Horrible scenes occurring all over the world, where landmasses are filled with garbage - most of it is plastic. Humanity has come far with technology but we have also come a far way in destroying our own planet. Our own home. Mostly by plastic pollution. In this Article I am going to cover everything you need to know about plastic, it's devastating effects on the environment and how you can help to clean up and safe the earth.
First Things First: What is Plastic?
Plastics in general are monomers of carbon compromised together to form long durable polymers. Each polymer consisting of thousands monomers. Often oxygen, nitrogen or sulfur is added. Subcategories are duroplasts (durabe and remain shape with heat), thermoplasts (change shape with heat) and elastomeres (elastic and don't need heat to transform). The fact that plastics are made of polymer chains accounts the high durability, through the stacking of polymer chains these molecules become extremely dipolar. Additionally plastics are practically insoluble in water.
C10H8O4 also known as PET (Polyethylene terephthalate)
As I mentioned above Plastics are made of carbon. This carbon is gained through excessive pumping of oil out of the inner of the earth where it has been naturally stored for millions of years. This is what makes things really problematic, but more to this later on. The oil is burnt until there are only pure Alkanes. The Alkanes are the monomers which are used to form bonds with starter molecules. An example for a starter molecule would be MBT or also known as Mercaptobenzothiazole. This starter molecules is known to be a carcinogen (Any substance or radiation which is involved in causing cancer/cell mutations).
How does it harm us?
There are various ways plastic can harm us. But it isn't just us it's the whole world which is suffering by the effects of plastics in the environment. I will list the most dangerous threats beneath:
- Plastic in the ocean: The threatening thing with plastics in the oceans is that there are massive "islands" of plastic being formed as small plastic pieces come together and as time passes millions pieces have come together to form an island. These plastic islands can oppose a massive threat for other life species like birds which want to rest on the island and end up eating stuff from there. Thanks to the durability of plastic the pieces will survive for thousands of years if not millions and won't deteriorate.
Plastic which gets washed up on the beach by the waves
- Wildlife eating plastic: As every child knows there are animals which get eaten up by other animals and this cycle continues on. Eventually ending up as a meal on a humans table. This is not just devastating for us humans but for all species involved. Once in an organism they often stay as invisible passengers which can cause defects in genes. As each species reproduces they hand down their genetic defects to the next generation. In an evolutionary perspective this could have massive impacts.
An example for a food chain
- The toxic Molecules: As plastic gets used and torn the polymers and toxic starter molecules can detach from the actual chain and end up in the environment. There is also a risk of the release of the monomeric compounds such as Vinyl chloride from PVC plastic, which is often used for water pipes and similar applications . This has become a massive threat known as microbeads. These microbeads are smaller than 5mm and even pass through the sewage treatment and make their way unfiltered in plants, human bodies or animals. There are even cosmetic and health products which have these microbeads. It's the intention of the producers! They claim that the product benefits and enhances the positive effects (for example the function of the toothpaste).
Microbeads oppose a big threat to the environment
- Pumping up oil: Like I mentioned above plastics are made of carbon which is won through oil processing. Oil is a scarce resource that is won through pumping, fracking or washing sand. The problem here is that the oil has been stored for millions of years beneath the earths surface. There were times when earth was filled with CO2, thus not supporting life. We are approaching these uninhabitable conditions again by taking up these carbon reserves and burn them for our greed of money and materials.
Donkey pump in California, USA
What can I do against all this pollution on the earth?
Now you have read about some of the catastrophic causes on our environment. So how can we start changing something for the better and eventually reversing this pollution. Here are some action steps for the world changers:
Stop or minimize your plastic consumption: I know it is extremely hard to eliminate all plastic usage, though it is possible. Alternatives involve using more glass or even organic materials which can easily be naturally digested by our environment. Become more conscious about what you buy, what you throw away (how you recycle) and which products you buy regardless of the extra buck.
