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PLASTIC POLLUTION ! - Coggle Diagram
PLASTIC POLLUTION !
WAYS TO OVERCOME
Plan ahead. Keep a water bottle or reusable coffee mug with you, have your own utensils for on-the-go meals, and carry a reusable shopping bag
Donate unwanted plastic items such as furniture and dishware to local charities, or offer them online to your local freecycle program, instead of trashing them.
Use and reuse plastic as long as you can, then get creative and reuse it for something else!
Recycle smart. In the US we recycle only 9% of the plastic we use. We can do better! Find out which plastics your town’s recycling system accepts, and make sure you recycle them.
Clean up your neighborhood. Every piece of plastic you pick up is one less piece in nature.
Advocate for change. Support companies that are working to solve the plastics crisis. Petition your local government for better recycling capabilities, strict regulations on waste disposal, and initiatives to cut plastic use
Look at labels and packaging. Try to choose items packed in materials that are accepted at your local recycling center.
PLASTIC PROBLEM
Every minute, about a dump-truck load of plastic goes into the oceans, sullying beaches, hurting wildlife, and contaminating our food supply
eliminating all plastic from our lives is neither feasible nor desirable because plastic has a lot of benefits, environmental and otherwise: It keeps our food fresh so we waste less; it’s sterile; it’s durable. And, once we’re done with it, it can be turned into something new.
a population we have continued to innovate and create new ways to use plastic
we don’t know what to do with all this plastic once we’re finished with it.
Today science tells us that the majority of plastic waste ending up in oceans is coming from land, specifically due to limited or nonexistent waste management
You can make something 100% recyclable, but if you don’t have a recycling facility, it just ends up as trash.
collect almost 100% of the most common type of plastic, polyethylene terephthalate, or PET (your standard soda bottle), only about 30% is recycled
the global economy has brought a flood of plastic into places without adequate waste management. Best-case scenario: Whatever plastic isn’t recycled goes to a landfill. Worst case: It gets dumped into nature.
TURNING OFF THE TAPE
Stopping the flow of plastic means fixing a broken and fragmented system.
When the sink is flooding, you don’t start with the mop; you start by turning off the tap.
ensure solutions don’t negatively impact the environment in other ways. Everybody has a role here: companies, the waste management industry, governments, and consumers
make plastic from renewable resources, manufacture goods that are recyclable and require less plastic, consume less, and make sure as much plastic is recycled as possible.
EFFECT TO OCEAN
In the ocean, plastic pollution can kill marine mammals directly through entanglement in objects such as fishing gear, but it can also kill through ingestion, by being mistaken for food.
all kinds of species, including small zooplankton, large cetaceans, most seabirds, and all marine turtles, readily ingest plastic bits and trash items such as cigarette lighters, plastic bags, and bottle caps. Sunlight and seawater embrittle plastic
the eventual breakdown of larger objects into microplastics makes plastic available to zooplankton and other small marine animals. Such small pieces of plastic, which are less than 5 mm (0.2 inch) in length, make up a sizable fraction of plastic waste in the oceans.
plastics have been shown to concentrate pollutants up to a million times their level in the surrounding seawater and then deliver them to the species that ingest them
FACTS
Half of all plastics ever manufactured have been made in the last 15 years
Production increased exponentially, from 2.3 million tons in 1950 to 448 million tons by 2015. Production is expected to double by 2050
Every year, about 8 million tons of plastic waste escapes into the oceans from coastal nations. That’s the equivalent of setting five garbage bags full of trash on every foot of coastline around the world.
Plastics often contain additives making them stronger, more flexible, and durable. But many of these additives can extend the life of products if they become litter, with some estimates ranging to at least 400 years to break down.
HOW PLASTICS MOVE AROUND THE WORLD
Most of the plastic trash in the oceans, Earth’s last sink, flows from land
Trash is also carried to sea by major rivers, which act as conveyor belts, picking up more and more trash as they move downstream
. Once at sea, much of the plastic trash remains in coastal waters.
But once caught up in ocean currents, it can be transported around the world
FACTORS
Population now continued to innovate and create new ways to use plastic
Plastics made from fossil fuels are just over a century old. Production and development of thousands of new plastic products accelerated after World War II, so transforming the modern age that life without plastics would be unrecognizable today
Plastics revolutionized medicine with life-saving devices, made space travel possible, lightened cars and jets—saving fuel and pollution—and saved lives with helmets, incubators, and equipment for clean drinking water.
TERESTIAL ASPECTS
Drainage systems become clogged with plastic bags, films, and other items, causing flooding.
Land birds, such as the reintroduced California condor, have been found with plastic in their stomachs, and animals that normally feed in waste dumps—for instance, the sacred cows of India—have had intestinal blockages from plastic packaging.
As waste dumps expand in residential areas, the scavenging poor are often found living near or even on piles of residual plastics.
The mass of plastic is not greater than that of other major components of waste, but it takes up a disproportionately large volume
PLASTIC ADDITIVES
the release of compounds used in its manufacture. Indeed, pollution of the environment by chemicals leached from plastics into air and water is an emerging area of concern
As a result, some compounds used in plastics, such as phthalates, bisphenol A (BPA), and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE), have come under close scrutiny and regulation.
compounds have been detected in humans and are known to disrupt the endocrine system
PBDE is added to plastics as a flame retardant
BPA, used in the manufacture of clear, hard polycarbonate plastics and strong epoxy coatings and adhesives, is present in packaging, bottles, compact discs, medical devices, and the linings of food cans
Phthalates act against male hormones and are therefore known as anti-androgens; BPA mimics the natural female hormone estrogen; and PBDE has been shown to disrupt thyroid hormones in addition to being an anti-androgen.
The people most vulnerable to such hormone-disrupting chemicals are children and women of reproductive age.
MICROPLASTICS
Once at sea, sunlight, wind, and wave action break down plastic waste into small particles, often less than one-fifth of an inch across.
spread throughout the water column and have been found in every corner of the globe, from Mount Everest, the highest peak, to the Mariana Trench, the deepest trough.
Microplastics are breaking down further into smaller and smaller pieces. Plastic microfibers, meanwhile, have been found in municipal drinking water systems and drifting through the air.
BRANDED GARBAGE
ReSource helps companies who have already made ambitious plastic waste reduction commitments turn their aspirations into meaningful, measurable actions. It starts by partnering with a company to identify which changes will make the biggest cuts in the company’s plastics footprint and to establish a tracking system to measure progress.
, it helps the company implement those changes, providing expert advice along with a suite of tools and step-by-step guidanc
nothing multiplies impact like collaboration, ReSource: Plastic connects companies, stakeholders, and governments so they can share discoveries and investments
developing new technologies to recycle materials we never thought could be recycled, like diapers.
. For example Procter & Gamble is forming partnerships to advance the infrastructure needed to recycle a full range of materials, with hopes of accelerating further investment in scalable technologies.
DEALING WITH TRASH
In many places, if a waste management company makes more money sending plastic to a landfill than to a recycling center, Simon says, it’s going to a landfill
And so all of that upstream investment to make the materials as recyclable and as high quality as possible is for naught.”
need more companies to get on board with investments and action.”
BEYOND BANS
nudge sectors that might be dragging their feet. It may not be as easy as banning straws, but passing legislation around waste disposal can have enormous impact
Governments can also help by streamlining and standardizing recycling rules.
Plastic -free Nature
The world is poised to act on plastics, and WWF—with its global presence, holistic approach, and proven track record on issues much more contentious than this one—has a critical part to play.
