Plastic is a high molecular organic polymer comprised of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, sulphur, nitrogen and chlorine. It is regarded as a highly contagious material that does not degrade easily in the natural environment after its usage or utility period. Deposition of plastic entities in the environment can severely affect human, wildlife and their habitat.
Plastic wastes are terrible for the environment as it takes a lot of time to degrade to plastic. Moreover, burying soil inside the land causes land pollution, while burning plastic causes air pollution.
Definition: Plastic pollution refers to the deposition of plastic entities in the environment that can severely affect human, wildlife and their habitat.
Q1. What is the effect of plastic pollution on marine life?
(a) It poisons them
(b) It starves them to death
(c ) It makes reproduction complex
(d) All of the above
Answer: (d) Plastic pollution makes reproduction complex, poisons the marine life and starves them to death.
Q2. How much is plastic waste recycled in the United Kingdom?
(a) 46 per cent
(b) 41 per cent
(c ) 39 per cent
(d) None of the above
Answer: (a) About 46 per cent of plastic waste is recycled in the United Kingdom.
Q3. Which of the following country is the leading plastic polluter?
(a) United Kingdom
(b) United States of America
(c ) China
(d) None of the above
Answer: (c ) China is the leading plastic polluter.
Q4. How much time does a plastic bottle take to decompose?
(a) 150 years
(b) 300 years
(c ) 450 years
(d) None of the above
Answer: (c ) A plastic bottle takes 450 years to decompose.
Q5. Which of the following practice can help in reducing plastic pollution?
(a) Using steel, glass or bamboo straw
(b) Reusing shopping bags
(c ) Picking up plastic litter
(d) All of the above
Answer: (d) Using steel, glass or bamboo straw, reusing shopping bags and picking up plastic litter can help in reducing plastic pollution.
Q6. What is plastic pollution?
Answer: Plastic pollution refers to the deposition of plastic entities in the environment that can severely affect human, wildlife and their habitat.
Q7. What is plastic?
Answer: Plastic is a high molecular organic polymer comprised of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, sulphur, nitrogen and chlorine.
Q8. Why is plastic useful?
Answer: Plastic is a high molecular organic polymer comprised of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, sulphur, nitrogen and chlorine. Plastic is useful because of the following reasons.
1. It is light in weight.
2. It is easy to process.
3. It is reasonable.
4. It is abundant.
5. It is durable and resistant to corrosion and moisture.
6. It is hygienic and recyclable.
7. It requires less maintenance.
Q9. Where does plastic come from?
Answer: Plastic is a high molecular organic polymer comprised of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, sulphur, nitrogen and chlorine. It comprises natural materials like coal, salt, cellulose, crude oil and natural gas through a polymerisation or polycondensation method.
Q10. What are the different types of plastics?
Answer: Plastic is a high molecular organic polymer comprised of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, sulphur, nitrogen and chlorine. There are primarily five types of plastics.
1. Acrylics
2. Polyesters
3. Silicones
4. Polyurethanes
5. Halogenated plastics
Q11. Why is plastic terrible for the environment?
Answer: Plastic is terrible for the environment because of the following reasons.
1. It takes a lot of time to degrade it.
2. Many harmful substances are released into the soil when plastic is buried inside the soil.
3. Many harmful substances are released into the air when plastic is burned.
Q12. What are the harmful effects of plastic pollution?
Answer: Plastic pollution refers to the deposition of plastic entities in the environment that can severely affect human, wildlife and their habitat. Some of the major long-term effects of pollution are mentioned below.
1. It can upset the food chain.
2. It can contribute to groundwater, land, and air pollution.
3. It can suffocate marine animals to death.
Q13. Enlist a few methods by which we can reduce plastic pollution.
Answer: Plastic pollution refers to the deposition of plastic entities in the environment that can severely affect human, wildlife and their habitat. We can reduce plastic pollution by the following ways.
1. Wean yourself off disposable plastics.
2. Recycling everything.
3. Shopping friendly,
4. Avoid bottled water.
5. Bring your garment bag to the shop.
6. Imposing a bag tax or banning plastic bags.
7. Boycotting microbeads
8. By using reusable containers instead of plastic containers.
9. Educating people.
Q14. What kind of environmental hazards are caused by plastic waste?
