A Plastic Problem

A fine morning you wake up, drink some water from a plastic bottle, and then throw it out. Seems simple, right? But imagine that scenario happening to every other person who owns a single-use plastic water bottle, which could be any of the 7.888 billion people on this planet (as of 2021)! That amount isn’t big, it’s HUGE. In correspondence to a previous blog post (Informational Poetry – The Outside), I am writing this post to show what problem this planet is dealing with. Ladies and gentlemen, presenting: THE PLASTIC PROBLEM.

Now, I know that this issue has been previously addressed multiple times in the past few years, but other than informational essays at school, I wanted to have a say on this publicly. Walking outside and seeing a plastic bag flying around, trash in the grass, and the streets littered with crushed water bottles, ripped-up shards of plastic, and whatnot. Not only does that wreck a nice walk in the park, but it also hurts nature and planet Earth.

Did you know that since 1950, people have thrown away 6.3 billion metric tons of plastic and that plastic production has increased by 8.4% every year, putting us on pace to make a cumulative 32 billion metric tons of plastics by 2050? Crazy right! If we don’t do something now, who knows what could happen in the future.

I think we can all agree that plastic is a commonly used material, but some major issues come with it. Firstly, plastic doesn’t biodegrade, which means it can take up space in landfills for a very long time. Additionally, a lot of plastic items are only used once and then thrown away, which leads to a lot of waste. Finally, the amount of plastic being produced and used is increasing rapidly, which is a major concern. However, there are ways we can solve this problem in a way, by cutting down our use of plastic.

I believe that to solve this problem or at least try to prevent it is to recycle, reuse, and reduce our use of plastic. Recycling is important because it helps prevent plastic waste from ending up in landfills or in the ocean, where it can harm marine life. When shopping, look for plastics that can be easily recycled, such as those labeled with #1 or #2. If your town doesn’t have enough recycling bins, you could talk to your local officials about adding more.

Reuse is also important. Instead of throwing away items like plastic containers or bags after using them once, try to use them again as many times as possible. Investing in a reusable water bottle or shopping bag can also help reduce plastic waste. Finally, we can reduce our use of plastic by buying in bulk or using home reusable containers.

I have also taken part in this issue. I have gone to beach clean-ups as a kid with my school and taken out lots of trash there. My family has also been very conscious of what plastics we use, how we can reuse them, and more importantly making sure we recycle them. We will continue to do so to help pitch into this solution, and here’s what you can do:

A QUICK RUNDOWN OF STEPS YOU SHOULD FOLLOW:

• Reuse your plastic items instead of throwing them away
• Reduce your use of plastic and start using effective alternatives
• Recycle the plastic so that it can be properly disposed and reused

By taking these simple steps, we can all do our part to reduce the amount of plastic waste that ends up in landfills and the ocean. This will lower the plastic footprint, not harm nature, and make the world a cleaner place. So, let’s take a leap forward and engage in the saving and rejuvenation of planet Earth! Comment down below on how you have contributed to this anti-plastic movement, and subscribe to my blog for more!

-Kartik Lakhwani