Plastic pollution plagues the world as one of the most urgent problems that humanity has to deal with. 18 billion pounds of plastic flows into the ocean every single year, causing many species of marine life to be wrapped in its consequences (Center for Biological Diversity). For example, over 700 species of fish, turtles, and other marine animals have taken in microplastics. These animals mistake plastics and other trash for food resulting in the inability to breathe and eventual death. This makes plastic pollution and pollution in general one of the biggest problems in the world. To solve this, people around the world have attempted to try different methods to alleviate this burden on mother nature. In the following paragraphs, these methods are explained.
Many people believe that we have to look at the root of this problem in order to solve it. For example, reducing the number of single-use items we use in a day. These items include Styrofoam cups, plastic utensils, and plastic bottles. If each person from Shanghai uses less plastic in their daily lives, that would be over 26 million pieces of plastic saved by everyone.1 Though this may sound easy, it is quite hard because not everyone understands the importance of recycling and are willing to recycle.
Others think that big corporations are to blame, as most products they produce, advertise, and sell contain plastic or other materials harmful to the environment. In 2021, 20 petrochemical companies were responsible for over half of the single-use plastic produced that year. Companies like Coca-Cola produce over 200,000 plastic bottles per minute, which is over 1/5 of the world’s plastic bottle production (Meredith 2021). By introducing more new plastic items to the system, the waste management and recycling system can get overburdened, leading to complications.
In reality, it is extremely hard for people to cut down on their plastic consumption or for big corporations to produce less plastic. We are already accustomed to the way we live our lives with plastic, and it will take a substantial amount of time for humans to change. Lots of sea and land pollution comes from landfills, which are a result of a poorly run recycling system where there is too much trash that is being treated improperly. Recycling systems are crucial in a society’s operation and will help lessen the burden trash has on earth.
