Good afternoon ma’am.

I am Naitik and I am going to tell you about my project on

single-use plastic.
So let’s begin!!
Plastic is a curse but it also makes our lives easy. Plastic is a word that means “pliable
and easily shaped ’’. Polymers are made from long chains of molecules.
Invention of plastic.
In 1862, Alexander Parkes, invented Parkesine, the first man – made plastic by dissolving
cellulose nitrate in alcohol and camphor containing ether.
What is single-use plastic? Give examples
Single-use plastic is plastic that is used only once before disposing it off. Examples of
single-use plastic are-
 Plastic straws
 Plastic plates
 Plastic glasses etc.
Why is plastic so popular?
Plastic is so popular because of-
 Plastic is cheap
 Plastic is easy to store
 Plastics are highly durable
How long can plastic live in the before decomposing in the
environment?
Normally, plastic items take up to 1000 years to decompose in landfills
but plastic bags we use in our everyday life take 10-20 years to decompose,
while plastic bottles take 450 years.
Explain how plastic is affecting-
i. Humans
ii. Animals
iii. Environment
 Plastic is part of our everyday lives. We eat with it. We drink with it, wash
our clothes with it, package our goods with it and lots more. Due to its
convenience, plastic is used for almost everything. Despite these numerous
advantages, it also has a bad side. We will be looking at how is plastic
harmful to humans.
• Affect human health - Plastics are harmful to human health mainly due to the
chemicals used in their manufacture and production.
• Contaminate drinking water - Plastic micro-particles can find their way into
our drinking water. When sunlight and erosion break down huge plastic
waste into a lot of smaller pieces, it produces these tiny plastic particles.
Animals
• Animals get stuck in plastic - Many animals get stuck in plastic sometimes!
Animals accidently eat plastic - Animals accidently eat plastic and die.
Environment
Dumping plastic in landfills - Plastic has toxic pollutants that damage
the environment and cause land, water, and air pollution. It can take
hundreds or even thousands of years for plastic to break down, so the damage
to the environment is long-lasting.
Compare in a graph and find out which country generated least amount of
plastic in recent past in India, Sweden, United Kingdom and Germany.
Out of the given countries, Sweden produces least amount of plastic each
year. Germany produces most amount of plastic per year. After Germany,
UK produces the most plastic followed by India and in the end, Sweden.
Suggest ways to live with less plastic
We can’t remove plastics from our lives but we
Can use it less and save ourselves and Mother Earth from its bad effects.
Some ways are listed
Below:-
• If you need disposable cups or products, use recyclable paper instead
of plastic.
• Bring your own grocery bags when you shop.
Eco-friendly alternatives for single-use plastic
 I. Jute bags
II. Steel Utensils
III. Wooden furniture
i. Why is much plastic is not recycled-
• It’s not a recyclable plastic.
• Chemical make up of the plastic.
ii. Advantages of recycling plastic-
 Waste recycling has some significant advantages :-
 It leads to utilization of raw materials .
 Reduces environmental impacts arising from waste treatment and disposal .
What the government is doing against plastic waste management at the local
and national level in United Kingdom-
The United Kingdom government is doing many things against plastic waste.
Some of them are listed below :-
 The government banned-
Disposable plastic cutlery
Cotton buds
Polystyrene packaging
Plastic hot drink stirrers
PVC packaging
 Plastic Oceans UK, established in 2009, was the first NGO to raise awareness
about the impact of plastic pollution on our ocean.
 The UK Plastics Pact is a trailblazing, collaborative initiative that will create
a circular economy for plastics. It brings together businesses from across the
entire plastics value chain with UK governments and NGOs to tackle the
scourge of plastic waste.
This what I learnt during my project
Thank You