While they rarely admit as much, the general public tends to take our planet for granted. That the earth will always be here, at least in our lifetime, is the general consensus. The plastic bottles that line Randall Parkway as I walk to campus everyday are evidence of this way of thinking. The ditches are full of garbage, beer bottles, and plastic bags.
Plastic. Plastic every where. This is the real issue. It’s cheap, and so easy to make. You can go to any fast food restaurant, and buy a drink. 100% of the time your cup has a plastic lid, and a plastic straw. After a one time use, it gets thrown away adding to the plastic garbage. It’s non-biodegradable, so earth is being flooded with plastic day after day and it’s not slowing down. This build up is dangerous to our planet as well as our health.
Chemicals from the plastic end up in our bodies. One of the larger effects it has on us and many different species of animals, is a rise in hormone levels. The Dangers of Plastic goes into great depth all the issues associated with plastic, our earth, and us.
So if the earth is flooding with plastic, where does it all end up? Look around you, and identify a few things that are made of plastic. Chances are that item will end up in the garbage in a few years time. Plastic is so inexpensive that so many things in our every day lives are made out of plastic and are disposable. But are they really disposable?
Yes, it is important to recycle plastic and there are huge efforts around the country and the world to recycle. However, only a small portion of plastic is actually recycled. Most of it ends up in the ocean, effecting sea life and eventually us.
It’s important for us to cut down on our own individual use of plastic if we are to see a big change in the future. It starts with us. Hopefully, one day the world will realize that even though plastic is inexpensive, it’s still a huge cost to our planet.