Plastic and Our Environment

By, Jujhar Singh Grade VIII

Points to be Discussed▪ What is a Plastic▪ Types of Plastic▪ Dangers by Plastic Packaging▪ Plastic Bags▪ Facts And Figures▪ Thank You

What is Plastic

a synthetic material made from a wide range of organic polymers such as polyethylene, PVC, nylon, etc., that can be moulded into shape while soft, and then set into a rigid or slightly elastic form.

Types of PlasticsPLASTIC

Thermosetting Plastics

Thermo Plastics

PVCPolytheneNylonBakelite Melamine Resin

Dangers by Plastic Packaging

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The most obvious form of pollution associated with plastic packaging is wasted plastic sent to landfills. Plastics are very stable and therefore stay in the environment a long time after they are discarded, especially if they are shielded from direct sunlight by being buried in landfills. Decomposition rates are further decreased by anti-oxidants that manufacturers commonly add to enhance a container’s resistance to attack by acidic contents.

Plastic Bags▪ Each year, about 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic

bags are used worldwide.▪ Because it costs more to recycle than produce

one bag, only 1% of the bags are recycled.▪ It costs $4000 to process and recycle 1 ton of

plastic bags, which are then sold for $32” ▪ A study in 1975, showed oceangoing vessels

together dumped 8 million pounds of plastic annually. The real reason that the world's landfills weren't overflowing with plastic was because most of it ended up in an ocean

▪ If just 1 out of 5 people in our country use cloth bags we can save 1,330,560,000,000 bags over our life time.

Facts and Figures▪ It takes hundreds of years for plastic bags to decompose

and while they do, they release toxins into our soil, lakes, rivers and oceans.

▪  the production of plastic bags requires millions of gallons of petroleum and banning the production would significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions. reducing plastic bag production in Britain by a quarter would reduce CO2 emissions by 63 tons a year.

▪  In 2006, the United Nations found that each square mile of the ocean has 46,000 pieces of plastic in it.

▪  Plastic bags which pollute our oceans have a bad habit of killing sea turtles in particular.