Environmental Impact of Plastic: Causes and Effects on the Environment

Student

Wendy Paola Diaz

Teacher

Corporacion Universitaria Americana

Administracion de empresas

Barranquilla-Atlantico

Junio, 2021
 Environmental Impact of Plastic: Causes and Effects on the Environment

Plastic is not inherently harmful; It is an invention of the human being that has generated
significant benefits for society. Unfortunately, the way in which industries and
governments have handled plastic, and the way in which society has turned it into a
disposable and single-use convenience, has transformed this innovation into an
environmental disaster for the Planet.

The sum of all the plastic produced in the world before 2000 is equal to the amount
produced in just the last 16 years. Production has grown rapidly in this century as plastic is
cheap, versatile, and reliable. These characteristics support the development of disposable
plastic products and almost half of all plastics become waste in less than 3 years. High- and
middle-income countries are responsible for the consumption of most of these disposables.
Although this behavior occurred only a few decades ago, today more than 75 percent of all
historically produced plastic has become waste.

Due to poor waste management, it is estimated that one third of plastic waste has entered
nature as land, marine or freshwater pollution. Quick consumption practices generate large
amounts of plastic waste and the world is ill-equipped to handle it; Currently, 37 percent of
plastic waste is inefficiently managed. Poorly managed plastic waste is a critical concern as
it is more likely to become pollution than wastes managed through a controlled system.
Poorly managed waste is plastics that remain uncollected, dumped in open spaces, remain
as garbage, or are handled through uncontrolled landfills.

Based on the above, he urges governments, industries and civil society to recognize that the
current global approach to address the plastic crisis is failing. The lack of an effective
systemic response –both at the national and international levels– impedes progress,
threatens sustainable economic growth and has direct consequences on the environment,
species and people. Although the current trajectory of growth in plastics shows that the
crisis is getting worse, we can change it with a single approach, transversal to all sectors:
taking responsibility.
 Problem

Plastic has become ubiquitous in nature, posing a serious challenge to the natural world,
society, and the global economy. The soils, fresh water and oceans of the planet are
contaminated with macro, micro- and nanoplastics. Every year, humans and other animal
species ingest more and more plastic nanoparticles in food and drinking water, the side
effects of which are still unknown. Plastic pollution kills wildlife, damages natural
ecosystems, and contributes to climate change. Carbon dioxide emissions are increasing
every year due to the increase in the production and incineration of plastic waste. The
production of plastic annually consumes 4 percent of the total demand for oil and gas. The
United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) estimates that the cost of plastic to natural
capital is US $ 8 trillion annually, and that plastic pollution has a direct negative impact on
fishing, maritime trade and tourism. . It is also estimated that there is four times more
plastic pollution on land than in the oceans, indicating that the total economic impact of
plastic pollution is actually much greater. Plastic also has severe human impacts. Human
settlements are affected by airborne pollutants from the burning of plastics, and from the
incineration and unregulated recycling of waste, which commonly occurs in regions with
undeveloped waste management capacity. and that plastic pollution has a direct negative
impact on fishing, maritime trade and tourism. It is also estimated that there is four times
more plastic pollution on land than in the oceans, indicating that the total economic impact
of plastic pollution is actually much greater. Plastic also has severe human impacts. Human
settlements are affected by airborne pollutants from the burning of plastics, and from the
incineration and unregulated recycling of waste, which commonly occurs in regions with
undeveloped waste management capacity. and that plastic pollution has a direct negative
impact on fishing, maritime trade and tourism. It is also estimated that there is four times
more plastic pollution on land than in the oceans, indicating that the total economic impact
of plastic pollution is actually much greater. Plastic also has severe human impacts. Human
settlements are affected by airborne pollutants from the burning of plastics, and from the
incineration and unregulated recycling of waste, which commonly occurs in regions with
undeveloped waste management capacity. It is also estimated that there is four times more
plastic pollution on land than in the oceans, indicating that the total economic impact of
plastic pollution is actually much greater. Plastic also has severe human impacts. Human
settlements are affected by airborne pollutants from the burning of plastics, and from the
incineration and unregulated recycling of waste, which commonly occurs in regions with
undeveloped waste management capacity. It is also estimated that there is four times more
plastic pollution on land than in the oceans, indicating that the total economic impact of
plastic pollution is actually much greater. Plastic also has severe human impacts. Human
settlements are affected by airborne pollutants from the burning of plastics, and from the
incineration and unregulated recycling of waste, which commonly occurs in regions with
undeveloped waste management capacity.

Poorly managed waste is the direct result of underdeveloped waste management

infrastructure. There is a correlation between the performance of effective plastic waste
management and the income status of a country. This is one of the greatest challenges in
low- and middle-income countries, leading to low collection rates and high dumping rates
in open spaces or uncontrolled landfills. Collection rates are generally higher in high-
income countries, but challenges such as low recycling levels and a preference to incinerate
or landfill plastic waste remain. Limitations in the ability to manage waste create challenges
for end consumers. When plastics are not properly classified or discarded, waste ends up
being dumped in landfills or directly into nature. The world's inability to handle plastic
waste results in a third of plastic - 100 million tons of plastic waste - becoming land or
marine pollution.

