Question

How is the use of plastic bags harmful for environmental degradation? Evaluate it by citing suitable reasons.

Answer 1

Plastic is a non-biodegradable substance and its use and production should be minimum. Plastic debris is found absolutely everywhere, from the Arctic to Antarctica. It clogs street drains in our cities; it litters campgrounds and national parks and is even piling up on Mount Everest. But thanks to runoff, and to our fondness for directly dumping our trash into the nearest river or lake, plastic is growing increasingly common in the world’s oceans. When plastics are broken down, this simply means one large piece of plastic is reduced into a bunch of smaller pieces plastic. These smaller pieces of plastic can be consumed by smaller animals, but are still indigestible. It affects all organisms in the food chain from tiny species like plankton through to whales. Toxins work their way up the food chain when plastic is ingested and can even be present in the fish people eat. From cell phones to bicycle helmets to IV bags, plastic has moulded society in ways that make life easier and safer. But the synthetic material also has left harmful imprints on the environment.

• 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.