The Dangers of Plastic
Plastic is all over our country. We use it for water bottles, containers for personal hygiene products, and we even have plastic surgery to change our bodies. We use so much plastic, in fact, that according to the Clean Air Council, "Every year, Americans throw away enough paper and plastic cups, forks, and spoons to circle the equator 300 times." This is very hazardous to our environment, our wildlife, and our personal well-being, which will be explained throughout this essay. America is too dependent on its plastic products, but there are many alternatives to change this destructive consumption.
American society has not always used so much plastic. Not surprisingly, modern plastic didn't emerge until the period of the Industrial Revolution, and it started developing even more in the 1930's and 1940's. Plastic was originally made to be used as an alternative to rubber, glass, and metal. However, plastic has become so prevalent in our everyday lives that we are looking toward rubber, glass, and metal as alternatives to our plastics that we depend so heavily on. How did this happen?
After discovering modern plastics, people quickly learned how versatile it could be. Plastic can literally be used for just about anything- food wrappings, clothing, television, parts- and it is also easy and cheap. Plastic can be mass-produced with little effort, but it has gotten out of control. Not only do we not need plastic in our necessary items, but also it can be harmful to the environment and human health.
For example, the chemicals used in plastic water bottles can actually leach into the water (especially when the water gets too warm), which can be very unhealthy for the body. These chemicals have been linked to cancer and problems with fertility, along with other issues.
Plastic water bottles are also very destructive to the environment. According to Nan Last from livestrong.com, simply transporting bottles uses millions of barrels of oil. Our attempt to drink "clean" water as opposed to tap water is obviously doing the opposite. Just making the water bottles is causing the environment to be more unsafe every day, which can't help the cleanliness of our water supply in the slightest. Additionally, people throw away so many bottles, which do nothing but fill up landfills and pollute the ground. Plastic can take hundreds to thousands of years to decompose, so clearly the bottles quickly accumulate. Also, when the plastic melts, it releases toxic fumes that are harmful to breathe and are very harmful to the ozone layer.
However, there is a way out. People everywhere are pushing the "plastic-free" lifestyle, and I believe that this may become a powerful movement very soon. Beth Terry, an expert in this lifestyle, gives many simple tips for people to consume less plastic on a daily basis: use reusable shopping bags for when you go buy food; buy things in bulk as opposed to individually wrapped items; and get natural Christmas trees instead of plastic fake ones. Recycling is another option. However, Suzanna Didier from greenliving.nationalgeographic.com explains that “The recycling rate for [water bottles] is low; only about 13 percent end up in the recycling stream where they are turned into products like fleece clothing, carpeting, decking, playground equipment and new containers and bottles.” Recycling water bottles is obviously very beneficial, but not enough people commit to it. There are so many small changes that a person can make that can make a huge positive impact on the environment.
So there is hope. Our society is too dependent on plastics right now, but we don't have to be. It's going to be a long process to make all the changes, but it will be worth it. Plastic is destructive, but there are many alternatives that we can use to prevent further catastrophe.
American society has not always used so much plastic. Not surprisingly, modern plastic didn't emerge until the period of the Industrial Revolution, and it started developing even more in the 1930's and 1940's. Plastic was originally made to be used as an alternative to rubber, glass, and metal. However, plastic has become so prevalent in our everyday lives that we are looking toward rubber, glass, and metal as alternatives to our plastics that we depend so heavily on. How did this happen?
After discovering modern plastics, people quickly learned how versatile it could be. Plastic can literally be used for just about anything- food wrappings, clothing, television, parts- and it is also easy and cheap. Plastic can be mass-produced with little effort, but it has gotten out of control. Not only do we not need plastic in our necessary items, but also it can be harmful to the environment and human health.
For example, the chemicals used in plastic water bottles can actually leach into the water (especially when the water gets too warm), which can be very unhealthy for the body. These chemicals have been linked to cancer and problems with fertility, along with other issues.
Plastic water bottles are also very destructive to the environment. According to Nan Last from livestrong.com, simply transporting bottles uses millions of barrels of oil. Our attempt to drink "clean" water as opposed to tap water is obviously doing the opposite. Just making the water bottles is causing the environment to be more unsafe every day, which can't help the cleanliness of our water supply in the slightest. Additionally, people throw away so many bottles, which do nothing but fill up landfills and pollute the ground. Plastic can take hundreds to thousands of years to decompose, so clearly the bottles quickly accumulate. Also, when the plastic melts, it releases toxic fumes that are harmful to breathe and are very harmful to the ozone layer.
However, there is a way out. People everywhere are pushing the "plastic-free" lifestyle, and I believe that this may become a powerful movement very soon. Beth Terry, an expert in this lifestyle, gives many simple tips for people to consume less plastic on a daily basis: use reusable shopping bags for when you go buy food; buy things in bulk as opposed to individually wrapped items; and get natural Christmas trees instead of plastic fake ones. Recycling is another option. However, Suzanna Didier from greenliving.nationalgeographic.com explains that “The recycling rate for [water bottles] is low; only about 13 percent end up in the recycling stream where they are turned into products like fleece clothing, carpeting, decking, playground equipment and new containers and bottles.” Recycling water bottles is obviously very beneficial, but not enough people commit to it. There are so many small changes that a person can make that can make a huge positive impact on the environment.
So there is hope. Our society is too dependent on plastics right now, but we don't have to be. It's going to be a long process to make all the changes, but it will be worth it. Plastic is destructive, but there are many alternatives that we can use to prevent further catastrophe.