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A letter to humans: give me a 2nd life
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My name is plastic, and I was one of the greatest inventions from the 20th century. Because I am lightweight, flexible and cheap to make, I play a very important role in every part of your life: from the clothes you wear to the sports you play, from food packaging to electronics, and from the vehicles you drive to the health care you receive. I have made your life clean, convenient and comfortable.
I thought we are good friends, but lately I feel mistreated. Some of you have given me names: waste, pollution and hazard. It all begins when my siblings, such as plastic bags and bottles, are thrown away to the natural environment or landfill. You have created me and should know that we do not break down easily. When we do, we break into particles that can be toxic. As a result, I end up killing wild animals and marine life, polluting the soil and contaminating the food chain when left abandoned.
Who is at fault? It is you, humans. First, you produce too many of my single-use siblings. Because we are cheap and convenient, you don’t bother to recycle us. Second, after we are dumped, you do very little cleanup. You can see us dumped almost everywhere — parks, rivers, lakes and oceans. Third, I am not waste. My production requires materials and energy, so I still carry value after my first use. If I had a second life, I could be turned into many useful things.
Since my second life depends on recycling, the government, the industry, the average citizens all have a role to play.
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