THE IMPACT OF PLASTIC ON THE ENVIRONMENT

JOURNAL

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement of English Education

Oleh

Audrey Nathania

Denise Noelle

Elizabeth Grace

Ferrencia Jane

Vanessa Christiana Phan Pandi

XIIA2

SMA BINTANG MULIA

BANDUNG

2019-2020
1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY

In modern times of the twenty-first century, a tremendous amount of human made

products and technological advices using plastic, a resource that has various helpful uses.
However, because of the abundance and durable lifespan of plastic, the resulting waste is
exponentially growing and harming the environment. Plastics are long-lived, inexpensive
products that are mainly used as single-use items that get disposed of within month of
production, only to take centuries to decompose. This poses a problem for plastic waste,
especially when millions of metric tons of plastic are produced annually. Pollution, especially
plastic, persists for decades in habitats, creating significant environmental consequences on the
planet, a fact that can be helped or harmed by human actions. The global environment is
changing day by day and now it has become a challenge to living life forms due to the very ugly
fact that every nation is trying to develop their countries without taking into consideration of
environmental impact of degradation and pollution of agricultural lands. More and more
factories are being steadily established and harmful chemicals and materials are being used in the
production process. People are using plastic bags, which are environmentally dangerous
products, for their daily needs mainly for shopping purposes as a result of which, the
environment and agricultural lands are thereby being polluted. Therefore, in an attempt to reduce
the environmental as well as agricultural land pollution, consumers of plastic bags and the
business organizations together can play a great role.

1.2 REASON FOR CHOOSING THE TOPIC

For more than 50 years, global production and consumption of plastics have continued to
rise. An estimated 299 million tons of plastics were produced in 2013, representing a 4 percent
increase over 2012, and confirming and upward trend over the past years. Plastic is versatile,
lightweight, flexible, moisture resistant, strong, and relatively inexpensive. Those are the
attractive qualities that lead us, around the world, to such a voracious appetite and over-
consumption of plastic goods. However, durable and very slow to degrade, plastic materials that
are used in the production of so many products all, ultimately, become waste with staying power.
Our tremendous attraction to plastic, coupled with an undeniable behavioral propensity of
increasingly over-consuming, discarding, littering and thus polluting, has become a combination
of lethal nature. This problem has threatened the world’s environment.
 Most of the people nowadays are lacking knowledge in saving the world from the plastic
pollution. That is why choosing this topic might help more people to understand the need to
reduce the plastic usage.

1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1.3.1 What is plastic?

1.3.2 How would plastic waste impact the environment?
1.3.3 Are there better subtitutes for the plastic things?

1.4 OBJECTIVES OF STUDY

The objectives of this journal are to analyze the damaging impact of plastics on the
environment and secondly to suggest alternative eco-friendly ways to reduce, reuse and recycle
plastics.

1.5 DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Definition of Plastic

The word "plastic" comes from the Greek word plastikos, which means that it can be
shaped or molded. Plastic is simply chains of like molecules linked together and it is any
synthetic or semi-synthetic organic polymer. In other words, while other elements might be
present, plastics always include carbon and hydrogen and sometimes oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur,
chlorine, fluorine, phosphorous, or silicon.

The first synthetic polymer was invented in 1869 by John Wesley Hyatt, who was
inspired by a New York firm’s offer of $10,000 for anyone who could provide a substitute for
ivory. The growing popularity of billiards had put a strain on the supply of natural ivory,
obtained through the slaughter of wild elephants. By treating cellulose, derived from cotton fiber,
with camphor, Hyatt discovered a plastic that could be crafted into a variety of shapes and made
to imitate natural substances like tortoiseshell, horn, linen, and ivory. Cellulose itself is a
molecule, consisting of hundreds – and sometimes even thousands – of carbon, hydrogen and
oxygen atoms. Cellulose is the main substance in the walls of plant cells, helping plants to
remain stiff and upright. Cellulose was heated with chemicals and resulted in a new material that
was extremely durable. 

This discovery was revolutionary. For the first time human manufacturing was not
constrained by the limits of nature. Nature only supplied so much wood, metal, stone, bone, tusk,
and horn. But now humans could create new materials. This development helped not only people
but also the environment. Advertisements praised celluloid as the savior of the elephant and the
tortoise. Plastics could protect the natural world from the destructive forces of human need.

