Ashley Allen
Final Project: Environmental Issue Paper
Southern New Hampshire University
February 17, 2022
Environmental Issue
A lot of important ecological crises are confronting the world today, but environmental debris
and the extent to which it is hurting both our lands and our oceans is one of the most important
environmental issues that is not being covered enough in the media. Today's globe is plagued by
a significant problem called plastic pollution. Every year, millions of plastic bottles and other
items are discarded into the environment, seriously affecting both our ocean and our natural
landscape. A severe environmental problem, plastic pollution is made worse by bad human
habits and behaviors. The world's plastic pollution problem would not be as terrible as it is now
if people were more aware of the precise ways that their accumulated plastic trash harms the
ecology.
Global Impact
Plastic pollution undoubtedly has a harmful influence on both our land and our oceans. In reality,
roughly "8 million tons of plastic garbage slip into the ocean from coastal nations every year,"
according to a 2019 story by Laura Parker for National Geographic (Parker,2019). If you
consider that figure, the annual quantity of plastic garbage put into our oceans is 8 million tons,
which is a significant amount. Over the years, plastic pollution has become so terrible that many
beaches across the world are now covered with rubbish. As a result, some of our marine life is
being harmed and put in danger.
Local Impact
Where I reside, plastic waste is a significant environmental problem for the ocean. I looked into
the plastic contamination in the neighborhood where I reside in Hawaii. After doing some
investigation, I discovered that the entire beach in Hawaii is referred to as "Plastic Beach." On
the Big Island of Hawaii, there is a beach called Plastic Beach where, according to reports, you
can discover a ton of plastic trash, including "toothbrushes, plastic broom(s), a leaky bottle, the
back of a TV, and more" (The Guardian, 2020). Finding out that there are beaches covered with
tons of plastic debris, like the beach in Hawaii, is evidence that plastic pollution has genuinely
turned into a serious ecological problem in the modern age. The finding of plastic beaches should
also serve as a reminder to society as a whole that cooperation is key if we are to stop the
environmental problem of plastic pollution from becoming worse over time. It is very startling to
realize exactly how filthy the ocean already is, and no marine animal or human should ever have
to fear the massive quantities of trash that has already begun drifting around in our ocean.
Human Impact
Ecological Processes Impacted
The natural process of animal development is being hampered by the disposal of plastic debris in
the water. Because so many of our marine animals perish each year from eating or being stuck in
plastic garbage, plastic pollution in the water and on land may limit the number of species. The
fewer marine creatures we have to continue reproducing certain marine species, the more marine
animals are damaged by plastic pollution. Another ecological process that is being influenced by
plastic garbage is the quality of water that is created from the ocean. Our water quality declines
as more plastic is dumped into the ocean. In a Watershed Institute article, it is said that "when
plastics leach into the water, they begin to degrade the quality of our water with hazardous
chemicals" (Watershed, 2019).
Human Impact on Ecological Issues
The sustainability of the surroundings in which we live is significantly influenced by how we
handle the planet. The world's water quality continues to be severely impacted by subpar human
activity, which has greatly contaminated our ocean waters. Many of us are not properly dumping
our old plastics, endangering our marine life in the process and contributing significantly to the
contamination of our seas with plastic. Plastic pollution "also produces numerous types of
harmful outcomes [towards our marine life] along with ecological and socio-economic
implications," according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Significant ecological
consequences that pose expanding risks to biodiversity and trophic connections include
entanglement, toxicological effects from ingesting plastics, asphyxia, hunger, dispersion, and
rafting of creatures, supply of new habitats, and introduction of invading species (Thushari,
2020). It implies that the harmful repercussions linked with plastic pollution will only become
worse as long as humans continue to let more and more plastic enter our oceans. In particular, if
we do not find a means to halt the enormous volumes of plastic garbage that are poured into our
oceans each year, our marine life will continue to suffer greatly.
