Do you think the plastic bottle disappears once you throw it in the trash? In reality, it can take up to 450 years to decompose. Right now, it might be drifting toward the ocean with the currents, or breaking down into invisible microplastics that quietly find their way into the water you drink and the seafood you eat—this is plastic pollution, a “hidden crisis” we have underestimated for decades, one that has already seeped into every corner of our lives.
According to reports, scientists estimate that nearly 200 trillion pieces of plastic debris are floating in the world’s oceans. Without action, this number could triple.
Then, what are the reasons behind people’s frequent use of plastic, leading to the extreme rise of the plastic disaster crisis in recent years? First, there are the characteristics of plastic itself. Plastic is difficult to decompose and takes hundreds of years to break down in the environment. Its lightweight nature, meanwhile, allows it to spread easily to various places, causing long-term pollution. Second is humanity’s consumption habits and lifestyle. People are overly reliant on single-use plastics, such as straws and takeaway packaging. Additionally, the growth of online shopping and food delivery services has led to extensive use of extra plastic packaging to protect products. What’s more, the impact of the pandemic has driven up the demand for plastic, further exacerbating plastic pollution. Finally, it is due to the inadequacy of waste management systems. The low recycling rate of plastic results in a large amount of plastic being discarded. Moreover, much plastic waste is casually thrown away by people or ends up in landfills, and eventually finds its way into rivers and oceans. This harms marine life, impacts human health, and leads to environmental degradation.
The core hazards of plastic pollution focus on three dimensions: ecosystem destruction, threats to human health, and long-term environmental degradation—all of which are interconnected and form a vicious cycle.
1. Ecosystems: A “Lethal Invasion” from Land to Ocean
Plastic waste directly or indirectly endangers the survival of animals and plants. In the ocean, sea turtles may mistake plastic bags for jellyfish and ingest them, leading to fatal blockages in their digestive tracts; seabirds, whose feathers get entangled in plastic debris, lose their ability to fly and eventually starve to death. Even when plastic decomposes in the environment into microplastics (plastic particles smaller than 5 millimeters in diameter), these particles are consumed by plankton. They then accumulate through the food chain—from plankton to small fish, and then to large fish—disrupting the balance of the entire ecological chain. For example, the “Eighth Continent” located between the West Coast of the U.S. and Hawaii, consists of a vortex that contains around 4 million tons of plastic waste and covers an area of more than 1.4 million square kilometers. Plastic waste is becoming a serious threat to the survival of marine organisms, as many seabirds are mistaking fragments of plastic debris as food. For instance, a Laysan albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) was found to have 934 pieces of plastic products in its stomach, which led to death via suffocation, starvation, or dehydration. Additionally, the plastic waste breaks down into microplastics and bio-accumulates along the food chain which leads to an entire marine ecological chain being altered.
2. Human Health: “Invisible Risks” Hiding in Food and the Environment
Humans are exposed to the hazards of plastic pollution through multiple pathways. On one hand, microplastics have been detected in drinking water, table salt, seafood, and even the air. Once they enter the human body, they may disrupt the endocrine system or act as “carriers” for heavy metals and chemical pollutants, increasing health risks. On the other hand, burning plastic waste releases toxic gases such as dioxins; long-term inhalation of these gases raises the risk of developing respiratory diseases and chronic illnesses.
3. Environmental Degradation: An Irreversible “Long-Term Burden”
The non-degradable nature of plastic makes it a “long-term liability” for the environment: ordinary plastic bags take over 200 years to decompose naturally, and plastic bottles can take up to 450 years. Large amounts of plastic waste piled in landfills occupy land resources and contaminate soil; plastic that flows into rivers clogs waterways, disrupts water cycles, and even pollutes groundwater through seepage. This causes sustained damage to agriculture and fisheries—industries that rely on these resources—and ultimately restricts the living and development space of humanity.
As the crisis of plastic pollution continues to escalate, in 2022, countries agreed that a global treaty was needed in two years to tackle the issue. The main issues they are trying to get agreement on include: Targets for cutting the production levels of single-use plastic, Bans on some of the most harmful chemicals in plastic, Universal guidance on the design of plastic products, and Financing of this effort.
So what can we do to reduce plastic waste? First, when ordering takeout, we can bring a reusable container or cup. When shopping for food, we can carry a reusable sealed bag to hold fruits and vegetables. Second, do not litter plastic waste by the roadside or seashore at will. This is likely to cause animals to ingest it by mistake and lead to environmental pollution. Thirdly, we can repurpose these plastics into creative items instead of simply throwing them into the trash. For instance, making flowers from plastic materials and old toys is not only aesthetically pleasing but also prevents environmental pollution.
Plastic pollution is one of the most important issues of our time. It has a widespread impact on the ecosystem as a whole. Marine life is dying from ingesting plastic. Microplastics have contaminated our soil and groundwater. Humans are increasingly exposed to the risks of plastic pollution by accumulating it within the food chain. All these cases highlight the deep contradiction between the ‘non-degradable’ nature of plastic and our habit of ‘overusing’ it.
Individual reliance on single-use plastic and companies’ decision to use cheap plastic packaging is at the very heart of this crisis. Some root causes neglect strong policies and support for emerging technologies.
Plastic waste is a problem we can solve ourselves. There is a gradual reduction of pollution from human-generated sources. There is a reduction in single-use plastic. Businesses have started to use reusable packaging. Policies have improved and now emphasize comprehensive control as a goal. Research has accelerated. Eco-friendly materials are more plentiful. All of these changes impact our planet. Should we see a reduction of single-use plastic from the action of many people and the consolidation of many disparate efforts being made to an organized system change, we will stop the cycle of plastic pollution.
＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿
Kwok Wai Ka
News Commentary Competition – The 1st Runner-up of Senior Form
True Light Girls’ College