Impacts of Plastic on Environment

Plastic cause a large-scale negative impact on our ecosystem. As people are not conscious
to recycle plastic, they throw them everywhere as and when they like and as an unavoidable
consequence these discarded plastic will ultimately find their ways to agricultural fields mixed
with other decomposed materials. As plastic do not decompose with soil they remain in the
agricultural lands and blocks as well retard the progress of growth of agricultural plants. Plastic
have that inherent property that even though very thin, roots of crops fail to pierce them in order
to move around the soil for natural nutrients. Thus, plastic have caused tremendous harm to the
growth of agricultural produces. Due to several uncaring factors, around 85 percent of all plastic
grocery bag are dumped into landfills. It is well known that plastic is non-biodegradable;
however, plastic decompose very slowly, if at all. In fact, a bag can last up to 1000 years in the
soil inhibiting the breakdown of biodegradable materials around or in it. Plastic grocery bags
which are light causes additional harm to the environment as they can be easily blown away by
air and as a result, they become fixed to tree and plant branches. This makes the environment
ugly. These plastics also filled ditches of roadsides, rest on public waterways, rivers and oceans.
Impacts of plastic are very harmful in several aspects and consequently, these bags become the
very threat to our food and life. The most common final resting place for the plastic bags is the
garbage bin, thus resulting in huge volumes of plastic bags filling the landfills that remain on
strategic surfaces of the planet. As the plastic bag is non-biodegradable and almost non-
compostable, it stays in the soil for an excessively long period of time there by causing
unimaginable harms to the agricultural sectors. The agricultural crops cannot grow where the
plastic bags stay because their roots cannot move around due to the ever present of plastic bags.
It is really amazing that the thin plastic bags are so strong that the roots of trees are unable to
pierce it to find its way inside the soil to find nutrients; on the other hand, we find plants and
trees on the mountains mainly because of the obvious absence of the plastic. The most significant
negative impacts of the plastic bags on agriculture are: reduction in soil fertility, decrease in
nitrogen fixation, huge loss of nutrients in the soil, decrease in crop harvest, disparity in flora and
fauna on soil etc. These negative impacts of plastic bags in fact reduce soil fertility to a great
extent and thus reduce agricultural production to a great quantity.

How Plastic Waste Affects Ecosystem

Waste pollution has varying effects on the ecosystem, but several effects can specifically
be traced back to plastic waste. Perhaps the most highly publicized problem regarding plastic
waste in the environment is that of animal entanglement. Aquatic organisms, birds, and even
some land animals can ingest plastic particles or become tangled in them, leading them to choke
or starve to death because the plastic prevents them from properly moving or eating. An article
from the journal Environmental Health News, titled “The Environmental Toll of Plastics,”
reports: “More than180 species of animals have been documented to ingest plastic debris,
including birds, fish, turtles and marine mammals”. Certain species are more susceptible to
plastic ingestion or entanglement depending on how they feed and the level of pollution in their
ecosystem. Another issue regarding waste in the environment is how it changes every ecosystem
that organisms live in. the presence of waste can change the temperature of the atmosphere of the
pH level of water, causing a ripple effect in plant and animal health. These waste items can be
extremely simple or small, but the accumulation can become toxic for animals and habitats.

Accumulation of Plastic Waste in the Natural Environment

Substantial quantities of plastic have accumulated in the natural environment and in

landfills. Around 10 percent by weight of the municipal waste stream is plastic. Discarded plastic

also contaminates a wide range of natural terrestrial, freshwater and marine habitats, with
newspaper accounts of plastic debris on even some of the highest mountains. There are also

some data on littering in the urban environment (for example compiled by EnCams in the UK.

however, by comparison with the marine environment, there is a distinct lack of data on the

accumulation of plastic debris in natural terrestrial and freshwater habitats. There are accounts of

inadvertent contamination of soils with small plastic fragments as a consequence of spreading

sewage sludge , of fragments of plastic and glass contaminating compost prepared from

municipal solid waste and of plastic being carried into streams, rivers and ultimately the sea with

rain water and flood events. However, there is a clear need for more research on the quantities

and effects of plastic debris in natural terrestrial habitats, on agricultural land and in freshwaters.