Local Impact on Ecological Processes
The way individuals in your neighborhood respect the environment may tell you a lot about the
neighborhood you live in. I'm from Hawaii, where plastic trash pollution of the seas and beaches
is a major issue. In fact, the level of plastic pollution in Hawaii is so high that a whole beach has
earned the moniker "plastic beach" because no one can walk on that specific stretch of sand
without walking on a sizable piece of garbage or plastic. The "plastic beach" in Hawaii is really
called Kamilo Beach, and it is situated on the Big Island. Between 15 and 20 tons of waste wash
up on Kamilo beach each year, with 96% of it being plastic, according to the Hawai'i Wildlife
Fund (HWF) (Barney, 2020). An absurd quantity of plastic garbage to be accumulating in one
area is 20 tons of plastic debris washing up on the strand of a single beach per year. The island of
Oahu in the state of Hawaii ``generates more than 2.2 million tons of trash yearly from
residential, commercial, and industrial sources," according to the city and county of Honolulu's
Department of Environmental Services. 2019 (Honolulu DES). After conducting some research,
I discovered that there are only around a million people living on the island of Oahu. If more
than 2 million tons of plastic garbage are dumped into the ocean there each year, then each
resident of Oahu is squandering at least 2000 pounds of plastic on their own. It is disturbing to
consider that a single individual uses at least 2000 pounds of plastic a year and doesn't properly
dispose of their plastics, but maybe the high amounts of plastic pollution in Hawai'i can be
lowered soon.
Potential Solutions for Plastic Pollution
Humans need to use fewer plastics overall, the government has to improve waste collection
methods, and we all need to start recycling more plastics rather than tossing them away as waste.
These are just a few potential solutions to the plastic pollution problem. Long-term solutions to
plastic pollution necessitate interdisciplinary methods and international cooperation, according to
the US National Library of Medicine (Prata et al., 2019). Simply said, it is simple to see that if
we all worked together and did our bit to minimize the enormous volumes of plastic trash that
are poisoning our planet every day, we would be able to preserve it from the disastrous long-term
effects of microplastics far sooner.
The globe is now experiencing deadly amounts of plastic pollution every day, but reducing our
use of plastic will finally enable our ecology to recover. If we want to attempt to have a
meaningful and beneficial influence on the health of our environment around us, we can all at
least strive to use as little plastic as possible every day, even if we cannot eradicate every single
piece of plastic from the planet. Also, if the government implemented better waste management.
It would be much simpler for us humans to dispose of our plastics in a way that would not
further hurt the environment if there were management systems for everyone to dispose of their
plastic waste items in. Our present garbage disposal practices as a country "threaten our health,
safety, and environment and entail extra indirect costs to society," according to a report by New
Mexico State University (Abdul-Rahman, 2014). Most cities now employ conventional waste
handling techniques including burning plastic garbage, promoting the recycling of plastic items,
using recycling facilities, and using landfills. Sadly, maintaining a healthy, plastic-free world
does not necessarily require recycling plastic trash or burning old plastics. Even recycling our
plastic waste is not always sufficient to maintain a clean environment. Indeed, recycling plastics
rather than throwing them in the garbage is an excellent first step in decreasing plastic pollution
on the globe today. However, recycling plastics is far from the sole action that we should all be
taking if we are all serious about reducing waste materials.
Humans must first learn how to alter their habits in order to safeguard the environment and see a
more positive improvement in the health of our world if they are to truly help rescue the
environment. To achieve this, a person must be able to change their perspective on
environmental concerns and always put the demands of the environment and the land ahead of
their own. Humans need to understand the damage that allowing plastics into the environment
does, and we must all work together to do all in our power to stop additional plastics from
entering our ecosystem in the future. One of the most effective ways we as humans can combat
pollution and climate change, according to a Penn State essay, is that "we all acknowledge that
climate change is a genuine threat to our world, and even to our survival" (Penn State, 2017).
Furthermore, the same article states that "practicing positive habits such as engaging in
environmental activism, recycling, saving energy, minimizing water consumption, and
decreasing the frequency of car use, are all important actions to adopt addressing this issue [of
climate change]" (Penn State, 2017). If we could all only do our part to prevent the emergence of
additional plastic pollution in the globe, the environment around us would gradually become a
healthier place to live. Everyone of us must contribute to safeguarding the preservation of the
land and doing our part to make the globe a healthy place to live.
