Argument Against Single Use Plastics

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Argument Against Single-Use Plastics It takes hundreds, if not thousands, of years for plastic products to decompose, yet humans come in contact with them for only a fraction of plastics’ total lifespans. A plastic bottle that we use for a couple of hours until its contents are empty can take up to 450 years to biodegrade. Because they take so long to decompose, plastics are choking the planet, and both people and the environment are paying the price. Single use plastics are being used for too many purposes, leading to a large amount of plastic waste with nowhere to go. We, as consumers, need to stray away from single-use plastics to protect our environment and ourselves. Most people don’t realize it, but plastic overuse is a huge problem with many far-reaching consequences. Over one billion tons of plastic have been produced over the past fifty years, and because plastic takes so long to decompose, nearly all of that plastic still exists somewhere in the environment today. The appalling amount of plastic Americans use wouldn’t be a problem if it didn’t take one thousand years for just one plastic bag to decompose in a landfill. Many say that plastic overuse and the consequences that arise from it are perpetrated by a lack of environmentally friendly alternatives to plastic, and by plastics’ inability to be recycled in an efficient manner. And most people have adopted the idea of single use plastic products making up a staple part of the American lifestyle. They are used for packaging foods and drinks, as grocery bags, throw away utensils, and many other things that we “need”. The truth of it is, the convenience that single-use plastics give us does not make up for the damage they are doing to the environment and ourselves. The first problem I’d like to make you aware of is the affect of single-use plastics on our oceans. The plastic products that get through the
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