Donate some money/time organisations which you believe in: One example is The Ocean Cleanup They are an innovative foundation which is actively cleaning up the oceans around the world. You could even start to help them with their mission by joining their team! Check out their promotional video:
- Spread the knowledge!: Go and tell everybody about the devastating effects of plastic on the environment! Educate yourself and then go out and educate others. Every inhabitant of the earth needs to know this! So for those who know about the effects already need to spread what they know! Write on any Social Network, Newspaper or propagate with every available medium! If you have kids teach them early on about this topic and make them feel compassion with mother nature.
We need to change how we act with our earth. NOW. We need to think sustainable and pass on a healthy and life supporting planet to our successors.
Thanks for reading and I kindly invite you to participate in the discussion below and to
and resteem to share the knowledge with the world!
All pictures are available under creative commons licenses from Pixabay and Wikimedia and are labeled for reuse.
Kind regards,
Thank you for constructing this article, our excess use of plastic is a growing problem and one that we should make efforts to address going forward. The only way to make progress on that front is for people to be presented with just what is happening (especially with plastic accumulation in our oceans).
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thank your for your support! more posts are coming from the field of biology!
stay tuned :)
Very important topic, thanks for bringing it to our attention again!
You may be interested to read my older article (please don't upvote) about the plastic problem as well.
thanks my friend :)
wow great article you wrote! really astonishing facts.. gives me something to think about :/
We should promote environment-friendly alternative for plastic.
very true! let's go to the lab and invent new stuff!
Really important subject once gain, our growing use of plastic is destroying the world. Yet we are all to neglectful to know how!
We generally as people have a lifestyle where we don't share anything in common. We don't share the same eating habits, we don't share the same hobbies, we might not even share the same beliefs! But one thing each and every single one of us shares is this world & it needs taking care of.
Great post!
yes that's so true! great response :)
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thanks guys!
I guess you already did, but have you heared about the plastic eating worms?
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/apr/24/plastic-munching-worms-could-help-wage-war-on-waste-galleria-mellonella
no i didn't very interesting! i have heard of the fungus eating plastic but this is new to me, thanks for the share :)
You're very welcome!
Thanks for creating awareness about the problems we have with plastic.
Those plastic islands are horrible and it's sad to see how the use of plastic affects environmet and wildlife.
yes! and it's just not sustainable we need to come up with new innovative ideas!
Here in Japan we have to separate our garbage into 3 different garbage bags, one of which is dedicated to plastic. I wonder why not all countries do that? Sounds like an obvious thing to do.
Oh, right, obvious things are usually the things we never do. =)
haha yea you got a point! but here in switzerland we need to seperate plastic, aluminium, organic waste, old paper and carton! i think we got a pretty good recycling system overhere..
A very well written post. More importantly, it addresses a crucial environmental issue. One of the most affected is the marine eco system, with hundreds of species on the verge of extinction. Things are changing, but the change is slow and there is need for more awareness. Enjoyed reading your post.
thanks for reading and commenting! have a nice day! :)
great post
thanks @franklynx :)
Great article about a really important subject. I think improvements are being made, but not at a fast enough pace. Take a look at this article on our website about a project seeking to clean up our oceans:
https://www.adaptnetwork.com/environment/20-year-old-inventor-set-to-launch-the-worlds-first-ocean-cleaning-system/
this is exactly what i was promoting in my article, the ocean clean up by the youngster who started his company already with 17!
Nice read!
thanks!
This post received a 4.4% upvote from @randowhale thanks to @casparleuzinger! For more information, click here!
I'm lucky to see one more suger-free and eyes opening article.
cheers!
Need of the hour post, i agree with you. There are also many alternative solutions for plastics like there has been development of organic plastic which degrades in a week.
yes we need to progress even more..!
plastic takes a hundred or more years to decompose while people who threw it already gone in this world.
yes that's not fair for the earth.. :/
that's why earth suffer too much...
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thanks! :D i will have a look!!
Danke für den wachrüttelnden und informativen Beitrag. Jeder einzelne ist für sein Verhalten verantwortlich und sollte dies gut reflektieren. Ändern fängt immer bei sich selber an! Alles Liebe Ellen