Inevitably, therefore, much of the evidence presented here is from the marine environment. From

the first accounts of plastic in the environment, which were reported from the carcasses of

seabirds collected from shorelines in the early 1960s, the extent of the problem soon became

unmistakable with plastic debris contaminating oceans from the poles to the Equator and from

shorelines to the deep sea. Most polymers are buoyant in water, and since items of plastic debris

such as cartons and bottles often trap air, substantial quantities of plastic debris accumulate on

the sea surface and may also be washed ashore. As a consequence, plastics represent a

considerable proportion (50–80%) of shoreline debris. Quantities are highly variable in time and

space, but there are reports of more than 100 000 items m–2 on some shorelines and up to 3 520

000 items km–2 at the ocean surface. Gyres and oceanic convergences appear to be particularly

contaminated, as do enclosed seas such as the Mediterranean. Despite their buoyant nature,

plastics can become fouled with marine life and sediment causing items to sink to the seabed.

For example, shallow seabeds in Brazil were more heavily contaminated than the neighboring

shorelines, indicating that the seabed may be an ultimate sink even for initially buoyant marine
debris. In some locations around Europe, it has been suggested that quantities on the seabed may

exceed 10 000 items ha–1, and debris has even been reported more than a 1000 m below the

ocean surface, including accounts of inverted plastic bags passing a deep-sea submersible like an

assembly of ghosts. Quantitative data on the abundance of debris on the seabed are still very

limited, but there are concerns that degradation rates in the deep sea will be especially slow

because of darkness and cold.

Monitoring the abundance of debris is important to establish rates of accumulation and

the effectiveness of any remediation measures. Most studies assess the abundance of all types of

anthropogenic debris including data on plastics and/or plastic items as a category. In general, the

abundance of debris on shorelines has been extensively monitored, in comparison to surveys

from the open oceans or the seabed. In addition to recording debris, there is a need to collect data

on sources; for plastic debris this should include discharges from rivers and sewers together with

littering behavior. Here, the limited data we have suggest that storm water pulses provide a major

pathway for debris from the land to the sea, with 81 g m–3 of plastic debris during high-flow

events in the USA. Methods to monitor the abundance of anthropogenic debris (including

plastics) often vary considerably between countries and organizations, adding to difficulties in

interpreting trends. As a consequence, the United Nations Environment Programme and the

OSPAR Commission are currently taking steps to introduce standardized protocols. Some trends

are evident, however, typically with an increase in the abundance of debris and fragments

between the 1960s and the 1990s. More recently, abundance at the sea surface in some regions

and on some shorelines appears to be stabilizing, while in other areas such as the Pacific Gyre

there are reports of considerable increases. On shorelines the quantities of debris, predominantly

plastic, are greater in the Northern than in the Southern Hemisphere. The abundance of debris is
greater adjacent to urban centers and on more frequented beaches and there is evidence that

plastics are accumulating and becoming buried in sediments consider that contamination of

remote habitats, such as the deep sea and the polar regions, is likely to increase as debris is

carried there from more densely populated areas. Allowing for variability between habitats and

locations, it seems inevitable, however, that the quantity of debris in the environment as a whole

will continue to increase—unless we all change our practices. Even with such changes, plastic

debris that is already in the environment will persist for a considerable time to come. The

persistence of plastic debris and the associated environmental hazards are illustrated poignantly

by who describe debris that had originated from an airplane being ingested by an albatross some

60 years after the plane had crashed.

Type of Plastic

When it comes to promotional giveaways, and even items we use around the house, there
is no material more important than plastic. The same can be said for the items we use at the
office. Most of our supplies contain at least a little bit of this material. In fact, humans have thus
far produced 9.1 billion tons of plastic. For the sake of the environment, it’s important to know
the different types of plastic and their uses, as well as the resin identification codes found on
each for the sake of recycling. Understanding the different types of plastic can help consumers
like us make more informed decisions related to your health and the environment. In addition,
it’s important to become familiar with an item’s SPI (Society of the Plastics Industry) code,
which is also known as a resin identification number and is used to classify the different types of
plastic. This information will help you sort plastic materials more effectively for recycling. And
here is the full breakdown of each kind of plastic, along with its associated SPI resin code.

1. Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET/PETE)

Introduced by J. Rex Whinfield and James T. Dickson in 1940, this plastic is one of the
most commonly used on the planet. Interestingly enough, it took another 30 years before
 it was used for crystal-clear beverage bottles, such as the ones produced by Coca-Cola
and Pepsi. PETE plastics make up 96% of all plastic bottles and containers in the United
States, yet only 25% of these products are recycled. Plastic marked with an SPI code of 1
is made with polyethylene terephthalate. These containers sometimes absorb odors and
flavors from foods and drinks that are stored inside them. However, this is still a
commonly used plastic for many household items and daily essentials. By being mindful
and making sure to recycle code 1 plastics, you’re helping to ensure a cleaner
environment and less landfill pollution!
2. High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE)
In 1953, Karl Ziegler and Erhard Holzkamp used catalysts and low pressure to create
high-density polyethylene. It was first used for pipes in storm sewers, drains, and
culverts. Today, this plastic is used for a wide variety of products. HDPE is the most
commonly recycled plastic because it will not break under exposure to extreme heat or
cold. According to the EPA, 12% of all HDPE products created are recycled in a year.
This is a very small dent in the planet’s carbon footprint. The SPI code of 2 identifies
plastic made with high-density polyethylene. These products are very safe and are not
known to leach any chemicals into foods or drinks. Due to the risk of contamination,
however, it’s not safe to reuse an HDPE bottle as a food or drink container if it didn’t
originally contain some kind of edible substance. In other words, keep the shampoo
bottles out of your kitchen cabinet!
3. Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)
PVC is one of the oldest synthetic materials in industrial production. It was actually
discovered on accident twice; once in 1838 by French physicist Henri Victor Regnault
and again in 1872 by German chemist Eugen Baumann. On both occasions, these men
found it inside vinyl chloride flasks left exposed to sunlight. PVC is one of the least
recycled materials; generally, less than 1% of PVC plastic is recycled each year. It has
been called the “poison plastic “because it contains numerous toxins and is harmful to our
health and the environment. Plastic labeled with an SPI code of 3 is made with polyvinyl
chloride. This kind of plastic should not come in contact with food items as it is a
dangerous, toxic chemical. PVC is in many everyday objects, but it’s mostly for
industrial use in the plumbing and construction sectors.
4. Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE)
LDPE was the first polyethylene to be produced, making it the grandfather of the
material, that was found by imperial chemistry industry in 1933. It has less mass than
HDPE, which is why it’s considered a separate material for recycling. Packaging and
containers made from LDPE make up about 56% of allplastic waste, 75% of which
comes from residential households. Fortunately, many recycling programs are evolving to
handle these products. This means less LDPE will end up in landfills and negatively
affect the environment. Plastic marked with an SPI code of 4 is made with low-density
polyethylene. This plastic tends to be both durable and flexible. It also does not release
harmful chemicals into objects, making it a safe choice for food storage.
5. Polypropylene (PP)
J. Paul Hogan and Robert L. Banks of Phillips Petroleum Company discovered polypropylene in
1951. At the time, they were simply trying to convert propylene into gasoline, but instead
discovered a new catalytic process for making plastic. Only about 3% of polypropylene products
are recycled in the US, but interestingly enough, 325 million pounds of non-bottle plastics were
collected for recycling over a year. In other words, a lot of this plastic is created, but only a small
fraction is actually recycled. You’ll find SPI code of 5 on plastic items made with polypropylene.
PP can be recycled, but is not as accepted as PETE or HDPE. This type of plastic is strong and can
usually withstand higher temperatures. That’s why you’re able to reheat your leftovers in
Tupperware without worrying about it melting.
6. Polystyrene or Styrofoam (PS)
In 1839, German apothecary Eduard Simon accidentally came across polystyrene while
preparing medication. He isolated a substance from natural resin and didn’t realize what
he had discovered. It took German chemist Hermann Staudinger to research this polymer
and expand on its uses. Since polystyrene is lightweight and easy to form into plastic
materials, it also breaks effortlessly, making it more harmful to the environment.
Environment all over the world are littered with pieces of polystyrene, endangering the
health of marine animals. Polystyrene accounts for about 35% of US landfill materials.
Plastic marked with an SPI code of 6 is made with polystyrene. PS can be recycled, but
not efficiently; recycling it takes a lot of energy, which means that few places accept it.
This is why it’s a good idea to invest in a reusable mug for your daily caffeine fix.
 7. Miscellaneous Plastic or Others (N/A)
The remaining plastics include: polycarbonate, polylactide, acrylic, acrylonitrile
butadiene, styrene, fiberglass, and nylon. Of course, there are many differences in the
plastics classified as miscellaneous by recycling programs. Many BPA products fall into
this category, which means it's best to avoid them, especially for food products. It is not
very easy to break down these plastics once they are created, unless they are exposed to
high temperatures. This means they are nearly impossible to recycle.

