Plastic, an obvious enemy

‘Plastic’ is not only a word, it is like a necessary villain in modern civilization. Plastic is very harmful to our environment.
If we want to stop the use of plastic, first of all, people should be made aware. Plastic pollution is human-made environmental pollution. The addition of biodegradable plastic products, by-products, particles, or molecules released from plastic products to the environment; causes long-term negative effects on soil, water, atmosphere, wildlife, biodiversity, and human health.

In the last 50 years, more than one ton of plastic products has been produced per capita in the world. Although 10 percent of these biodegradable plastic wastes are destroyed by burning, the remaining 90 percent endangers the global environment in various ways.
These harmful non-decomposable wastes can remain in the environment for 400 to 1 thousand years and release various micro or nanoparticles or harmful substances, causing terrible negative effects on the environment and human health.

More than 45 million tons of plastic waste are added to the environment every year in the world. 55 percent of this waste is produced in Asia. Plastics are man-made polymers, mainly made chemically from fossil fuels or natural gas. Plastic is generally flexible, corrosion resistant, durable and cheap because the main material of all the plastic bottles we use is polyethylene, and producing one tonne of polyethylene releases five tonnes of carbon dioxide gas. That means we are emitting more pollutants into the air than the amount of plastics we are manufacturing. This results in air pollution.

So plastic is very harmful to our environment. Plastic is affecting marine biodiversity, which is increasing day by day. 2 percent of the total plastic produced in the world ends up in the oceans. As a result of this, the sea is getting polluted and marine life is suffering from this pollution. A lot of marine life eats these plastics and dies due to pollution from seawater.

Migratory birds travel to different parts of the world in winter and these birds play a very important role in protecting the balance of our environment. But day by day it is seen that the number of these migratory birds is decreasing. The reason for this is known to be the effect of plastic pollution.

A study found that about 90 percent of the bacteria were found in the stomachs of migratory birds. Plastic is a substance that takes thousands of years to decompose and we know that things that take longer to decompose in the environment cause a bigger problem for the environment.
So plastic is a very harmful substance to our environment. The impact of plastic extends not only to the environment but also to our human health. Plastic pollution is widespread in all countries and environments of the world, even from the top of Mount Everest to the bottom of the deep sea, which will one day become a thorn in our neck.

Plastics also have a corrosive effect on greenhouses. The material used in the production of plastic is very harmful to the human body also. Examples include Poly Vinyl Chloride or PVC plastics and materials such as toys, water pipes, tiles, furniture, children’s swimming pools, etc., and their long-term use can cause cancer, birth defects, genetic changes, chronic bronchitis, ulcers, deafness, skin diseases, may cause liver problems.

Therefore, to get rid of this pollution, it is really necessary to stop the production of plastic and polythene. This is the highest time for us to return or else nature will repay us with interest.