How To Reduce Plastic Pollution?

Plastic pollution is one of the most critical environmental problems we are facing today. It invades the highest mountains and deepest oceans destroying the beauty of nature and causing threats to wildlife and humans. Reduction of plastic waste is an overwhelming challenge the world has tried to solve for decades. What makes it so hard to deal with?

Plastic is widely used in almost every product: containers, packaging, accessories, vehicles, textiles, soaps, appliances, etc. There are endless of items you can think of that are made, or at least partially made, from plastic. The material is so versatile allowing us to use it for our different needs. This alone clearly explains why it’s hard to get rid of plastic.

Other materials such as metal, wood, glass, and paper are not suitable substitute to plastics. They can be too heavy, too expensive, or simply don’t have the right characteristics. Plastic is lightweight, water and chemical resistant, excellent electric insulator, durable, low cost, and can easily be molded into different shapes and sizes. These makes the manufacturers choose plastic over other materials.

Plastic is a beautiful invention that got out of hand. We enjoyed its convenience and affordability too much and we forgot to deal with its aftermath until it started to affect us. We produce more and more plastics every year while turning a blind eye on where the waste will go after we use them. The next thing we know, they pile up in landfill and float in oceans, destroying the beautiful view of nature, killing wildlife, and causing diseases to humans.

We used plastic more than we should. Because it is lightweight, low cost, and easy to produce we comfort ourselves with the convenience of using it even for single-use items. Plastic bags, drinking bottles, coffee cups, straws, candy wrappers, and cleaning liquid containers to name a few. It is indeed convenient to use plastic in these items unfortunately the material takes decades or even centuries to decomposed.

Plastic waste management is the most challenging part of this global issue. We can’t let these solid wastes accumulate in landfill and oceans. Burning them is also not a good option as they release toxic chemicals in the air causing air pollution and global warming. Reusing and recycling are two of the best solutions to the problem.

Many countries implement proper waste segregation that encourages their people to separate recyclable materials from non-recyclable or biodegradable waste. Unfortunately, this does not guarantee that your plastic trash will not end up in the environment. The truth is many countries are overwhelmed by these wastes that they are forced to send them to other countries, mostly underdeveloped countries, for other people to deal with. However, these underdeveloped countries are also overwhelmed by their own plastic trash that they stopped accepting garbage from other countries leaving the world’s plastic wastes nowhere to go.

The amount of plastic waste inputs in the environment is more than what we can deal with. Therefore, the best solution to the increasing plastic pollution is to reduce its production and usage. Governments, manufacturers, retailers, and consumers must come together to tackle this issue. Governments should limit the use of single-use plastic such as plastic bags and straws, manufacturers and retailers should be encourage to find alternatives to reduce the use of plastic in their products, and consumers should be wise enough to choose products that has less negative impact in the environment.

Isabella Whitmore is a writer who enjoys spending her time with nature. You can find some of her work at https://electrickettlesplus.com, an appliance website that offers safe and BPA-free electric kettles.