Plastic Pollution and

Disadvantages
Ahmad Mujtaba
Ph.D. Environmental Sciences
Introduction
Plastic: First man-made Plastic “Nitrocellulose” by
Alexander Parkes in 1862
Plastic is basically made up of synthetic polymers
(PVC, polystyrene, polyethylene, silicone, nylon,
neoprene)
Plastic Pollution
Plastic pollution is the accumulation of plastic
objects (e.g.: plastic bottles and much more) in the
Earth's environment that adversely affects wildlife,
wildlife habitat, and humans
Plastic Products
Plastic Utensils
Toys
Bottles
Plastic/shopping bags
Household items
Disadvantages of Plastic
Non-biodegradable and unable to decompose
Environmental harms
Chemical risks
Danger to wildlife and marine life
Petroleum based
Non-Biodegradable
Estimated no. of plastic bags used around the world
ranges from 500 billion to a trillion
Its takes about 400 to 1000 years to decompose
depending upon nature of plastic
Such large no. of production create a huge waste
Environmental Harms
Burning of plastic cause air pollution and ozone
depletion
Dumping and throwing away cause land pollution
Throwing into water bodies cause water pollution and
also harm marine life
Chemical Risks
Creation and recycling of plastic produce toxic materials of
many kind
Some additives infused in plastic cause harm to our
metabolism
Phthalates and BPA are widely used to prevent degrading of
plastic interfere our natural hormone level and cause serious
to males and females
Danger to Wildlife and Marine Life
Plastic bags may get wrapped around marine animals
Harm the turtles by swallowing plastic bags as food
About 100, 000 sea turtles and other marine animals
die every year
Petroleum based
Polyethylene plastic bags are made from natural gas
and crude oil
Because of non-renewable resources the mining and
manufacturing process creates pollution
Recycling 1 ton of plastic saves equal to about 11 barrels
of oil
Conclusion and Suggestions