9:49pm.
Disposal Methods of Plastic:
The main four options of disposing plastic are recycling, incineration, landfilling, and biodegradation. Incineration is an okay option but it has been proven to have adverse health and environmental effects. Any type of plastic can be disposed of in a landfill but usually, energy is lost because of transportation. Most plastics can be recycled and it is a very good method of disposal but it is not used to its full potential due to problems with sorting and collecting. Some plastics are designed to degrade with biodegradable materials but they do not degrade in enough time under normal conditions so it does not keep accumulating (1).
We need to rethink the disposal methods of plastic, it is becoming a real problem that we need to start dealing with soon or else it may be too late. We could help reduce plastic waste by teaching and informing the public more about what can and cannot be recycled and how to safely and environmentally friendly dispose of plastic waste. I also believe that we should ask for more governmental policies to be put in place for businesses and places with lots of waste.
Here is a photo I took in Hawaii of a beach covered in plastic waste:
Gavin G.
The main four options of disposing plastic are recycling, incineration, landfilling, and biodegradation. Incineration is an okay option but it has been proven to have adverse health and environmental effects. Any type of plastic can be disposed of in a landfill but usually, energy is lost because of transportation. Most plastics can be recycled and it is a very good method of disposal but it is not used to its full potential due to problems with sorting and collecting. Some plastics are designed to degrade with biodegradable materials but they do not degrade in enough time under normal conditions so it does not keep accumulating (1).
We need to rethink the disposal methods of plastic, it is becoming a real problem that we need to start dealing with soon or else it may be too late. We could help reduce plastic waste by teaching and informing the public more about what can and cannot be recycled and how to safely and environmentally friendly dispose of plastic waste. I also believe that we should ask for more governmental policies to be put in place for businesses and places with lots of waste.
Here is a photo I took in Hawaii of a beach covered in plastic waste:
Gavin G.
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