Plastic waste is affecting not just the biodiversity, ecosystem and natural resources but also the health of humans and other animals due to ingestion of micro plastics. Plastic consists of fossil fuels and releases carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions. A recent release of the UN Environment Program (UNEP) stated that every day, equivalent to 2,000 garbage trucks full of plastics are dumped into the oceans, rivers, lakes and other natural water reservoirs — around 19-20 million tonnes of plastics and its molecules are leaked into waterbodies.
The abundant use of plastics in our households particularly is the cause — carry bags, straw, water bottles, pens, food containers, ketchup packs and mayonnaise bottles, everything we use is of plastics. And for that reason, micro plastics molecules are found in human blood and placenta as well and that could be leading to carcinogenic disorders in humans. Even in the remotest part of the Southern Ocean, plastics are traced.
The concept of plastic was first identified and marketed in 1907 by the Belgian scientist Leo Baekeland using formaldehyde and phenol. Later on, this element of Bakelite became extremely popular and affordable to use. But to study and track micro plastics is difficult and they can easily enter the food chain and even have a high affinity towards intoxicants molecularly.
The optimal way out to is to rethink, redesign and conserve. A holistic and comprehensive solution is to use sustainable composite material with regulatory disposal.
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