Plastics Harming Our Environment

Should plastics be banned?

Plastics have a harmful effect on our environment. They pollute the water and kill ocean life. Plastics can release toxic chemicals into the air and leave public health hazards. People contributing to littering are killing our environment.

Marine life is slowly dying from plastic pollution. Plastic gets left around in the ocean and animals mistake it for food, which ends up harming the animals. It also has toxic compounds, degrading water quality and harming animals’ health. Many animals get entangled or ingest plastic, which can cause death. Plastics can also absorb pollutants that are floating around in the ocean. More than 1 million marine animals are killed each year due to plastic debris. Sophomore Angelina Govan said, ¨Plastics hurt marine life and will eventually hurt us.” This will ruin the food chain if we don’t find a way to stop this quickly.

Plastics can cause health hazards by spreading through the air and food. Harmful chemicals can be released into the soil, which can then seep into the groundwater and ecosystem. Many die each year from diseases linked to plastic consumption. The toxins from plastic have also entered the food chain and are threatening our health. They enter our bodies with the fish we eat, and it’s killing us and the ocean. Most plastic used in daily life can get heated and spread toxic chemicals into the air. This can lead to organ damage, heart disease, and more. Sophomore Jenna Salem said, ¨There’s so much we can do if we breathe in toxic chemicals.¨ We should be more careful about where we put plastics and what we put in our bodies.

Littering has had a horrible effect on our environment. We, as well as our marine life, have been affected by people´s recklessness. Their laziness to throw it on the ground or dump it into trash cans instead of the recycling bin is a concern. Back in 2020, people started buying metal straws instead of plastic straws to help save the turtles. It became a big thing in social media and more people started to use less plastic. Sophomore Skylar Ko said, ¨I trashed all my plastic straws and bought metal straws.¨ But the trend died and people started using more plastic than ever. Littering is illegal, but it still doesn’t stop people from doing it, especially because a lot of people aren’t aware of the effects of pollution. Sophomore Audrey Yang said, ¨Schools should teach about what’s happening in our environment so future generations don’t make the same mistakes.¨ 

In conclusion, plastics should be banned because they make our environment worse. It can leave us, and animals, sick in the future. Littering is a huge problem, and once we find a solution to it, our environment can be in better shape.