Task2 - Environment >> Consumerism & Plastic

"Consumerism & Plastic"

Plastic pollution, as a result of consumerism, has serious environmental consequences.

To what extent do you agree?

Plastic pollution, otherwise known as white pollution, is the unfortunate consequence of consumerism. Almost everything we purchase in a modern society is packaged and presented in plastic. It is true that the curse of plastic pollution exists all around the world and there are serious dilemmas for the environment resulting from this.

White pollution is prevalent in many countries. This type of environmental degradation is caused by consumers discarding plastic bags carelessly. In some developing countries the landscape is covered with white plastic bags. This consumer waste is visible everywhere in the environment and, more importantly, will never biodegrade because of the chemical composition of this man made product.

Our oceans are also becoming a garbage dump for consumer waste. In fact, there is a crisis in the Pacific where the plastic leftovers of consumerism have been mindlessly dumped in this ocean. Scientist recently discovered what is now known as the Pacific gyre. This is a huge plastic garbage patch that floats in the North Pacific. This floating soup of plastic pollution covers an area that is twice the size of Texas. Plastic is 100% non-biodegradable. The tragedy is, that fish and birds consume the plastic accidentally. Eventually the marine life dies as a consequence of consuming pieces of plastic because it can block their digestive systems as well as releasing dangerous chemicals into their bodies such as DDT. It is estimated that there are currently 7 million tones of plastic floating in the Pacific gyre.

To conclude, in my opinion, plastic is the curse of consumerism. Governments need to legislate for packaging that is degradable and people need to carefully dispose of their plastic waste.