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Plastics and the world
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IT’S a problem we’ve had for a long time. It’s very harmful to the environment and can throw entire ecosystems off balance. However, it is extremely useful as well. Nowadays, you can pretty much see it everywhere you look at. Introducing, plastic!
So, how do we reduce plastic waste? Is it possible to end the use of harmful plastics? First, almost everyone has heard of this way to reduce plastic waste: recycling! To recycle means to reuse something. You either keep it for a fair amount of time, give it to someone else when you’re done using it, or throw it into a bin with a triangle on it so its materials can be used to make a different thing. These actions may not be able to stop plastic waste entirely, but it can stall the plastic from being dumped into the landfill for a while. Picture this: You gave your Barbie doll to another child, and they carelessly scribbled on it. Of course no one else will want it when the child grows out of Barbies, so it has to be thrown away. This is an example of plastic being stalled from getting thrown into a landfill, but not completely stopped.
To answer my second question, most likely not, unless scientists discover a material that can replace plastics, and isn’t harmful for the Earth. However, we don’t necessarily have to. Scientists have discovered some ways to counter global warming and other challenges the Earth is facing, so as long as we balance out plastics with the things that help the Earth thrive, we don’t have to get rid of plastics.
Now, let’s address a few particular problems. First of all, the use of plastic utensils. Have you ever used a plastic fork or spoon? I bet you have. I would suggest using metal versions of the item that you can wash. You would be able to use the same utensils daily since metal is fairly easy to clean. Next, we have plastic bags and food containers. Plastic bags could be replaced by cloth bags, or we could just reuse them again and again. The food containers could be replaced by thick card or foil.
I think getting rid of the use of plastics would be next to impossible, but we don’t need to if we acknowledge the problems and act accordingly.
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