Activity 3.3.3.1 - Current Events In Plastic Pollution

Six-Point Critical Analysis of Current Event

1. Exploratory                                     

There is a significant rise of plastic use in the past years and every year we exceed the consumption of plastic. Plastic very durable, cheap, resistant and easy to get. So many items are now made into plastic and with more plastics in our world, that means it is more often to see them polluted. The plastic can be polluted in different sizes from large containers to microscopic plastics that are impossible to filter out. Microplastics are a huge part of the pollution problem because of how small they are. It can be from the breakdown of the heat from the sun or synthetic fibers from clothes. The big issue is that plastic is NOT biodegradable so these plastics will stay for years. So much plastic litter has accumulated in our oceans that it has now created these “garbage patches” at the center of major oceans vortices. “According to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, plastic debris kills an estimated 100,000 marine mammals annually, as well as millions of birds and fishes” (Le Guern, 2019 ). Plastic holds its toxicity to our ecosystem.

2. Diagnostic                                       

There are many negative effects that plastic can do to the ecosystem. It releases toxins when broken down into our waters which then can be brought onto the organisms that live in these waters. “The microplastics are not absorbed into the natural system, they just float around within it, and ultimately are ingested by marine animals and zooplankton” (Le Guern, 2019). Because of the food chain, a lot of these plastics are brought to us by the consumption of these marine mammals. It is a repeating cycle that seems endless because of the amount of plastic already in our waters and also how much is ending up into it. There is a study that presents an alarming fact by Dr. Saido. Which tell us that “these tons of plastic waste reputed to be virtually indestructible, do decompose with surprising speed, at a much lower temperature than previously thought possible, and release toxic substances into the seawater, namely bisphenol A (BPA) and PS oligomer” (Le Guern, 2019). We are essentially littering ourselves and our earth with so much toxic plastic waste.

3. Cause and Effect                          

The cause of the massive plastic pollution on our earth is humans. Plastic has only been around for more than 60 years and to think it has already become such an essential to our lives that mostly everything in our homes is made of plastic. Now that we know the damage it has done we have created the recycling program to attempt to decrease the pollution of plastics. Since there is still plastic that ends up in our landfills and because of the breakdown of plastics into microscopic pellets it can be washed down by rain into our waters no matter what. We have caused so much destruction from these plastics to our ecosystem. Technically, slowly damaging organisms and ourselves.

4. Priority                                             

The important issue to realize from this is the damage has been done. Plastic is not biodegradable so it will continue to float whenever it is and continue to breakdown into smaller pieces that are impossible to get see. We need to do the research and see for our own eyes how this is affecting our planet. There soon will be more trash than aquatic species in the water. Since mostly everything is made of plastic we do not realize the different types of plastic there are. A lot of microplastics come from cosmetics or personal care products. The name of these plastics often will be listed as polyethylene, polypropylene, or nylon. So it is our job to look out for these to stop the plastic pollution build-up. The ultimate best thing we can do is reduce our assumption of plastic. By using glass jars for food storage or tote bags instead of plastic and most importantly reusable water bottles.  

5. Application                                     

The reason why this is important is because so many people rely on waters such as rivers and lakes for food resource and if most of these aquatic organisms have been affected by microplastics either by consuming them or consuming other organisms that have ingested the plastic essentially it will end up in the body of a human. Many of these water resources can end up having toxins in them from the plastic that is left behind because it can develop diseases by the pathogens who find the plastic tasteful. Also, these microplastics are not removed from our wastewater treatment plants. It’s extremely hard to detect these plastics because of how small they are so they will pass through the 3 extensive treatments that remove 99% impurities except the microplastics. You can guess that because it isn’t removed from the wastewater it is recycled back into our water systems which we use to shower and drink water. This affects each and every one of us no matter we live.

6. Critical                                               

Researching more on this topic has expanded my mind on the effects of how bad plastic pollution is to our earth. I know now about microplastics and how there is no way to filter them out they will continue to live upon us years to come. I’ve learned my purchases make an impact and if I do not check the ingredient list of them I can ultimately release more plastics into our waters which I do not want. Although there will be plastic no matter what, what we do next can help reduce the amount of plastic being spilled out onto our waters and land.

References:

Le Guern, Claire. “When the Mermaids Cry: The Great Plastic Tide.” Plastic-Pollution.org, Santa Aguila Foundation, November 2019, https://plastic-pollution.org/