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Modern society has has a big problem when it comes to plastic -- and it's contributing heavily to pollution and climate change. Globally, 400 million metric tons of plastic are produced each year ...
Story at a glance A new Greenpeace report finds just 5 percent of plastics are recycled. A big reason is the lack of capacity for recycling various plastics. Industry argues much more than 5 ...
Plastics also release toxic chemicals into the environment and cause physical, chemical harm and biological damage to organisms. Ingestion of plastic does not only lead to death in animals through intestinal blockage but it can also travel up the food chain which affects humans. [101]
The type of packaging materials including glass, aluminum, steel, paper, cardboard, plastic, wood, and other miscellaneous packaging. [5] Packaging waste is a dominant contributor in today's world and responsible for half of the waste in the globe. [4] The recycling rate in 2015 for containers and packaging was 53 percent.
Humans are exposed to toxic chemicals and microplastics at all stages in the plastics life cycle. The effects of microplastics on human health are a growing concern and an actively increasing area of research. Tiny particles known as microplastics (MPs), have been found in various environmental and biological matrices, including air, water ...
Over 700 marine species, including half of the world’s cetaceans (such as whales and dolphins), all of its sea turtles, and a third of its seabirds, are known to ingest plastic.
Plastic degradation in marine bacteria describes when certain pelagic bacteria break down polymers and use them as a primary source of carbon for energy. Polymers such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) are incredibly useful for their durability and relatively low cost of production, however it is their persistence and difficulty to be properly ...
A more recent concern in microplastic pollution is the use of plastic films in agriculture. 7.4 million tons of plastic film are used each year to increase food production. [22] Scientists have found that microbial biofilms can form within 7–14 days on plastic film surfaces, and have the ability to alter the chemical properties of the soil ...