Welcome curious minds to my weekly blog! I know everyone is talking about plastic waste these days, so what do I really have to say that’s so different? Let me start by saying that, even though most people know about the pollution caused by plastics, there is a lack of commitment to change behaviour towards reducing the use of single-use plastics. The facts that plastics are polluting most ecosystems, especially marine is so evident that there is no need for scientific research.
Plastics were initially produced in the 1950s, they were an instant success as they provided cheap solutions to an ever-growing consumeristic economy. In comparison to other available products at the time, plastics were cheap, lightweight, nonreactive and easy to produce. Companies switched to single-use plastics overnight and observed skyrocketing profits which ensured the success of these man-made products for years to come. Furthermore, after decades of living in a plastic age, humans have adapted their lifestyles in a certain way that convincing the change in human behaviour to reduce the consumption of plastics has become a major challenge.
We are all witnesses to the daily detrimental damage that is being done to natural ecosystems especially to beaches, mountains, lagoons, and lakes. To me change in human behaviour towards a less consumeristic world is incredibly crucial because we really do not have time. Plastic pollution has now penetrated, even the most secluded environments. It is quite terrifying to think that humans are now consuming the plastic we discarded years ago by consuming seafood. Oceans have become a dumping ground for approximately 10 to 20 million tons of plastic annually. In terms of financial losses to marine ecosystems and its services such as fisheries and tourism, there is an estimated annual loss of $13 billion dollars. The most urgent transformation that is required as of today is to reduce and completely stop single-use plastics. Single-use plastics such as straws, grocery bags, PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles (plastic bottles), coffee cups and lids, plastic wraps, take away containers are all products that can be replaced and should be replaced if we want a planet which will continue to be mesmerising. Shockingly, humans consume 1 million plastic bottles every minute globally, annually 146 million tonnes of plastic is produced globally and overall global plastic production as of 2015 is around 350 million tonnes.
Plastics have a life span of around 1000 years, depending on the plastic it can be less but definitely over a few 100 years to decompose. The plethora of problems surrounding plastic waste keeps expanding and the existing problems continue to intensify. Our environment, especially our wildlife has to endure horrors as a result of our ignorance. For instance there is a significant amount of evidence regarding the single-use plastics in the marine environment; turtles and dolphins mistaking plastic bags for food, high concentration of plastics ending up in the digestive systems of large marine mammals resulting in starvation leading to death and the list goes on. In addition, toxic chemicals used during plastic production breaks down and enters animal tissue which will eventually be ingested by humans. A serious concern in my country (Sri Lanka) is burning of plastic waste on a daily basis which results in releasing harmful gases such as furan and dioxin. It is accepted worldwide that plastic pollution will be one of the greatest challenges that human race will have to face but the steps taken to control this problem are not sufficient and lack implementation at an international level. Waste management plays a key role as well and that is controlled by governments, therefore they have a responsibility to address this problem while we can. Out of the 9 billion tonnes of plastic waste ever produced only 9% has been recycled, which I would say is an unsatisfactory statistic that have petrified the younger generations and the ones to come as they will be the ones who will have to live in a wasteland. If the older generations and the younger generations come together and change their consumeristic ways, find innovative methods to control the waste, we may just have a slight ray of hope into tackling plastic pollution.
It is strange to apprehend so many people admiring nature but still remain consumeristic, continue to use single-use plastics every chance they get, not caring that their actions have consequences. As a conscious species we can no longer be ignorant of our actions, especially when we live in a world where instant information is freely available. I’m not saying that it is only up to individuals to change their ways, it is a responsibility that our governments, multinational corporations and all humans, in general, have to prioritise. We are running out of time!
Let us start by stopping the use of the following single-use plastics; straws, plastic cups, PET bottles, and plastics packaging.
Reduce, Reuse and Recycle!
Here is a link I used as reference:
Hope you learned something new!
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