Thermoset and Thermoplastic

Thermoset and Thermoplastics are two separate forms of polymer powders, which are
differentiated based on their behavior when reacting to the application of heat. The primary
difference between the two is that Thermoset is a material that strengthens when heated, but
cannot be remolded or heated after the initial forming, while thermoplastics can be reheated,
remolded, and cooled as necessary without causing any chemical changes. As a result of these
physical and chemical properties, thermoplastic materials have low melting points while
thermoset products can withstand higher temperature without loss of its structural integrity.

Thermoset

Unlike traditional thermoplastic parts that melt and disfigure when exposed to excess
heat, thermoset components as implied by their name become set in their physical and chemical
properties after an initial heat treatment and therefore are no longer affected by additional heat
exposure.

Thermoset plastics offer enhanced high-performance combination of thermal stability,

chemical resistance, and structural integrity. Thermoset components are used extensively in a
wide range of industries – and are used for applications in the automotive, appliance, electrical,
lighting, and energy markets due to excellent chemical and thermal stability along with superior
strength, hardness, and moldability.

Thermoplastic
 Thermoplastic pellets soften when heated and become more fluid as more heat is
administered. The curing process is 100% reversible as no chemical bonding takes place. This
characteristic allows thermoplastics to be remolded and recycled without negatively affecting the
material’s physical properties. There are a variety of thermoplastic resins that offer various
performance benefits, but the majority of materials commonly used offer high strength, shrink-
resistance, and easy flexibility.

Depending on the resin, thermoplastics can serve low-stress applications such as plastic
bags or can be used in high-stress mechanical parts. Examples of thermoplastic polymers include
polyethylene, PVC, and nylon. Other common applications for thermoplastics include high-
pressure polyethylene to encapsulate rigid objects like electrical equipment. Low-pressure
polyethylene is very elastic and ideal for insulating electrical cables. Polyamide is most
commonly associated with the production of ropes and belts.

Current Research
a. Bacteria that consume plastic
On a report published in the journal Science, a team of Japanese researchers described a
species of bacteria that can break the molecular bonds of one of the world’s most-used plastics -
polyethylene terephthalate, also known as PET or polyester. According to the data, PET is the
most common polymer of the polyester family; it is used in a variety of materials including food
and drink containers, like plastic bottles which we humans use pet plastic with a number of 1
million per minute. Then, the Japanese research team sifted through hundreds of samples of PET
pollution before finding a colony of organisms using the plastic as a food source.
Further tests found the bacteria almost completely degraded low-quality plastic within six
weeks. This was voracious when compared to other biological agents; including a related
bacteria, leaf compost and a fungus enzyme recently found to have an appetite for PET. It works
by secreting an enzyme (a type of protein that can speed up chemical reactions) known as
PETase. This splits certain chemical bonds (esters) in PET, leaving smaller molecules that the
bacteria can absorb, using the carbon in them as a food source.
Once the PET has been broken down into ethylene glycol and DMT, it can either be used
the two substances directly or use them as a starting point to produce other products. Ethylene
glycol helps keep your car’s engine from freezing in the winter and acts as a coolant to reduce
overheating in the summer. Other important uses of ethylene glycol include heat transfer fluids
used as industrial coolants for gas compressors, heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning
systems, and ice-skating rinks.

