Why is plastic pollution a big deal?

We all think, “What is the big deal? It's one packet of chips, one toothbrush.” Millions of people around the world are thinking the same.

Plastic has many uses and is cheap to produce this led to mass manufacturing and consumption.

Mass manufacturing and slow degradation make millions of tons of plastic accumulate in the environment.

The plastic accumulated in the environment affects animals especially marine life. Humans can, directly and indirectly, consume plastic. One of the below four can happen to plastic that we throw in the garbage:

1. End in a landfill:

The plastic that you throw in the garbage gets collected by the garbage truck. It then makes its way to the nearest garbage dumpsite or a landfill.

The household waste disposal method in developing countries like India is through landfilling. Municipal Solid Waste Landfill is a type of landfill. It is designed to receive household wastes and other non-hazardous wastes.

How are they harmful?

When rainwater filters through the waste, it leeches or extracts out chemicals from it. It then contaminates the soil and can flow into the groundwater and waterways. Leeching happens when there is no membrane between the landfill and the underlying layer.

The gases released in landfills can cause an odor. Methane can cause a fire if it builds up in concentration. The harmful effects depend on how well managed the landfill is.

2. End in an ocean:

The plastic thrown on the streets goes into the local waterways because of the rain. Then, it gets into larger tributaries and rivers. Finally, they enter the oceans from the rivers. Eight million tons of plastic waste enter the oceans every year.

How is it harmful?

In the oceans, millions of aquatic animals will consume the plastic and die. The ones who consume microplastics may survive, end up as food for humans. Microplastics then go higher up in the food chain. There have been traces of microplastics everywhere. In the placentas of unborn babies. The placenta is the organ supplying nutrients from mother to baby.

Plastic can travel many miles through the ocean tides and settle down in a garbage patch. Denser plastic waste sink and settle down in the sea bed for hundreds of years.

3. Get recycled Only 9% of all the plastic produced is recycled. Recycling is difficult considering the economic and technical factors. Different types of plastics have to be separated, before recycling. Mixed plastics result in low-quality products. Recycling may lead to polymer degradation. It means lower strength and other physical properties.

There are two types of recycling:

Open-loop recycling:

In this type, the quality of the plastic gets degraded while recycling each time. Then gets used to produce a lower quality product each time. The quality of plastic gets degraded each time, till the time it gets discarded.

Open-loop is the most common type of recycling. Even though it is not ideal, it reduces the production of new plastic.

Closed-loop recycling:

In this type, recycled plastic keeps getting recycled without lowering the quality. It has been successful only with PET (Example product: soft drink bottles). If PET gets degraded, it is possible to repair and restore its original quality.

4. Incinerated

12% of all the plastic produced is incinerated. It means burning plastic waste and using heat and steam to generate electricity. It may seem like an easy option, but it is expensive to build an incineration plant.

Toxic pollutants such as dioxins, heavy metals, acid gases release greenhouse gases. Gasification and pyrolysis are two better ways to burn plastic.

Gasification: In gasification, at a high temperature without any oxygen, plastic gets melted. It will prevent the formation of toxic gases. Natural gas gets generated from this process.

Pyrolysis: In pyrolysis, shredded plastic gets melted. At lower temperatures and in presence of lesser oxygen. The resulting compound gets used to make diesel. But, it is cheaper to make natural gas and diesel from fossil fuels.

What can we do?

Reducing, reusing, and recycling when done in that order are better options, than plastic ending up in landfills, oceans, incineration plants. To create an impact, the government and large organizations have to take action to curb plastic pollution.

• The ban on single-use plastic

• Encourage eco-friendly initiatives

• Imposing a tax on manufacturing and usage of single-use plastics

• Create awareness for the masses

What baby steps can you and me take to reduce plastic pollution? Watch out for the next blog on exactly the same topic.