However, carbon dioxide emissions from plastic waste management could triple by 2030 as
long as other waste treatment infrastructure remains more economically attractive than
recycling. Without monitoring, a waste-to-energy approach, based on incineration to
manage the problem of plastic pollution, would carry the risk of creating other pollution
problems for nature and society, in addition to emissions of dioxide. carbon. The likelihood
of this consequence is worrying in light of various regional environmental regulations and
the performance of incineration plants, along with the projected increase in Asia's
incineration capacity by 7.5 percent annually through 2023.
 Solution

Immediate action is required to stop the uncontrolled growth of plastic pollution and
coordinated initiatives are required to demand that each actor take responsibility for solving
the tragedy of the commons plastic. In the usual scenario, each actor still does not take
responsibility for ensuring that the plastic value chain is sustainable. Current efforts to
improve waste management capacity across the planet are insufficient to stop the dumping
of 104 million metric tons of plastics by 2030. The current trajectory of plastic pollution is
the result of consumption patterns that support industrial models of single-use plastic
products,

A systemic approach is required, using tactical and strategic interventions throughout the
life of plastic to build the path to a plastic-free nature. To halt the growth of plastics, tactics
must include developing and reinforcing existing initiatives, such as vetoing problematic
single-use plastics and improving national waste management plans. At the same time, to
address the underlying issues, a global accountability mechanism must be created that
includes a multilateral agreement with concrete plans on the ground, robust national
legislation and trade mechanisms to distribute responsibility appropriately throughout the
life cycle of the project. plastic. Measures must be put in place to ensure that the world
price of plastic reflects the cost to nature and society over its entire life cycle. Additionally,
consumers must be convinced to change their behavior and they must be provided with
various alternatives to replace those products that generate plastic pollution.

And finally, eliminating waste mishandling and reusing plastics could create a system free
from plastics pollution and create more than a million jobs in plastics recycling and
reprocessing. In contrast to the usual scenario, the plastic-free nature scenario requires
developing the capacity to recycle 60 percent of plastic waste, or approximately 113 million
metric tons. Cleaner sorting of waste into specific types of plastics, coupled with product
design to facilitate reuse, could create a significant amount of high-quality plastic waste to
support the development of greater recyclability. It would create more than a million new
jobs for recycling and reprocessing plastics. This potential to generate employment depends
on the scale of growth of recycling in a closed-loop plastics system and the operational
efficiencies within each plant. Improving waste collection rates by 100 percent would allow
all plastic waste to enter a formal waste management system, stopping the mishandling of
approximately 50 million metric tons. The final step in eliminating plastic pollution
requires stopping plastic dumping and uncontrolled landfills to stop the mishandling of
some 5 million metric tons of plastic. Improving waste collection rates by 100 percent
would allow all plastic waste to enter a formal waste management system, stopping the
mishandling of approximately 50 million metric tons. The final step in eliminating plastic
pollution requires stopping plastic dumping and uncontrolled landfills to stop the
mishandling of some 5 million metric tons of plastic. Improving waste collection rates by
100 percent would allow all plastic waste to enter a formal waste management system,
stopping the mishandling of approximately 50 million metric tons. The final step in
eliminating plastic pollution requires stopping plastic dumping and uncontrolled landfills to
stop the mishandling of some 5 million metric tons of plastic.

This systemic solution can achieve this goal, but drastic measures are required by a wide
range of actors to implement strategic and tactical interventions. In addition to current
initiatives, the path to achieving this common goal requires crucial actions.

Conclusion

For many, plastic is essentially a solution due to its mechanical properties, chemical or
thermal resistance, or compatibility with living tissues. Thus, plastic containers are much
cheaper and easier to produce than, say, glass or ceramic containers, and are therefore used
for various products. In medicine, the plastic can be in a syringe, a connector, a surgical
tool, or even an implant to replace an affected artery or as part of a cochlear implant to
restore hearing to a deaf person. In many ways, plastics are magical substances, as they
were viewed with awe in the decades after World War II.

For others, however, plastic is primarily a problem. It is a pollutant that, precisely because
of its abundance and low cost, is easily released into the environment causing all kinds of
setbacks, from the death of animals by suffocation, by eating them or by becoming
entangled with them, to the degradation of ecosystems and, in an extreme case very
widespread recently, forming concentrations in the gyres or vortices that are formed in the
center of the oceans due to circular currents, especially the so-called great plastic spot in the
Pacific Ocean. It is not, as some believe, a compact mass of plastic, but a high
concentration of fragments that, although they cannot be seen from the air or from space,
have a damaging effect on the marine ecosystem.

For some, this is a necessary evil in exchange for the benefits plastics offer. For others, the
ban on plastics in defense of the environment is urgent. The reasonable position, however,
will be the one that allows you to fully enjoy the benefits of these materials while
minimizing their deleterious effects. It's possible? Some experts say yes.

This implies going beyond prohibitions, taxes and, in general, the reactions that address
plastics as an evil that must be extinguished and not as a problem that must be solved.

In recent years, more and more plastics capable of being biodegraded have been developed.
That means changing the problem of the enormous resistance of many plastics to the most
common decomposition processes. Biodegradable plastics have additives that make them
break down more quickly in the presence of light, oxygen, moisture, and heat. This is the
case of many garbage bags designed precisely to release their contents in landfills. The
European Union has a project to make all plastic packaging biodegradable by 2030.

It is evident that plastics are present in our lives all the time because they provide us with
many advantages for their different applications, however, their use can be reduced in many
ways. In addition to that, when we have to use it, we can do it in a more responsible and
conscious way of what it is involving the environment, animals and, ultimately, all living
beings
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