Picture 1 :Degradation process

Ideonella sakaiensis breaks down PET, but the process is very slow. The resulting mutant
PETase must take 6 weeks to break down PET, compared to the 450 years it takes for the stuff to
degrade naturally. Therefore, these bacteria should be improved due to have a faster speed.
Moreover, to save the world from the plastic, reusing, reducing, recycling plastic are not enough
to help getting rid of the plastic, so these bacteria might help the world to reduce the plastic that
is keep until now.
b. Fabric made from plastic
Single-use water bottles have become a target for people concerned about the amount of
petroleum required for each bottle and the massive amounts of waste generated from their short
lives. But in recent years, companies have begun to use tossed-aside plastic in new and exciting
ways. Unifi's Repreve recycling center is a 50,000 square foot facility in Yadkinville, North
Carolina, where plastic bottles, fiber waste and fabric scraps get deposited. The company collects
clear plastic bottles from processors around the country who first shred them into plastic flakes.
Unifi is a leading global textile company that produces 300 million pounds of polyester and
nylon yarn per year.
 Unifi’s REPREVE® collects clear plastic bottles from processors around the country and
first shred them into plastic flakes then convert them into small pellets. The pellets are then
melted, extruded and spun into polyester yarn. They transform recycled bottles into an amazing
fiber, used by the world’s leading brands to make athletic and fashion apparel and more.

Repreve yarn is used to make everything from jackets and T-shirts to dress pants and
even car upholstery. It's used in brands like Patagonia, The North Face, Levi's, Adidas, Nike,
H&M and Ford. The process embeds properties like adaptive warming and cooling, water
repellency, and more at the fiber level for reliable and durable quality.

Since the brand launched in 2009, Hertwig said the production has increased about 20%
every year. Another customer is Oak Hall Cap & Gown, which makes graduation gowns from
the 100% REPREVE® yarn from used plastic bottles. It takes 27 used bottles to make one gown.
More than 1,250 schools are using its Repreve-based graduation gowns, including Brown
University, Michigan State, Yale, Notre Dame and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Unifi has turned 4 billion used plastic bottles into yarn in the last seven years. At the
same time, there's an opportunity to recycle other plastic like food storage containers and plastic
cutlery. Fortunately, Indonesia also come up with a movement to save plastic through some
organizations. It is ADUPI (Asosiasi Daur Ulang Plastik Indonesia), ADUPI was established in
2015 in order to encourage the Indonesian people to care more about plastic waste. They are
currently collaborating with several other associations for the sake of environmental preservation
from plastic waste in Indonesia. The idea was all started from collecting, sorting, and processing
plastic wastes by paying attention to the recycling procedures that are correct and efficient.

Alternatives to Plastic

1. Mushroom root
To grow its products, the company buys wood chips or agricultural waste from regional
farms and cleans the debris, creating a suitable medium for cultivating mycelium. The
bits and pieces of agri-waste are then mixed and treated with mycelium, which digests the
 waste, enveloping it into a white, fibrous root matrix. The mycelium-coated particles are
then broken up and sorted into trays that serve as molds, in which the products are grown.
After a few days, the mycelium hardens into solid structures that take the form of their
receptacles. Once this process is complete, the structures are dried out so that they no
longer can form spores or mushrooms. The resulting material is nontoxic, naturally fire-
resistant, home-compostable, and suited to a variety of applications.

2. Seaweed water bubbles

Created by Skipping Rocks Lab. This product encircles drinking water within an edible
membrane made from a natural seaweed extract. The bubble-like packaging biodegrades
in 4-6 weeks, the same time as a piece of fruit. The membrane can be flavored and
colored, and can also be used for other liquids such as soft drinks, spirits and cosmetics.

