How does making plastic affect the environment

Air pollution is another issue for humans and animals. When plastic is burned in the open air, it releases large amounts of toxins, which pollutes the air. If the toxins are inhaled for a long period of time, it can lead to respiratory problems. In addition to harming plants, animals, and people, it costs millions of dollars every year for cleanup of areas exposed to plastic toxins. Many regions have seen a decrease in tourism because of the amount of pollution in their environment, which can have a serious impact on local economies.

Consumers can help fix the problem by making an effort to reduce plastic waste. A great way to reduce waste is to use reusable bags when you grocery shop. People often leave stores with dozens of plastic bags that just get thrown away. Drinking from a reusable water bottle instead of a disposable one can also be very helpful. If everyone drank the recommended amount of water per day from disposable bottles, it would create an unbelievable amount of plastic waste.

You can also avoid to-go containers like cups from coffee shops and styrofoam containers for leftovers from restaurants. Instead, purchase reusable containers to cut down on waste. Avoid using plastic straws, even in restaurants. If you like using straws, you can purchase a reusable glass or stainless steel straw. Try to buy household products like laundry detergent in cardboard boxes instead of plastic bottles. If you use plastic lighters frequently, consider investing in a metal refillable lighter instead.

Even small changes in your day-to-day life can add up and greatly reduce the amount of plastic waste in the environment. After reducing your plastic use as much as possible, recycle everything you can. Jars, milk jugs, batteries, and even items like crayons and ink cartridges can be recycled.

To help mitigate the potentially harmful chemicals in plastics, the authors recommend that more studies be conducted on the biological mechanisms that may be affected by plastic additives and in particular, low-dose chronic exposures. In the meantime, the report recommends reducing the use of these chemicals and developing safer alternatives, a strategy known as green chemistry.

The report also suggests that plastic waste can be reduced by using labels that allow consumers to choose packaging based on a lifecycle analysis that includes all components of the manufacturing process. For example, if the product were made of mostly recycled materials, used minimal packaging and could be easily recycled, it would get a green dot.

If the product were made of excessive packaging that used a lot of virgin materials, it would get a red dot. Neal of PlasticsEurope said consumers, not the industry, are responsible for making sure plastics don't wind up littering the environment. The authors said that if plastics are made and used responsibly, they can help solve some environmental problems. For example, one study found that packaging beverages in PET a type of plastic versus glass or metal reduces energy use by 52 percent and greenhouse gas emissions by 55 percent.

And, solar water heaters containing plastics can provide up to two-thirds of a household's annual hot water demand, reducing energy consumption.

Plastics, if used wisely, "have the potential to reduce mankind's footprint on the Earth," Thompson said. They emerged into this world from the Grand Canyon. Now we have numbers to back that up. Environmental Health News. Powered by RebelMouse. Apr 09, Environmental toll of plastics. Take action: download our free guide to tackling plastic pollution. By downloading this guide you will also be subscribed to our weekly Plastic Pollution newsletter. You may opt out at any time.

Full Name. Plastic manufactured in the first 10 years of this century eclipses the total produced in the entire last century pxfuel. For example: Chemicals added to plastics are absorbed by human bodies. Some of these compounds have been found to alter hormones or have other potential human health effects. Plastic debris, laced with chemicals and often ingested by marine animals, can injure or poison wildlife.

Floating plastic waste, which can survive for thousands of years in water, serves as mini transportation devices for invasive species, disrupting habitats. Plastic buried deep in landfills can leach harmful chemicals that spread into groundwater.

Around 4 percent of world oil production is used as a feedstock to make plastics, and a similar amount is consumed as energy in the process. High BPA and phthalate exposure by premature infants in neonatal intensive care units is 'of great concern' Flickr. The plastics industry maintains that its products are safe after decades of testing.

Current testing efforts should be thrown out. The new goal? Tests that mimic real human exposure. Amy Soto "It's a very complicated picture and the laboratory model of just taking one isolated chemical and giving it to a genetically pure strain of rats in clean cages, clean air and clean water and seeing what it does just doesn't come close to mimicking the human situation," Swan said.

Plastics as a major user of fossil fuels pxfuel. Many of these products, such as plastic bags and food wrappers, have a lifespan of mere minutes to hours, yet they may persist in the environment for hundreds of years. A whale shark swims beside a plastic bag in the Gulf of Aden near Yemen. Although whale sharks are the biggest fish in the sea, they're still threatened by ingesting small bits of plastic. Trash is also carried to sea by major rivers , which act as conveyor belts, picking up more and more trash as they move downstream.

Once at sea, much of the plastic trash remains in coastal waters. But once caught up in ocean currents, it can be transported around the world. They were carried to the South Pacific by the South Pacific gyre, a circular ocean current.

Once at sea, sunlight, wind, and wave action break down plastic waste into small particles, often less than one-fifth of an inch across. These so-called microplastics are spread throughout the water column and have been found in every corner of the globe, from Mount Everest, the highest peak, to the Mariana Trench , the deepest trough.

Microplastics are breaking down further into smaller and smaller pieces. Plastic microfibers, meanwhile, have been found in municipal drinking water systems and drifting through the air. Millions of animals are killed by plastics every year, from birds to fish to other marine organisms. Nearly species, including endangered ones, are known to have been affected by plastics.

Nearly every species of seabird eats plastics. Most of the deaths to animals are caused by entanglement or starvation. Seals, whales , turtles, and other animals are strangled by abandoned fishing gear or discarded six-pack rings. Microplastics have been found in more than aquatic species, including fish, shrimp, and mussels destined for our dinner plates.

In many cases, these tiny bits pass through the digestive system and are expelled without consequence. But plastics have also been found to have blocked digestive tracts or pierced organs, causing death. Stomachs so packed with plastics reduce the urge to eat, causing starvation.

Plastics have been consumed by land-based animals, including elephants, hyenas, zebras, tigers, camels, cattle, and other large mammals, in some cases causing death. Tests have also confirmed liver and cell damage and disruptions to reproductive systems, prompting some species, such as oysters, to produce fewer eggs. New research shows that larval fish are eating nanofibers in the first days of life, raising new questions about the effects of plastics on fish populations. Once in the ocean, it is difficult—if not impossible—to retrieve plastic waste.