Reducing Personal Impact
I myself do not use a lot of plastics in my daily life, but I have discovered that when I do, I never
properly dispose of the plastic things I use. Recently, I caught myself tossing a plastic water
bottle in the trash rather than properly discarding and recycling the bottle. I will make it a point
to recycle my plastics whenever I can moving ahead in light of what I have learned about plastic
pollution and instead of tossing them away in the garbage. In addition, I now carry a metal cup
around with me to put my beverages in at restaurants instead of using plastic cups, which I hope
will help me create a more positive environmental effect around me. I can improve the quality of
life for everyone around me by being more mindful of how I use plastics and learning to recycle
them rather than toss them away. Lowering my usage of plastics and understanding correct
recycling techniques would prevent additional plastic from floating about our lands and seas,
improving the water quality there and reducing overall plastic pollution in the world. As fewer
plastic cups are used and thrown away, there would be less plastic garbage everywhere around
me. I think it helps the environment to carry a metal cup rather than buying beverages in plastic
cups at restaurants. According to Princeton University research, "making plastic bottles requires
a tremendous amount of energy and resources, and they end up in the ocean or landfills after
only one use. As most plastics are not recycled, they remain in the environment for up to 1000
years before decomposing, leaving a significant carbon impact. Reusable bottles allow us to
reduce our carbon footprint and pollution since they may be used repeatedly (Ramsden, 2020). It
implies that although switching to a metal cup from a plastic one may not seem like much, even
that small modification to my daily routine has a significant influence on the environment.
Furthermore, I'll keep using renewable sources like copper and steel cups at restaurants rather
than plastic ones to help reduce the amount of plastic trash in the environment. In order to stop
adding to the local plastic pollution levels near me, I will also strive to be more mindful of how I
discard my plastics in the future and I will deliberately choose to recycle them rather than throw
them out every day. Last but not least, I'll spend extra money on purchasing metal items like food
containers and straws rather than consistently using plastic ones. I can lessen my carbon footprint
and do more to help the environment by opting to utilize more metal items instead of plastic
ones. Finally, by recycling more of my plastics rather than throwing them away, I will be using
suitable waste plastic systems to dispose of my plastic waste and ensuring that my usage of
plastics will have a less negative impact on the natural world in the future.
References
Abdul-Rahman, F. (2014). Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Alternatives for Waste Management.
Aces.nmsu.edu. Retrieved 17 February 2022, from
https://aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/_g/G314.pdf
Barney, L. (2020). Welcome to Hawaii's 'plastic beach', one of the world's dirtiest places. The
Guardian. Retrieved 18 February 2022, from https://www.theguardian.com/us
news/2020/jan/10/kamilo-beachplastic-hawaii-pollution
Environment and Human Behavior | Applied Social Psychology (ASP). (2017, February 3).
Psu.Edu. Retrieved February 6, 2022, from
https://sites.psu.edu/aspsy/2017/02/03/environment-and-humanbehavior/
Environmental Protection Agency (n.d). Ecological Processes. US EPA. Retrieved 17 February
2022, from https://www.epa.gov/report-environment/ecological-processes
Honolulu City and County of Environmental Protection Services. How the City Manages Our
Waste. (2019). Retrieved 18 February 2022, from
https://opala.org/solid_waste/archive/How_our_City_manages_our_waste.html
Prata, J. C., Silva, A., da Costa, J. P., Mouneyrac, C., Walker, T. R., Duarte, A. C., &
Rocha-Santos, T. (2019). Solutions and Integrated Strategies for the Control and
Mitigation of Plastic and Microplastic Pollution. International journal of environmental
research and public health, 16(13), 2411. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16132411
Ramsden, K. (2020, March 30). Single-use Plastic & Alternatives. Princeton.Edu. Retrieved
February 6, 2022, from
https://psci.princeton.edu/tips/2020/3/30/single-use-plastic-amp-alternatives
Thushari, G., & Senevirathna, J. (2020). Plastic pollution in the marine environment. Heliyon,
96(8), e04709. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04709
Watershed Institute (2019). How Does Plastic Pollution Harm Water?. Retrieved 17 February
2022, from https://thewatershed.org/how-does-plastic-pollution-harmwater
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