3. Stone paper
Manufactured from calcium carbonate found in rocks, which are abundant resource on
earth, bonded with small amount of resin high-density polyethylene (HDPE). It is used
for stationery, leaflets, posters, books, magazines, bags, packaging, wallpaper, adhesives,
tags, in-mould labels, plates, trays, containers, and maps among other uses. Because it is
not made from wood fibers, stone paper possesses a smoother surface than most
traditional paper products, eliminating the need for a coating or lamination. The source of
the calcium carbonate is waste material collected from marble quarries and offcuts which
are ground and reduced to fine white calcium carbonate powder. The production of stone
paper uses no water, acid, bleach or optical brighteners. It can be recycled endlessly, but
only if recycled separately at civic amenity sites. It may be recycled with Number 2
plastics or remade into rich mineral paper again, and is not biodegradable but is photo-
degradable under suitable conditions.

4. Edible spoons
Found in India by local researchers, made to replace plastic food utensils waste. Made
from millets, wheat, and rice mixed with spices. It can last 20 minutes in hot liquid, and
comes in a variety of flavors: sugar, ginger-cinnamon, ginger-garlic, cumin, celery, black
 pepper, mint-ginger and carrot-beetroot. The spoons have a shelf life of two to three
years.

5. Bioplastic / plant-based plastic

As the name suggests, this plastic is made of plants. Produced from
renewable biomass sources, such as vegetable fats and oils, corn
starch, straw, woodchips, sawdust, recycled food waste, etc. Bioplastics are used for
disposable items, such as packaging, crockery, cutlery, pots, bowls, and straws.

6. Cassava plastic
Created in Indonesia by Kevin Kumala. This plastic uses cassava starch because not only
it is an abundant and common resource in Indonesia, but cassava also has similar polymer
structure to plastic. The resulting material was biodegradable and compostable, breaking
down over a period of months on land or at sea, or instantly in hot water. The creator
claims the bioplastic leaves no trace of toxic residue, a point he demonstrates by
dissolving and drinking it.

APPLICATION ON HOW TO REUSE, REDUCE, AND RECYCLE

1. Ecobrick

Ecobrick is a plastic bottle packed with used plastic to set density to create a reusable
building block. Ecobricks can be used to produce modular items, including furniture, garden
walls and other structures. Ecobricks are produced primarily as a means of managing plastic
waste by sequestering it and containing it safely, by terminally reducing the net surface area of
the packed plastic to effectively secure the plastic from degrading into toxins and microplastics.
Ecobricking is a both an individual and collaborative endeavour. The ecobricking movement
promotes the personal ecobricking process as a means to raise awareness of the consequences of
consumption and the dangers of plastic. It also promotes the collaborative process as a means to
encourage communities to take collective responsibility for their plastic waste and to use it to
produce a useful product. Here’s how the process to make a simple eco-brick:
 1. Clean your plastics

You should only use clean, dry plastics when making your eco-brick. Plastics that
contain dirt and grime can cause microbiological growth and methane gas formation
within your eco-brick which can lead to an unsightly product or bloated bottles. Be sure
to wash off any dirt, food, or residue from your plastics and leave them out under the sun
to dry.

2. Ready your bottle

Eco-bricks are usually made using 1.5-liter PET bottles, but you can essentially
make them out of any plastic bottle you have. Remember to clean them and dry them out
as well before usage.

3. Collect your plastic waste

With your chosen PET bottle and your collection on non-recyclable plastics,
carefully stuff your bottle starting first with soft plastics (e.g. cellophane bags) to fill 1 to
2 centimeters of the base. Cut down large plastics into smaller pieces to fill in every nook
and cranny of the bottle. Use a long, flat-edged stick to pack them all down until it’s
stuffed to the brim and meets the minimum weight required for the size of your bottle.

2. Plastic Straw Substitute

By now, you’ve probably seen the heartbreaking viral video of the sea turtle with a
plastic straw stuck in his nose. That video opened up the minds of millions of people, helping
launch the anti-single-use plastic straw movement. The movement has become a contested one
over the past few years, with some people demanding that establishments stop offering straws.

Banning plastic straws may very well become a standard initiative in the next few years.
Several organizations have already taken steps to ban plastic straws in order to protect the
environment. Plastic straws have been banned in several cities and countries around the globe,
including New York City, Seattle, Miami Beach, Vancouver, Hawaii, California, Great Britain,
Scotland, and Taiwan.
And here comes up a few ideas of plastic straw substitution such as metal, paper, silicone, glass,
hard plastic, and bamboo.

