Title: How Does Plastic Cause Air Pollution? | rePurpose Global Blog
Headings: How Does Plastic Cause Air Pollution?
How Does Plastic Cause Air Pollution?
1. The Extraction of Plastic’s Raw Material: Oil
2. The Impact of the Recycling Industry on Air Quality
3. Incineration of Plastic Materials
4. Plastics Ability to “Off-Gas”
Breathe In, Breath Out: What next?

Content: Workers melt down plastics without wearing any sort of professional protective gear and the air in this small town is thick with plastic-derived, toxic emissions. Just like producing virgin plastics, recycling plastics have the share the same threshold for emitting noxious gases into the atmosphere. In 2017 China announced that it no longer wanted to be everyone’s “garbage dump,” as it recycled 50% of the planet’s plastic products. As a result, Western nations have been puzzled over what to do with the huge amounts of garbage they produce every year, and how to dispose it, which leads us to the next way plastics impact our air quality: the release of toxic substances via incineration. 3. Incineration of Plastic Materials
Plastic’s slow decomposition rates is a major obstacle for the rapidly filling landfills all over the world. Researchers estimate that over 40% of the world’s garbage is burned. Burning plastic and other wastes releases dangerous substances such as heavy metals, persistent organic pollutants (POP), and other toxic chemicals into the air and persist in ash waste residues. These chemicals have been linked to the development of asthma, endocrine disruption and cancer.