Plastic pollution :-
This year world environmental day theme is ' Beat plastic pollution' and India is hosting a global world environmental day on 5th June 2018. The US-based study on India indicate that 93%of water bottles contains contaminated microplastics from 259 samples of 11 brand. It is regulated by BIS and FDA. That raise the question are we drinking plastics?
Today, plastic contribute more than 10% of discarded waste.It involves the accumulation of plastic products in the environment which adversely affecting the animals, humans and environment. It is in two major forms :
1. Microdebris /nurdles: plastic size between 2mm-5mm which mainly came from cleaning and cosmetic products also called scrubbers. It enters ocean by means of spills from transportation or land based sources. Microplastics accumulates hydrophobic persistent toxins such as DDT and PCB.
2. Macro debris / metaplastic : larger than 20mm in size mainly comes from packaging polythene and abandoned fishing nets.
Estimate, by 2050 there could be more plastic than weight of fish, per day around 0.37m tonnes plastic waste generated ,350million tonnes by 2015, major polluters of plastic are China, USA, EU , India and Indonesia. Every year nearly 8 million tonnes of plastic reaches to oceans.
Major sources of plastic pollution in the world are : in decreasing order
1) packaging 2) building and construction 3) textiles 4) consumer institutional products
5) transportation 6) electrical/electronics 7) industrial machinery 8) others
Major problems arise due to plastic slow decomposition rate ( plastic cups -50 years, plastic beverage bottles-400 years, fishing lines -600 years); resulting release of toxic chemicals such as bisphenol A.; Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) linked to red tides (algal blooms); every year estimated global production of plastics is 250mt/yr. ,
Other problem arises due to high cost of replacing plastics with other things and could raise environmental cost atlest 4 times. Now
Adverse impact on the environment by plastic pollution :
-- chlorinated plastic can release harmful chemicals into the soils and seeps into water sources.
---landfill plastics either eaten by animals or biodegradable plastics release methane contributing to global warming.
---plastics in oceans degraded in years but not entirely releasing toxic chemicals such as bisphenol A and polyestyrene.
---effects on animals arise due to entanglement, ingestion of plastics leading to killing sea turtles, whales, fishing.
---humans adversely affected by chemical additives during plastic production such as endocrine disruption, phthalate plasticisers and brominated flame retardants,BPA- sex hormones, bisphenol A- thyroid hormone.
--- marine litter cost $13bn a year, mainly through its adverse effects on biodiversity, tourism and fisheries .
---Overall total cost of plastic pollution is $139bn a year. 50% caused by climate change effect and GHG emissions linked to producing and transporting plastics., 33% comes from the impact of associated air, water and land pollution on health, crops and the environment ,cost of waste disposal.
Strategy and measures to reduce the adverse impact of plastic pollution :
1. Plastic recycling of biodegradable and degradable plastics by avoiding non biodegradable plastics.
2. Plastic medical equipment should be incinerated rather than deposited in a landfill but gaseous emissions is a demerit
3. Rules and regulations through strict policies to ban plastic production and it's use, disposal,etc.under EPA and food and drug administration.
4. Institutional mechanism : strategy,laws,plans, action,collection,non use and reduction in usage, creating awareness,etc
5. Cleaning of water bodies, sewage treatment plant, ecosystem based management, adaptive management, precautionary measures, people participation.
6. Plasma recycling , where refuse is heated to 5000 degree Celsius, turning it into unadulterated hydrocarbons and solid residue .but problem lies with huge cost it will take some time for commercialisation.
7. Building recycling capacity by plastic waste generators such big companies, city management authorities, consumer-goods firms,etc.
8. Making plastics biodegradable, by adding corn starch or vegetable oil to petroleum-derived hydrocarbons but renders recycle.
10. zero tolerance to plastic by banning its commercial useage in retail,pakaging,etc
This year world environmental day theme is ' Beat plastic pollution' and India is hosting a global world environmental day on 5th June 2018. The US-based study on India indicate that 93%of water bottles contains contaminated microplastics from 259 samples of 11 brand. It is regulated by BIS and FDA. That raise the question are we drinking plastics?
Today, plastic contribute more than 10% of discarded waste.It involves the accumulation of plastic products in the environment which adversely affecting the animals, humans and environment. It is in two major forms :
1. Microdebris /nurdles: plastic size between 2mm-5mm which mainly came from cleaning and cosmetic products also called scrubbers. It enters ocean by means of spills from transportation or land based sources. Microplastics accumulates hydrophobic persistent toxins such as DDT and PCB.