1. Metal straw
Made of stainless steel, aluminum, or even titanium, metal straws have become a
popular alternative. They’re durable to transport, cheap enough, easy to find and reuse.
But they also draw some criticism—for having a metallic taste, conducting heat from a
hot drink, and clanking against the teeth. Aside from that, according to a study, the
energy used to produce a single metal straw is equivalent to the energy used to produce
90 plastic straws. Based on their carbon emissions, producing one metal straw is
equivalent to producing 150 plastic straws. It also means that for you to break-even on
the environmental cost of producing your metal straw, you would have to use it at least
150 times.
2. Paper straw
Paper drinking straws, which date from the late 1800s, often absorb liquid over
time, become mushy, and can leave a taste or fibers in drinks. They’re the most popular
throwaway option in places with plastic-straw bans.
3. Silicone straw
This material provides a popular soft alternative to metal reusable straws. One
company has developed a silicone straw with an extra environmental twist: When burned,
it turns into biologically inert ash.
4. Glass straw
Though glass straws may be more breakable and thus less portable than reusable
straws of other materials, they hold up well to washing and reuse. Some makers add an
artistic flair to the straws with colors and blown-glass designs and ornaments.
5. Hard plastic straw
Reusable straws made from rigid plastic are portable, easy to clean, and
reasonably durable. Think of your typical reusable plastic water bottle shrunken to straw
size.
6. Bamboo straw
 This natural material can be sustainably produced and is a plant-based alternative
to fabricated straws. Bamboo straws are reusable but can be hard to clean completely and
may absorb flavors.

3. Arts from Plastic Waste

Plastic contamination is a terrible issue – the oceans are flooded with plastic waste, which
even causes it’s entering into our food chain. Meaning, that we eat the fish, that has microplastics
in their organisms. So plastic recycling seems like a good idea and true salvation not even to us,
but our nature too.

Plastic bottles can be used for many DIY (Do It Yourself) ideas, from making garden
decorations, bag from the coffee sachets, or even an umbrella. All of these plastic wastes allow
us to creatively re-use them for many purposes.

If you are wondering on what to do with all the plastic waste in your house, it would be
better not to simply throw it but you can collect them and give it to the people who willingly
recycled it into something useful. There are a lot of places nowadays that willingly to open their
house to collect all the plastic waste such as, coffee sachets, soap sachets, etc. For instance, the
people will turn the plastic waste to become something unexpected and they will sell it with a
cheap price.

1.6 CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION

Plastic is material consisting of any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic

compounds that are malleable and so can be molded into solid objects. Plastic is material
consisting of any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic compounds that are
malleable and so can be molded into solid objects.

Plastic affect many people, not only consumers but plastic also affects the environment
and animals. We are affected by plastic because we all dispose of them incorrectly and because
we are unaware of the consequences of using plastic. The amount of plastic we use is important
because once we throw the plastic away, they will just pile up and create pollution, which is
harmful to the environment because how we dispose of the plastic isn’t really going to help due
to the amount of time it takes for them to decompose.

Plastic are manufactured with fossil fuel which emits toxic gas which has become
detrimental to the various lifeforms in the planet. Inconsiderate disposal of plastic after use and
lack of proper management in non-industrial countries are also causing trouble to the
environment. Whimsical disposal of plastic bags clog drain pipes, thus contributing to massive
floods. Thus, by implementing the above-mentioned method and by adopting technique that are
being created we can be able to reduce the hazard. We are facing and also to avoid extreme
consequences from our nature.

There are a lot of alternative ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle plastic such as substitute
the plastic materials into other common materials, make them as an art by doing DIY, make them
as an ecobrick, or use reusable hard plastics for the daily uses.

Thus, the paper discusses and brief about the same thing which is already in words to be
converted into action. Because that support to avoid worst situation and to maintain our planet
earth remains green always and not only for our benefits but also its our own responsibility to
leave our planet green for our next generation to and so its high time to get alarmed about the
hazards contributed by plastics. Finally coming to end of our distribution the only thing we have
to do this to adopt proper strategies that can dissolve plastics from our environment is the
ultimate goal.