Plastic bags, plastic bottles and plastic packaging are bad for the environment. What damage does plastic do to the environment? What can be done by governments and individuals to solve this problem?

While the invention of

plastic

brought convenience to the life of humans, it has proved to be a double-edged sword. It is polluting the oceans, land, and

air

; thereby increasing overall carbon emissions. Governments need to incentivize responsible recycling of

plastic

.

On the other hand

, citizens should avoid using single-use

plastic

and replace it with other products.

Plastic

is polluting the

air

, which is the basic element needed to sustain life. When

plastic

is burned, extremely poisonous gases are released into the atmosphere, which pollutes the

air

quality and, in turn, leads to various respiratory diseases. Older

people

and small children are the most susceptible to these microplastic particles in the

air

. Citing from personal experience, I had to leave Delhi as extreme pollution aggravated my mother's sinus infection very frequently. It is easier for

people

to burn waste. Irresponsible burning of

plastic

with garbage is the leading cause of

this

air

pollution.

Thus

, governments should bring policies that give money in return for these single-use plastics.

This

monetary reward will inspire

people

to return the

plastic

and it will be easier to recycle these from central locations.

Additionally

, normal

people

need to use alternate products. Using environment-friendly options,

for instance

, cloth bags

instead

of

plastic

bags

,

Remove the comma

apply

show examples

will reduce the dependency on

plastic

. To conclude, we are aware of the numerous ways in which

plastic

is damaging the environment, polluted

air

being one of them. But the fact that government and individuals realize the seriousness of the issue, is a silver lining in

this

situation. Though government needs to make policies for better collection of

plastic

, it

finally

comes down to individual

people

, by using alternates, for the efforts to be successful.