Plastic is one of the most widely produced materials at a global level for nearly all forms of consumption (industrial, domestic, etc.). The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has reported that over 300 million tons of plastic are produced every single year for a wide range of uses. Plastics were originally made out of completely natural resources, such as cellulose, coal, and crude oil, which were extracted, polymerized and then processed. Of course, these materials did not come with a never-ending supply. That is when synthetic plastics were invented. An artificial combination of molecules designed to imitate natural resources without actually using them – it was practically the same material, except it now contained no molecules found in nature, meaning the dependency on natural resources and their availability lessened substantially; the cost, however, was very high.
The existence of plastic seems quite convenient until we are forced to think about how the billions of tons of it produced every year are to be disposed of. Plastic takes about 400 years to disintegrate on its own. It is not biodegradable, and not all plastics can be recycled. This is where our entire planet finds itself in quite a predicament, seeing as due to decades of negligence, we are now drowning in a material that cannot be discarded without causing substantial damage to the very planet we want to save.
Countries like America produce millions of tons of plastic waste each year, and since the recycling system is compromised due to corporate corruption (recycling companies benefitting under false pretenses of helping the environment), that enormous amount of plastic is shipped overseas to countries already suffering from an overload of non-biodegradable trash, for example, nations in South-East Asia. Now, shipping plastic to Asia used to be a smart investment back when countries like China were able to recycle plastic in a somewhat efficient manner, but things have gotten much worse since trading between the US and China stopped. Now, all of that plastic is sent to places that it is more damaging than beneficial to.
Almost everything we use on a daily basis is either made up entirely of plastic, or contains it. Mobile covers, electrical insulation, flooring tiles, utensils – we’re drowning in it. Plastic has been a part of our lives for a little over a century now, and the consequences of that can be witnessed all around us. As reported by National Geographic, a staggering 91% of plastic on our planet isn’t recycled. Where does it go, then?
An immense majority of it (about 79%) is deposited in garbage dumps or ends up as common litter all around us. Since it is often taken no notice of, this litter finds its way to our oceans, where it finally sinks to where it is out of plain sight, and thus, much easier to ignore; although, even if it weren’t, it becomes nearly impossible to reach. As for whatever plastic remains on dry land, it is usually burned, critically damaging the atmosphere and in turn, contributing to climate change.
A few years ago, a discovery was made that truly shed light on the extent of the ruination we now face. A study revealed that a plastic bag, like the ones we normally use, was discovered at the lowest point in the world’s deepest ocean trench. The knowledge that even the world’s most remote place, the Mariana Trench (36000 ft below sea level), isn’t safe from plastic pollution was a wake-up call for a lot of people. And bear in mind that while the trench may be remote, there is still life present there. A vast majority of the most critically endangered species on our planet are marine, and plastic is the prime reason. About 8 million tons of our plastic is dumped into oceans every year deliberately. Not only does it threaten food safety for both humans and underwater predators, but it also poisons an entire natural habitat containing trillions of organisms essential to the earth’s ecosystem.
From packaging goods to transportation, we depend on plastic for everything, and while some countries may be able to afford such extensive use of a non-biodegradable material, others cannot. These are regions like developing countries in Asia and Africa, places where garbage disposal systems aren’t very efficient. One of these countries is Pakistan. A saturated population paired with horribly unhygienic living conditions due to both the pollution in the atmosphere and the impurity of everything we consume – a real-life nightmare.
The extent of plastic consumption in Pakistan makes it seem as if the country can afford to take any more environmental blows when that couldn’t be further from the truth. People shop using plastic bags, eat using plastic utensils, and drink from plastic coolers, despite there being less harmful alternatives. This is destroying the wildlife in Pakistan, with marine life and freshwater lakes taking the worst hits of all. As we keep dumping trash into our oceans, we threaten our own lives. It pollutes the groundwater, agriculture, and even the air we breathe. The government and all authorities that can do anything regarding this problem must take action immediately because if this keeps up, it isn’t long before the country is reduced to nothing but a dead piece of land.
The possible consequences of our continued negligence are ghastly to even think about. With the rate at which plastic is currently being dumped in the oceans, it threatens to outweigh marine creatures in the next few decades. If this keeps up, not only will we face an economic crisis due to activities like tourism and fishing being greatly impacted, but the ecosystem as we know it may be on the verge of collapsing – and that should concern every single person who has ever used plastic for anything.
The manufacturing of plastic needs to be controlled immediately. Reusing and recycling on an individual as well as industrial level needs to be encouraged and normalized if circumstances are to be kept from getting dire. In more developed regions, people have already begun to use paper, metal, and cloth as replacements for plastic; however, if the rest of the world fails to catch on soon, we’re looking at a very certain apocalyptic future.
Renewable energy has emerged as a game-changer in the global energy landscape, offering sustainable and… Read More