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?

Plastic

products have always caused harm to the environment. Despite the continuous environmental awareness, there is not much progress made by the responsible stakeholders to reduce impact.

This

essay will outline the damage

plastic

does to our planet, followed by solutions to reduce or eliminate it.

Although

environmental pressure groups exists,

plastic

pollution has led to a destruction of marine life. Dumping

plastic

products on the ocean has resulted in damaging the oceanic ecosystem, because it prevents the sunlight reaching depths of water, affecting Corals and Aquatic plants.

Therefore

, marine

species

will face a food shortage resulting in their death.

On the other hand

, when the

species

living in the sea consume those plastics, they will die as it is harmful for their body.

Secondly

, manufacturing

plastic

products in factories will lead to an increase in the greenhouse gases.

Hence

, the ozone layer will be damaged.

This

will lead to an entry of harmful cosmic rays from the sun, and will have a massive impact on the survival of living organisms. For an Example:- The latest United Nation’s Report has identified more than 100,000

species

living in the sea as endangered, because of an incline in the death toll.

This

is a consequence of consuming

plastic

bags. In order to find a solution to

this

problem, it is necessary that all government’s come into an agreement, to reduce manufacturing

plastic

consumables in their country, and encourage sustainable initiatives.

This

can be done through financial incentives in the form of tax concessions given to businesses.

Also

, from the individual’s perspective they should move towards the usage of biodegradable

plastic

, so that demand for non-biodegradable

plastic

reduces. They should use alternative methods whenever possible to do their tasks. For an Instance:- Sri Lanka conducted a massive green project with the top ten companies, recreating the damaged corals by replanting them in the deep sea, so that it will help the survival of endangered

species

. In conclusion, it is important to remember that protecting the nature is a responsibility of human beings. Our routine tasks should be based on

this

fundamental, because if we continue polluting our surroundings, we are creating the extinction of all living organisms.