What Will Happen if Plastic Pollution Doesn’t Stop?

Plastic is a daily necessity in modern daily life. It is used everywhere in manufacturing, construction, health care, shopping, food preparation, and packaging, etc. Although it has several advantages most of them are temporary. The single-use plastic ends up in waste eventually. This is not just piling up the landfills but also polluting our oceans. The biggest problem today mankind is struggling from is plastic pollution.

The production of plastic has increased up to 3 times in the last two decades. More than 8 billion tons of plastic is being generated every year half of which is single-use plastic. This has toppled not just human life but also the environment, health, and even marine life. Plastic is a big threat to the earth's ecosystem.

Before we get into what will happen if we don’t stop polluting plastic. Let’s first understand, what is single-use plastic?

Single-use plastic is a plastic product that is intended to be used just once before it can be disposed of or recycled. The simplest example of which is a plastic bag (polyethylene bag). Single-use plastic products that we use daily, include:

• Plastic Bottles
• Caps and Lids
• Straws
• Food packaging material
• Grocery bags and or Shopping Bags

It is estimated that about 2 million plastic bags are being used every minute around the world. Out of 8 billion tons of plastic production, only 9% of the plastic goes for recycling. While the rest of it goes to landfills or oceans where it takes several thousand years to decompose completely.

What Will Happen if Don’t Stop Polluting Plastic?

In the 1960s the total production of plastic was about 16 million tons worldwide. This increased up to 343 million in 2014 and is expected to rise to 25 trillion by 2050. There are going to be more than 25 trillion tons of plastic to be sent to landfills.

Most of the waste that we produce today lands up in our oceans. The 60 to 90 of things present in the ocean today is plastic debris. This plastic is more than the number of fishes staying in the ocean. Our oceans are becoming a garbage hub slowly.

Furthermore, the plastic present in the ocean is being consumed or ingested by marine life. Every year sea creatures die because of plastic ingestion or entanglement. This in turn is becoming back to our bodies with the fish we consume.

Plastics are also affecting the coral reefs. Plastic products prevent the corals to receive sufficient oxygen and light. Such a problem lead to the extinction of coral reefs.

Although humans seek temporary benefits of plastic. But they are also the once in danger. Every year an average human consumes 70,000 microplastics through bottled water and canned food.

The Bottom Line

If we do not stop plastic pollution and immediately shift towards an alternative. Chances are that the ecosystem will suffer at large. This includes marine and aquatic life, impact on humans, as well as animals.

We must reduce our plastic usage. We need to look for some alternatives. For items that cannot be replaced with plastic, should be disposed of properly. To do that, search for a skip hire in Cheshire to let the waste reach a recycling center.

George Warren is a Labour Manager at Pink Skip. He is also an architect, designer, engineer and artist.