CommonLit | The Plastic Problem by Jacqueline Pratt-Tuke | CommonLit (2024)

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CommonLit | The Plastic Problem by Jacqueline Pratt-Tuke | CommonLit? ›

As plastics accumulate in Earth's oceans, marine 8 creatures feel the consequences. Fish, seabirds, turtles, and marine mammals mistakenly eat plastics or get tangled in plastic products like nets, bags, and soda rings. Both consuming 9 plastics and entanglement can cause injury or death.

Plastic pollution can alter habitats and natural processes, reducing ecosystems' ability to adapt to climate change, directly affecting millions of people's livelihoods, food production capabilities and social well-being.

It is perhaps no shocker that Coca-Cola is the ultimate top polluter by a significant margin and has been for over five years. Coca-cola is ranked as the world's top plastic polluter. Actually, the same companies dominate the list for years. These are all Fast Moving Consumer Goods companies.

The paragraph aims to draw attention to the pervasive and often unnoticed issue of plastic pollution, emphasizing its concealed nature. It vividly describes common scenes of litter, such as plastic bottles in gutters and bags caught in branches, to illustrate the problem's visibility on the surface.

India recycles only 8 percent of its plastic waste, reveals a new study. And if the “business as usual” continues, the recycling capacity would only marginally go up to 11 percent by 2035, with India's plastic use expected to rise to 70.5 million tonnes (MT) by then from the current production of 24.1 MT.

Environmentalists urge citizens to reduce their use of single-use plastics, plastics used once and then tossed. For example, people can invest 13 in a water bottle rather than drinking water from plastic bottles or use reusable grocery bags rather than plastic ones.

We must use alternatives like cloth bags and paper bags instead of plastic bags. If we are purchasing plastic, we must reuse it. We must avoid drinking bottled water which contributes largely to plastic pollution. The government must put a plastic ban on the use of plastic.

The Coca-Cola Company maintains its position as the #1 top polluter for the sixth consecutive year, setting a new record with a total plastic waste count of 33,820 – the highest tally for the company since the project's inception.

In 2008, Rwanda became the world's first 'plastic-free' nation, 10 years after it introduced a ban on all plastic bags and plastic packaging. Unlike many other countries, the African nation is strict at enforcing its ban. Anyone caught with a plastic item in the country faces a jail sentence of up to six months.

Coca-Cola: a global plastic menace.

The polluter sells more than 100 billion single-use plastic bottles each year with many ending up in landfills and the ocean. The company's widespread use of single-use plastic bottles has contributed significantly to the global plastic pollution crisis.

What happened to the zooplankton that ate the plastic beads in Cole's study? ›

In a more recent study, Cole found that microplastics limit the ability of zooplankton to consume food. Zooplankton that had swallowed polystyrene beads ate smaller bits of algae. That cut their energy intake nearly in half. And they laid smaller eggs that were less likely to hatch.

In fact it is extremely simple chemistry based on the concept of polarity. Plastic particles are non-polar, and the oil element of the ferrofluid is also non-polar. If you don't know much about chemistry, an easy summary is that non-polar materials attract other non-polar materials.

Plastic is choking our oceans. Sir David Attenborough told us during Blue Planet 2 that “we dump eight million tonnes of plastic into the sea every year”. It's killing and harming marine life. Microplastics are consumed by animals like plankton, passing the problem back up the food chain – to us.

The Development of New Plastics

In 1907 Leo Baekeland invented Bakelite, the first fully synthetic plastic, meaning it contained no molecules found in nature. Baekeland had been searching for a synthetic substitute for shellac, a natural electrical insulator, to meet the needs of the rapidly electrifying United States.

China is the biggest producer of plastic, with about 60 million tonnes of plastic waste, yet only 16 million tonnes were recycled. However, the country has taken steps to combat plastic waste pollution, including a ban on single-use plastics and a focus on the circular economy.

The Countries With The Highest Plastic Recycling Rate. South Korea and Germany have the highest recycling rates in the world. Estimates show Germany (65%), and South Korea (59%), are leaders around the world when it comes to the percentage of their waste composted or recycled.

The main sources of plastic debris found in the ocean are land-based, coming from urban and stormwater runoff, sewer overflows, littering, inadequate waste disposal and management, industrial activities, tyre abrasion, construction and illegal dumping.

Plastics cannot be burned away or broken down, and this calls for serious problems in the environment, including land, air, water and food pollution. Plastic remains on the surface of water and earth, and its toxic components are released into these bodies, affecting every single living creature and plant.

Strength and Durability. Because plastic is resistant to corrosion, impact, UV rays and many other environmental factors, it doesn't have to be replaced as often as other materials.

Due to lack of knowledge, different types of plastic are often combined in manufacturing processes, which makes recycling them much more difficult. This often leads to plastics being incinerated, which is a major waste of valuable resources.