Introductions  By: Khalil Watts  A.K.A : K DUB

What Does Plastic Do To The Earth

 Plastic is one of the major toxic pollutants of our time. Being a non-biodegradable substance, composed of toxic chemicals, plastic pollutes earth, air and water.  There is no way whatsoever you can safely dispose of plastic waste.

The Damage Done To Earth  Plastic is one of the major toxic pollutants of our time. Being a non-biodegradable substance, composed of toxic chemicals, plastic pollutes earth, air and water.  There is no way whatsoever you can safely dispose of plastic waste.

The Cause Of Plastic  Some of the constituents of plastic such as benzene and vinyl chloride are known to cause cancer, while many others are gases and liquid hydrocarbons that vitiate earth and air. Plastic resins themselves are flammable and have contributed considerably to several accidents worldwide.

What Plastic Does To The Economy  The noxious substances emitted during the production of plastic are synthetic chemicals like ethylene oxide, benzene and xylenes. Besides hitting hard the eco-system, which is already fragile, these chemicals can cause an array of maladies ranging from birth defects to cancer, damage the nervous system and the immune system and also adversely affect the blood and the kidneys. And, many of these toxic substance are emitted during recycling of plastic, too.

How Plastic Can Be Burned  But can plastic be burned and thus its hazard got rid of? No way. When burned, plastic releases a host of poisonous chemicals into the air, including dioxin, the most toxic substance known to science.

Recycling  Recycling of plastic is associated with skin and respiratory problems, resulting from exposure to and inhalation of toxic fumes, especially hydrocarbons and residues released during the process. What is worse, the recycled plastic degrades in quality and necessitates the production of more new plastic to make the original product

Waste  Plastic wastes clog the drains and thus hit especially urban sewage systems. The plastic wastes being dumped into rivers, streams and seas contaminate the water, soil, marine life and also the very air we breathe. Choked drains provide excellent breeding grounds for disease-causing mosquitoes besides causing flooding during the monsoons. Plastic wastes clog the drains and thus hit especially urban sewage systems. The plastic wastes being dumped into rivers, streams and seas contaminate the water, soil, marine life and also the very air we breathe. Choked drains provide excellent breeding grounds for disease-causing mosquitoes besides causing flooding during the monsoons.

The dangers of plastic  Any attempt to get rid of plastic through landfills is also dangerous. Apart form toxic seepage from the landfill, resulting in the contamination of precious water sources, the waste mass impedes the flow of ground water as well and obstructs the movement of roots thereby badly affecting the soils biological balance and organic processes.

Invariable mixes  Landfills are also prone to leaks. The wastes especially cadmium and lead in the wastes invariably mix with rain water, then seep through the ground and drain into nearby streams and lakes and other water bodies. Thus the water we use gets poisoned.

How To Prevent The Harm Of Plastic.  The only way out of the deadly and lasting danger of plastic is to cut down the use of plastic, if not avoid it altogether. Say no to plastic whenever and wherever you can.

The Things It Can Do To You . They Use up Natural Resources: The most common plastic bags you see today are made from polyethylene. This material is made from crude oil and natural gas -- both non-renewable resources.  "Every time we use a new plastic bag they go and get more petroleum from the Middle East and bring it over in tankers," said Stephanie Barger, executive director of Earth Resource Foundation in Costa Mesa, California. "We are extracting and destroying the Earth to use a plastic bag for 10 minutes."  2. They Harm Wildlife and Marine Life. Plastic bags are now ubiquitous in our environment, and animals both on land and in water are being strangled, choked and killed by them. Plastic bags are now the fifth most common debris item found on beaches, according to the Ocean Conservancy, and international coastal cleanups have turned up more than 354,000 stray bags each year.  Meanwhile, Planet Ark, an international environmental group, estimates that, worldwide, 100,000 whales, seals, turtles and other marine animals are killed by plastic bags each year.  3. They Create Litter. Plastic bag use is now so prolific around the world that the bags have become a major source of litter. Aside from polluting beaches and waterways, plastic bags blowing around streets in China are so common they've earned the name "white pollution." And in South Africa, the bags littering the countryside are called "national flowers." In some African areas, people are even "harvesting" the plastic bags to make bags, hats and other crafts.  4. They Take a Long Time to Biodegrade. Most plastic bags used either end up as litter or in landfills (less than 1 percent are recycled). In a landfill, it's estimated that one plastic bag takes about 1,000 years to biodegrade. A plastic bag floating around as litter takes about 20 years.  5. They're Expensive. It isn't costly to produce plastic bags, per say, but the estimated costs to retailers who give away plastic bags for free amounts to about $4 billion a year.  When it comes to the environment, paper bags aren't any better than plastic ones. The best bet (for the environment and to save energy) is to use a reusable cloth bag to do your grocery shopping.  6. They can be Hazardous to Humans. Plastic bags pose a suffocation hazard to people, particularly children, and pets. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) receives an average of 25 reports each year in which a child has suffocated from a plastic bag.

What San Francisco Is Doing For Envirnment  San Francisco is currently considering banning all plastic bags from large grocery and drug stores, citing concerns that the bags use too many fossil fuels, litter streets and harm wildlife. If the law is passed, stores doing more than $2 million in sales a year could only offer customers bags made of recyclable paper, plastic that can be turned into compost, or sturdy cloth or plastic bags that can be reused. The ban would take effect in about six months.

What Eva Man I’m Not Buy’in It  San Francisco is currently considering banning all plastic bags from large grocery and drug stores, citing concerns that the bags use too many fossil fuels, litter streets and harm wildlife. If the law is passed, stores doing more than $2 million in sales a year could only offer customers bags made of recyclable paper, plastic that can be turned into compost, or sturdy cloth or plastic bags that can be reused. The ban would take effect in about six months.

They Thank They Betta Then Us Please  Why, exactly, are plastic bags coming under fire from everyone from legislators to environmental groups? Although convenient, using plastic bags, they say, comes at just too high a cost. Consider these reasons why many say plastic bags should be banned permanently.