The Plastic Problem

I grab the last few strawberries from the fridge and cut them for breakfast, tossing them in a bowl and tossing their plastic container in the trash. I pull two slices of bread from a plastic bag, heat them in the toaster, and then load the browned bread with peanut butter scooped from a plastic jar. Next, I pour a cup of orange juice from its plastic Tropicana container to wash down the thick, sticky peanut butter.

Pause and count. How many plastics did you use as you got ready for school today?

Plastic products are so convenient. Use them, toss them, and forget about them.

BUT, SHOULD WE FORGET ABOUT PLASTICS?

Plastics are not biodegradable, meaning they do not decompose. Instead, they break into ever-tinier pieces — each less than five millimeters long — called microplastics. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports “every bit of plastic ever made still exists.” So in fifty years, your morning strawberry container will still be around as a handful of sesame seed-sized fragments of plastic.

Because plastics do not break down, they accumulate in landfills, and many end up in the Earth's oceans. About 8.8 million tons of plastics are dumped in the ocean every year, according to National Geographic. This is comparable to a garbage truck dumping a load full of debris into the sea every minute. And scientists predict the number of plastics swimming in the seas will grow — two garbage truckloads per minute by 2030 and four per minute by 2050.

In the Pacific Ocean, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a spinning vortex of plastics and debris, like a junkyard in the ocean. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is twice the size of Texas, and the swirling mass of trash can be seen from outer space.

As plastics accumulate in Earth’s oceans, marine creatures feel the consequences. Fish, seabirds, turtles, and marine mammals mistakenly eat plastics or get tangled in plastic products like nets, bags, and soda rings. Both consuming plastics and entanglement can cause injury or death.  According to the United Nations, marine debris — 80% of this debris coming from plastics — affects at least 800 species worldwide.

Researchers estimate that half of all sea turtles have eaten plastic. Loggerhead turtles eat plastic bags thinking they are jellyfish. Green turtles consume smaller plastic bits hidden in algae. A study led by the University of Tokyo found that loggerhead turtles ate 17% of plastics they came across in the ocean, and green turtles ate 62%. Plastics fill turtles’ bellies and cause starvation as they mistakenly believe they ate enough to satisfy their hunger.

Plastics also kill up to a million seabirds each year, including the Laysan Albatross. With a wingspan of over six feet, the large seabird flies over oceans and skims its beak across the top of the water to catch fish. As it catches fish, the bird accidentally collects plastics. When consumed, plastics’ sharp edges can pierce internal organs, causing injury and death. Like turtles, seabirds can consume so many plastics that they have little room left for food. According to National Geographic, in 1960, scientists found plastics in the stomachs of only 5% of seabirds, but as humans’ consumption of plastics rose, so did the amount found in birds’ stomachs. By 1980, 80% of seabirds carried plastics in their bellies.

WHAT CAN BE DONE TO SOLVE THE PLASTIC PROBLEM?

Although there is not a simple answer, scientists and environmentalists are developing new ideas to address the plastic problem. Some scientists are working on developing biodegradable replacements for plastics. A group of researchers from Harvard created a plastic-like substance made from shrimp shells. In Indonesia, a company replaced plastic bags and soap wrappers with packaging made from seaweed.

Instead of engineering plastic replacements, others are taking on the collection of plastics in landfills and oceans. Microbiologists from Pakistan tried using mushroom enzymes to break down plastics in garbage dumps more quickly. Engineers in the Netherlands developed a nearly 2,000-foot long ocean garbage truck, which travels the waters and collects plastics. Known as System 001, this ocean trash collector is heading to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch for some cleanup. A nonprofit organization called The Plastic Bank pays community members for plastics that they collect. By incentivizing plastic pick-ups, The Plastic Bank prevents these materials from ending up in the ocean and recycles the collected plastics into new products.

Environmentalists also recommend that citizens can take action to decrease their consumption of ever-convenient plastics. Environmentalists urge citizens to reduce their use of single-use plastics, plastics used once and then tossed. For example, people can invest in a water bottle rather than drinking water from plastic bottles or use reusable grocery bags rather than plastic ones. Worldwide, 73% of beach litter comes from single-use plastics, like plastic straws, cups, bags, and utensils, reports National Geographic.

Secondly, environmentalists encourage individuals to recycle plastics. In the United States, only 9% of all plastics are recycled, meaning the vast majority of plastics end up in landfills. Recycled plastics can be repurposed into new products — suitcases, furniture, new bottles, laundry detergent, and much more. But it is important to sort recyclables from trash carefully. Tom Szaky, CEO of a recycling company, said, “Typically, 50% of what you put in your recycling bin is never recycled. It's sorted and thrown out. This is partly due to user error, a common problem which occurs when people place unrecyclable materials into recycling bins.”