Catindig, Leslie Veronica D.

October 2, 2019
GED105/A19

Argumentative Essay: Production of Products using Plastics

Plastics are used because these are easy and inexpensive to produce. They
can last for long periods of time. Unfortunately these qualities that makes plastic
useful also makes it a big problem to the environment. Since it is cheap, it gets
discarded easily and a large amount present in the environment can do great
harm. This is why I am against the production of plastic products.

The tiny broken down bits of plastics littered in the ocean are consumed by
marine life everyday. National Geographic claims that the microplastics damage
the digestive tracts of aquatic creatures, turtles, and birds. They also worsen
their feeding behavior which negatively affects their growth and reproductive
output.

Plastics are also harmful in land as well. The ones that are littered can clog
the drainage lines which results to floods in cities. This is evident during rainy
seasons in Manila. They also contribute to climate change. The polymers and
compounds found in plastic bags are extracted from petroleum and natural gas.
Extracting fossil fuels for the production of plastics releases greenhouse gases
into the atmosphere. This damages the ozone layer, which eventually led to
global warming.

Plastic has many uses. But if it is harming the environment and will take
years for it to decompose, I suggest that we should be looking for alternative
materials to use. Yes, we can recycle plastics to reduce the waste, but I think the
phrase “Prevention is better than cure” applies to this situation. It is way easier
to stop our plastic problem by using less harmful materials like paper or wood.
We need to be more attentive of how much plastic wastes we are creating.
References

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2018/06/plastic-planet-health-
pollution-waste-microplastics/

https://www.ciel.org/plasticandclimate/