{"id":65947,"date":"2024-09-11T16:40:11","date_gmt":"2024-09-11T04:40:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/?p=65947"},"modified":"2024-09-23T11:31:08","modified_gmt":"2024-09-22T23:31:08","slug":"six-key-problems-with-plastic-pollution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/six-key-problems-with-plastic-pollution\/","title":{"rendered":"Six key problems with plastic pollution"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This is your fair warning –<\/em> the following information is all bad news. I for one find it overwhelming – if I\u2019m not also keeping in mind all the ways we can turn it around! <\/p>\n\n

Please save and check out this article for afterwards: The many solutions to the plastic crisis<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n

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It can seem as if Planet Earth is choking on plastic. <\/p>\n\n

Plastic pollution is a huge problem because of the mass production of single-use plastic products. Plastic is everywhere in our environment, and the companies creating it aren\u2019t slowing down. <\/p>\n\n

Some plastic is necessary, of course, for industrial and medical purposes.<\/p>\n\n

Yet, over the last 70 years, 8.3 billion metric tonnes of plastic have been produced globally. Around half of the production is of plastic products designed to be thrown away after a single use. <\/p>\n\n

What\u2019s worse, currently, the production of plastic is ever-increasing. The plastic conveyor belt spews out 400m tonnes<\/a> of waste every year. This includes a million plastic bottles every minute and one billion sold in Aotearoa every year<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n

If you\u2019re ready – here are the six key problems of so much plastic pollution.<\/p>\n\n

1. What are microplastics and why are they bad? <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n
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Microplastics are tiny plastic particles made up of common polymers<\/a> such as polyethylene. Microplastics form when larger plastic objects, such as the plastic waste that we see in the street, break down over time. <\/p>\n\n

Microplastics can wash off any item that contains synthetic materials, such as fast fashion clothes or car tyres. Plastic products are often unnoticed and are in all areas of our lives.<\/p>\n\n

When plastic products break into tiny microplastics, they become hazardous materials. They release their chemical additives into natural systems, with a wide range of harmful impacts.<\/p>\n\n

2. Plastics and the risk to human health<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n
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Because plastic particles are everywhere in our natural systems, we\u2019ve reached the point where plastic is in all of us. We may digest up to five grams of microplastics each week.<\/p>\n\n

Waste particles in soil and freshwater pose significant risks to the food chain on which we depend. Breathing plastic particles in the atmosphere is an exposure risk to humans. <\/p>\n\n

Microplastics have been discovered in human blood and placentas<\/a>. One study in 2024 found the most common plastic detected was polyethylene<\/a>, which is used to make plastic bags and bottles. <\/p>\n\n

Chemicals in plastics can stay in the body for a long time.<\/a> Chemicals associated with plastics are linked to many health concerns. <\/p>\n\n

We don\u2019t know the full extent of what microplastics are doing to us and our health. As plastic pollution is such a modern phenomenon we may not learn the true harm of plastic on us for decades. <\/p>\n\n

3. The injustice of plastic waste<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n
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Plastic contamination and disposal affect people in some communities much more than others.<\/p>\n\n

Families who live, work or study close to a chemical factory, landfill site, or refinery are at increased health risks. People in poorer communities and people of colour predominantly face increased health risks.<\/p>\n\n

Lack of compliance in some countries can lead to illegal burning in the open air and emitting toxic fumes.<\/p>\n\n

For example some New Zealand plastic waste meant for recycling has ended up dumped and burned illegally in Malaysia.<\/a><\/p>\n\n

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