2. Macro debris / metaplastic : larger than 20mm in size mainly comes from packaging polythene and abandoned fishing nets.
Estimate, by 2050 there could be more plastic than weight of fish, per day around 0.37m tonnes plastic waste generated ,350million tonnes by 2015, major polluters of plastic are China, USA, EU , India and Indonesia. Every year nearly 8 million tonnes of plastic reaches to oceans.
Major sources of plastic pollution in the world are : in decreasing order
1) packaging 2) building and construction 3) textiles 4) consumer institutional products
5) transportation 6) electrical/electronics 7) industrial machinery 8) others
Major problems arise due to plastic slow decomposition rate ( plastic cups -50 years, plastic beverage bottles-400 years, fishing lines -600 years); resulting release of toxic chemicals such as bisphenol A.; Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) linked to red tides (algal blooms); every year estimated global production of plastics is 250mt/yr. ,
Other problem arises due to high cost of replacing plastics with other things and could raise environmental cost atlest 4 times. Now
Adverse impact on the environment by plastic pollution :
-- chlorinated plastic can release harmful chemicals into the soils and seeps into water sources.
---landfill plastics either eaten by animals or biodegradable plastics release methane contributing to global warming.
---plastics in oceans degraded in years but not entirely releasing toxic chemicals such as bisphenol A and polyestyrene.
---effects on animals arise due to entanglement, ingestion of plastics leading to killing sea turtles, whales, fishing.
---humans adversely affected by chemical additives during plastic production such as endocrine disruption, phthalate plasticisers and brominated flame retardants,BPA- sex hormones, bisphenol A- thyroid hormone.
--- marine litter cost $13bn a year, mainly through its adverse effects on biodiversity, tourism and fisheries .
---Overall total cost of plastic pollution is $139bn a year. 50% caused by climate change effect and GHG emissions linked to producing and transporting plastics., 33% comes from the impact of associated air, water and land pollution on health, crops and the environment ,cost of waste disposal.
---Plastic is a durable material made to
last forever, yet 33 percent of it is used once and then discarded. Plastic
cannot biodegrade; it breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces.
--- China is the largest producer of
plastic pollution. Americans alone discard more than 30
million tons of plastic a year; only 8 percent of it gets recycled. The rest
ends up in landfills or becomes 'litter', and a small portion is incinerated.
---Plastic spoils our groundwater.There are tens of
thousands of landfills across the globe. Buried beneath each one of them,
plastic leachate full of toxic chemicals is seeping into groundwater and
flowing downstream into lakes and rivers.
--- Plastic poisons our food chain.Even plankton, the
tiniest creatures in our oceans, are eating microplastics and absorbing their
toxins. The substance displaces nutritive algae that creatures up the food
chain require.
--- Plastic attracts other pollutants.Manufacturers'
additives in plastics, like flame retardants, BPAs and PVCs, can leach their
own toxins. These oily poisons repel water and stick to petroleum-based objects
like plastic debris.
--- Plastic attracts other pollutants.. Manufacturers'
additives in plastics, like flame retardants, BPAs and PVCs, can leach their
own toxins. These oily poisons repel water and stick to petroleum-based objects
like plastic debris.
Strategy and measures to reduce the adverse impact of plastic pollution :
1. Plastic recycling of biodegradable and degradable plastics by avoiding non biodegradable plastics.
2. Plastic medical equipment should be incinerated rather than deposited in a landfill but gaseous emissions is a demerit
3. Rules and regulations through strict policies to ban plastic production and it's use, disposal,etc.under EPA and food and drug administration.
4. Institutional mechanism : strategy,laws,plans, action,collection,non use and reduction in usage, creating awareness,etc
5. Cleaning of water bodies, sewage treatment plant, ecosystem based management, adaptive management, precautionary measures, people participation.
6. Plasma recycling , where refuse is heated to 5000 degree Celsius, turning it into unadulterated hydrocarbons and solid residue .but problem lies with huge cost it will take some time for commercialisation.
7. Building recycling capacity by plastic waste generators such big companies, city management authorities, consumer-goods firms,etc.
8. Making plastics biodegradable, by adding corn starch or vegetable oil to petroleum-derived hydrocarbons but renders recycle.
10. zero tolerance to plastic by banning its commercial useage in retail,pakaging,etc
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