Why are plastics bad?

Plastic products are now an integral part of our everyday lives, which is why polymers are manufactured on a large scale around the world. On average, global plastic production exceeds 150 million tonnes per year.

Its wide range of applications is in the packaging of films, packaging materials, shopping bags, garbage bags, liquid containers, clothing, toys, household items, industrial products, and building materials. It is estimated that around 70% of plastic packaging products become plastic waste within a short period of time.

Plastics are bad because they have a negative effect on the environment and wildlife.

About 9.4 million TPA of plastic waste is generated in the country, which corresponds to 26,000 TPD2. Around 60% of this is recycled, of which % mostly in the informal sector.

While some types of plastics do not degrade at all, others can take up to 450, years to degrade. Plastic isn’t inherently bad, and there’s a lot of it in its redemptive environmental properties. Many of the techniques we use in our projects involve the specific use of plastic products. Its durability and low maintenance reduce material replacement, its lightweight reduces transport energy, its formulation in adhesive products allows the manufacture of engineered wood and panel products from recycled wood, and its formulation in insulation products and high-quality sealants improves the energy efficiency of our facilities.

When plastic is discarded at the end of its useful life, it is referred to as plastic waste. Its durability and resistance to decay is also the source of one of its greatest liabilities when it comes to plastic disposal. Natural organisms have great difficulty in breaking synthetic chemical bonds in plastic, creating the enormous material persistence problem.

A very small amount of the total plastic production (less than 10%) is actually recycled; The remaining plastics end up in landfills, where it is staying for years in suspension for hundreds of thousands of years, or to incinerators, where its toxic compounds are released into the atmosphere to transform into biotic forms in the environment to accumulate.

Plastic is a material made to last forever, and because of the same chemical composition, plastic cannot biodegrade; breaks down into tiny pieces . Buried in a landfill, the plastic is left untreated for years. During this process, toxic chemicals leach out of the plastic and seep into groundwater, which drains downstream into lakes and rivers.

Plastic also causes soil contamination and has now started resulting in the presence of microplastics in the soil.

The increasing presence of plastic on the sea surface has led to more serious problems. The decrease in oxygen levels in the water, is seriously affecting the survival of marine species.

When marine life and even birds accidentally consume plastic, they drown in it, causing their population to decline.

Most plastic waste is recyclable, but products are recycled and are more polluting because contain additives and colorants. Raw plastic material can be recycled 23 times, because after each recycling, the plastic material decomposes due to thermal pressure, and its service life is reduced.

As such, recycling is not a safe and permanent solution for plastics.

The disposal of plastic waste has been identified as a serious problem due to an inadequate collection and separation system. Only 60% of the plastic produced is recycled, the rest 9400 tons of plastic remain unattended in the environment, causing pollution of land, air, and water.

70% of plastic packaging becomes plastic waste in a short time.

Plastic is versatile, lightweight, flexible, moisture-resistant, strong, and relatively inexpensive. These are the attractive qualities that make us have such cravings throughout the world

Our tremendous attraction to plastic, coupled with an undeniable behavioral propensity to consume, throw away and thereby pollute more and more, has become a naturally deadly combination.

Plastic disposal is one of the most overlooked and problematic areas of plastic’s environmental impact. The effects of plastic on aquatic life are devastating and accelerating. In addition to causing choking and other causes of death in birds, fish, and larger mammals, plastic is being ingested by tiny creatures as well (as it breaks down into smaller and smaller particles) and is accumulating in increasing concentrations in the food chain, with humans at the forefront.

More than 600 marine species are affected by plastics. Nearly 45,000 marine animals have ingested plastic and 80% have been injured or killed.

Plastics are made from petroleum in a highly polluting production process. Plastic simply does not dissolve, it breaks down into microparticles that circulate in the environment.

The Philippines alone has thrown away over 1 trillion pounds of plastic into our oceans. That’s the equivalent of more than 118,000 trucks.

In 30 years, there will probably be more plastic in our oceans than fish.

83% of our drinking water contains plastic.

Studies show that eating plastic can lead to cancer, effects on hormone levels, and heart damage. They have even been found in the blood of newborn babies.

Plastic can puncture animals from the inside or cause starvation, entrapment, loss of body parts, and suffocation. As plastics travel with ocean currents, an island of garbage called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch has emerged. There are now many waste islands in our seas.

Plastics are like mentioned dangerous to human life as well. When plastic is burned, it produces halogens. Collectively, these harmful chemicals are known to cause the following serious health problems: cancer, endometriosis, neurological damage, endocrine disorders, birth defects, childhood developmental disorders, reproductive harm, immune damage, asthma, and multiple organ damage.