huTHE USE OF PLASTIC, A PROBEM OF AWARENESS

Manuela Landinez Angarita 1

Have you thought about how much plastic you use and how it ?
The effect of plastic in the economy is fundamental, a person of the world uses
different plastic products daily. According to the “Espectador” newspaper, one
Colombian person consume twenty-four kilos of plastic per year2. Unfortunately, the
plastic is a material that the planet cannot digest. It takes hundreds of years for
plastic to decompose in the environment, almost 1000 years depending on the type
of plastic3. Moreover, the impact the plastic has in the ocean is really disturbing, the
plastic is killing the aquatic life and the pollution that it causes is increasing4.
I think that we are responsible of that things because sometimes we do not care
about the damage we do to the environment. In fact, It is very sad to know that thanks
to us the planet is ending, the animals are dying and the forest are falling. People
are unaware that the Earth planet is their home and we all depend on their welfare
to have a good quality life. Although, the plastic is not bad at all. The bad aspect is
when human beings do not know how to use it properly. For instance, when people
recycling they save the planet because they give others uses to plastic.
The production of plastic is increasing more and more. Therefore, the contamination
of this material stuff increases. The idea is that people recognizes the importance of
having a good environmental culture. There are a lot of methods to recycle and we
urgently need to implement them in our daily life. We have the solution in our hands;
we are the creators of our own natural and environmental destiny.

1
Fifth grade student from Colegio de la Presentación Tunja.
2
EFE. (2018, November 11) ¿Cuántos kilos de plástico se consumen en Colombia?. Taken from
https://www.elespectador.com/noticias/actualidad/cuantos-kilos-de-plastico-se-consumen-en-colombia-
articulo-823132
3
The Decomposition of waste in landfills: A story of time and materials. The balance small business. Taken
from https://www.thebalancesmb.com/how-long-does-it-take-garbage-to-decompose-2878033
4
Ritchie, H. ( 2018, September 02). FAQS on Plastics. Taken from https://ourworldindata.org/faq-on-
plastics#does-plastic-waste-impact-wildlife