth of sea urchins was slowed due to the plastics consumed. As the fish ate up the plastic, Nanoplastics traveled from the food into its gut and organs. After which it passes by the blood-brain barrier before interfering with its normal behavior. About 98% of albatross have plastic in their stomachs, and 40% of chicks die every year due to them consuming plastics. When plastics enter the digestive tract, plastic can fill up the stomach and taking up space for proper food and water. Plastics can tear and poke internal organs or transfer toxins into the bird. Albatross frequently consume garbage they find floating as they feed at sea. They store them in their stomachs, and some even regurgitate them to feed to their chicks.
When corals come into contact with plastic the chance of suffering from disease increases from 4% to 89%. Complex corals which are structurally more complicated are 8x more likely to be affected by plastic. This results in microhabitats for reef-associated organisms and valuable fisheries to be negatively affected.