Answer: Plastic is made up of various chemical elements and is therefore regarded as a highly contagious material that does not degrade quickly in the natural environment after its usage or utility period. Plastic wastes result in the following environmental hazards.
1. Littering of plastic waste in water can block the sewage system, spreading waterborne diseases and increasing the cost of the sewage maintenance system.
2. It can affect soil fertility as plastic waste forms a part of manure that remains in the soil for years without natural degradation.
3. It can cause diseases related to the stomach and intestine.
4. It can suffocate marine animals to death.
3. Littering the landfills and other open spaces with plastic garbage leads to unhygienic and ugly scenes.
Q15. Match the following.
Column A
Column B
Plastic waste
Eco-friendly material
Waste separation
Three R’s
Reduce, reuse, and recycle
Biodegradable, recyclable and non-recyclable
Stainless steel
Threat to environment
Answer:
Column A
Column B
Plastic waste
Threat to environment
Waste separation
Biodegradable, recyclable and non-recyclable
Reduce, reuse, and recycle
Three R’s
Stainless steel
Eco-friendly material
Q1. Is plastic biodegradable?
Q2. How does plastic affect the air?
Q3. How does plastic pollute land?
Q4. Where are plastics used the most?
Q5. What are PCBs?
Click the PDF to check the answers for Practice Questions.
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Allow me to be honest, while I can certainly reduce plastic use – anyone can! I’m not one of those people who can eliminate all use of plastic. Maybe until the day Oreos become available in a reusable cookie jar you can return for a little discount off the next cookie jar of Oreos… Nabisco, make it happen!
I know, to do that, the entire business model needs to be changed. But I suspect it’s only a matter of time now.
Now, even though I still eat Oreos, it doesn’t mean I’m not doing my part to reduce plastic use! In fact, I’ve been doing it for the past 4 years, and I don’t intend to stop. I believe imperfect efforts are better than no effort.
Here are 5 questions we can ask ourselves to reduce our plastic footprint, even with a typical lifestyle.
Photo by Brian Yurasits on UnsplashDon’t use disposable when you can use reusable. Washing only takes 5 minutes, decomposing plastic takes 500 years.
Examples:
When buying something, evaluate both the product and its packaging and choose the most sustainable option.
Examples:
“There’s no question that the No 3,4, 6 and 7 plastics are going into landfills and incinerators. We have a huge problem.” John Hocevar, the Oceans Campaign Director for Greenpeace USA in an article by The Guardian
Most of the synthetic fiber used to make our clothes are derived from virgin plastic. With the fashion industry being so large and fast moving, clothes are a huge contributor to plastic pollution.
Every time we wash a piece of clothing made with synthetic fibers, be it yoga pants, moisture-wicking T-shirts, or microfiber rags, microfibers get washed down the drain into the water treatment plant. Because the fibers are so small, the filters can’t catch them. 40% end up in lakes, rivers and ocean. Fleece jackets are particularly bad, and old jackets shed twice as much!
Apart from tainting our water sources and getting eaten by us, these synthetic fibers also get eaten by marine animals like tiny fishes, oysters and crabs. These tiny animals get no nutrients and yet feel full from the “meal”, stunting their growth and reproduction. Eventually, some of them die from starvation.
To prevent this, remember the following:
wear them out
.It’s difficult to find clothes made with natural fiber, even socks are made with polyester these days! But it is possible. Just check the labels!
You’ll be surprised at how much plastic waste you can eliminate from your life just by keeping it simple.
Examples:
Even when it seems like you’ve done everything you can, keep this question in mind. For us non-zero-wasters, there’s always more we can do.
Question the ways we do things that uses plastic; remember ways we’ve lived without plastic just a few decades ago. Be creative and be brave!
I hope I’ve managed to convince you that we can still do a lot to reduce our plastic use without changing our lifestyle.
Plastic, by itself, is not a problem. It’s thanks to our over-usage and misuse that plastic pollution became a crisis. If we keep the effect of plastic on our minds, we’ll keep finding ways to reduce its use.
I encourage you to keep talking about the impact of plastic pollution to spread awareness. None of us can solve the plastic crisis alone, but collectively, we have a chance.
If you’re also on a journey to reduce your plastic use, I’d love to hear from you! And I hope you’ve found this post useful.
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