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plastic - Coggle Diagram
plastic
Impacts
Microfibres
too small to be filtered out
by waste water plants
end up being consumed
by small marine life
are released into water ways from
products flushed down the toilets
wet wipes
cotton buds
sanitary products
clothes
washing in washing machine
pollution
ingestion
blockages to Gastro intestinal
Stop digestion
force animals to starve
Physical injury to marine life
Abrasions
Damage to organs
cause organ failure
kill the animal
Strangling
lack of oxygen to the lungs
animal to suffocate
changing Physical appearance
contamination
chemical levels in plastic
change the toxicity of the water
around the piece of plastic
not biodegradable
takes thousands of years to biodegrade
Natural things that can break down plastics
Sunlight
Oxygen
water
continues throughout the food chain
humans depending on the fish we eat
microplastics
Are small piece of plastic
#
around x10 to the power of -2
nanoparticles
x10 to the power of -9
Manufacturing
polymers
hydrogen and carbon polymer chains
non-renewable resource
fossil fuels
natural gas
contains carbon and hydrogen
properties
cheap to make
durable
light weight
malleable
versatile
inert
doesn't easily react with chemicals
process of making plastics
made of distilled crud oil
separates them into heavy and light components
Polymerisation
Polycondensation
Each fraction is a mixture of Hydrogen and carbon chains
differ due to size and structure of their molecules
transportation into oceans
waterways
plastics end up in waterways
examples
rivers
estuaries
oceans
lead to the oceans
drain systems
Microbeads
used in exfoliating scrubs
washed into water ways
through drain systems
Littering
Dropped on the streets (humans)
rain water and wind carry plastic
directly into the ocean or into drain systems
also true for
illegal dumping
improper waste disposal of products
not recycling products
transportation of plastics to landfill
some lightweight pieces of plastic
gets picked up by the wind
can clutter drains
end up in oceans
Biodiversity
impacts
plastic can change the biodiversity
the amount of different types of marine animals
being killed by plastic from suffocating to abrasions
Australian animals impacted in marine environments
examples
◦ Six species of marine turtles
◦ 12 species of cetaceans
◦ At least 34 species of sea birds
◦ Dugongs
◦ Six species of pinnipeds
◦ At least 10 species of sharks and rays
◦ at least 8 other species groups.
Australian biodiversity problems
36% of marine area
under some type of protection for the animals
due to plastics and other causes
Australia's biodiversity
under threat due to plastics
Gulf of Carpentaria
estimated 5000–15,000 turtles
become entangled
in discarded fishing nets each year.
amount of different species within one area
