Let's reduce the use of Plastic in our Lives
Why Stop Using Plastic?
DO YOU KNOW? Disposable plastic up 50% of the plastic waste in our oceans
The above "not so fun fact" tells how destructive plastic truly is to our planet.
Plastic is a biodegradable substance meaning that it is not capable of being decomposed by bacteria or other micro-organisms and therefore increasing pollution.
Let me explain this one in detail Plastic is scientifically called Polyethylene or simply polythene. Polyethene is the result of the chain reaction of polymerization in ethene. This reaction occurs by heating Ethene at high temperature and pressure in the trace of Oxygen gas. Thus resulting in the production of non-biodegradable plastic.
The production of polythene also leads to global warming and climate change.
Let's see how. Polythene is a substance that is derived from crude oil refining and natural gas processing. Oil and natural gas are non-renewable fossil fuel-based resources and through their extraction and production, the production emits out greenhouse gases, which contribute towards global warming and eventually leading up to climate change.
Plastic cannot be decomposed once used it remains on the land and the oceans for decades or centuries (well that of course depending upon the type of plastic).
The gist of the entire matter being: Most plastic bags are used for a total of 12 minutes on average before being disposed of but never completely degrades in natural environments.
The picture below shows some lifespans of plastic (picture credit to WWF Australia)
Once it has entered the ocean it destroys marine life. It kills thousands of seagulls, sea turtles, seals, jellyfish and countless other marine mammals.
A report from unenvironment.org suggests:
“Plastic rubbish in the oceans, including lost or discarded fishing gear which is not biodegradable, is a major threat to marine turtles,” says Godley.
“We found, based on beach strandings, that more than 1,000 turtles are dying a year, after becoming tangled up, but this is almost certainly a gross underestimate. Young turtles and hatchings are particularly vulnerable to entanglement.”
Photo by shutterstockAside from this plastic bags take an intensive amount of energy for production
To produce nine plastic bags, it takes the equivalent energy to drive a car one kilometer (more than 0.5 miles).
LET'S STOP USING PLASTIC BAGS
Now in this guide, I want to focus especially on how we can individually do our part and how such small things in our lives can bring a change to help the cause for the betterment of the world.
People say it's impossible to take plastic out of our daily lives it plays an essential part in our routine such as carrying objects in plastic bags or using disposable plastic straws and cups and many more.
But let's not forget for the betterment of our world we must stop these and find alternatives such as using bio-degradable environment-friendly bags that decompose, which may cost a little bit more but hey everything we do contributes for the betterment of our planet. Instead of plastic cups, we can use regular glass or steel glasses and cups, instead of plastic straws, we can use other alternatives like stainless steel straws, bamboo straws (if you ask me though for me straws aren't even that important we can just drink the liquid inside the glass directly). Reducing even a single plastic product helps contribute towards the cause.
Let's spread awareness
Let's spread the word and tell everyone why it is important to reduce the use of plastic in our lives and how we can play our part and let's not leave everyone and the world disappointed.