You’re on a hike in the mountains and you are taking in the beauties of nature, until you notice a plastic grocery bag floating in a stream. Plastic Pollution is a major issue pressing the whole world today. There are tons and tons of plastic drifting in streams, floating in the ocean, trapped in tree branches, and making their way to animals and to us. The crazy thing is that most people aren’t even aware of the impact this much plastic can have on the whole world. Everyone should be more conscious about the plastic they use, where they put it, and where it will most likely end up.
One huge effect of plastic pollution is that it is a major contributor to climate change. According to the Plastic Pollution Coalition, over 90% of plastic is made from fossil fuels. This causes greenhouse gasses to be released into the atmosphere which drastically affects our Earth’s climate.
Another reason why people should care about where their everyday plastic fork ends up is because that fork and all other plastic never fully breaks down, but instead turns into microplastic. Microplastics are extremely small pieces of plastic, they can be found everywhere, because they are so small. They can be found in the air, soil, food, and even in our bodies which is very dangerous. A small solution to reduce the amount of microplastics would be to reduce the amount of plastic you use. For example, bringing reusable containers and utensils to lunch and other meals, instead of using plastic utensils every meal.
A third consequence of plastic pollution is that it harms many species of animals from many environments. Surfers Against Sewage stated, “1 in 3 fish caught for human consumption now contains plastic.” One reason for this is that eight million pieces of plastic enter the ocean every day and every year 12 million tons of plastic enter the ocean. This is a huge problem for many species, because sea turtles will consume plastic bags thinking their jellyfish and sea birds can eat plastic thinking their small fish, land animals are also likely to ingest plastic.
Some people might think that plastic pollution is not a big deal and finding a solution shouldn’t be a priority, but plastic pollution does not just affect some, it affects everyone. Plastic pollution is a problem for everyone and everyone needs to work together to fix it.
To sum up, there are many solutions to this huge problem, big and small. The solutions can be as small as packing your sandwich in a reusable container rather than a plastic bag, or as large as working to reduce plastic production, but if everyone is more concerned about the consequences plastic has on the environment, climate, and others then we can solve this obstacle one step at a time.
