The World has a Plastic Pollution Crisis
Since the early 1950s, humans have produced more than 10 billion tons of plastic. The consumerism boom has created a problem of disposal for mother earth. After use, where do these go? Well, most of it went straight to landfills and only a very tiny percentage was recycled.
Plastics can provide a certain lifestyle for humans on earth but can wreak slow-but-certain havoc on the environment in many ways, from leaching chemicals into the soil and polluting groundwater, to directly choking or poisoning animals that tend to ingest it through food and water sources. Even space is being polluted these days with space junk and discards from many space programs.
The more developed the country, the more they consume and consequently tend to produce more plastic waste. Developed countries having a massive per capita income, are also massive consumers of goods and services, and thereby, produce more waste.
The top 10 countries that produced the most plastic waste in the last decade (total million tons)
- United States — 36.02
- India — 28.33
- China — 23.60
- Brazil — 14.68
- Indonesia — 9.13
- Russia — 8.47
- Germany — 6.68
- United Kingdom — 6.47
- Mexico — 5.90
- Japan — 4.88
Many smaller nations with low population density also consume goods and services at a relatively high level when compared to their population. Check out the following data.
The top 10 countries that produce the most plastic waste per capita (kilograms per person, based on a 2016 survey)
- Micronesia — 308.25
- Bermuda — 205.93
- Palau — 170.19
- Faroe Islands — 167.53
- Hong Kong — 163.45
- Saint Kitts and Nevis — 150.01
- Iceland — 144.80
- Singapore — 143.96
- Mongolia — 137.58
- Puerto Rico — 134.10
While plastic waste on land is a concern, a large percentage of plastic isn’t recycled, incinerated, or sent to landfills, and these ultimately end up in the oceans, where it creates even larger problems. Plastic in the ocean can injure some animals outright and is frequently and fatally mistaken for food by the creatures in the ocean.
It is estimated that anywhere from 5 to 15 million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean each year—but a 2017 study found that 80% of mismanaged plastic in the ocean came from just five Asian countries, namely, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, India and the Philippines.
An updated study released in 2021 found similar results:
The top 10 countries that release the most plastic into the ocean (tons 2021):
- Philippines — 356,371
- India — 126,513
- Malaysia — 73,098
- China — 70,707
- Indonesia — 56,333
- Brazil — 37,799
- Vietnam — 28,221
- Bangladesh — 24,640
- Thailand — 22,806
- Nigeria — 18,640
How can we tackle this grave situation?
First, let’s find out the chief pollutants around our daily life. Plastic pollution facts:
The 10 worst single-use plastic products for ocean animals:
- Plastic Shopping Bags
- Plastic Cutlery
- Plastic Straws and Drink Stirrers
- Plastic Fruit and Vegetable Bags
- Balloons and Balloon Sticks
- Plastic Bottles and Lids
- Plastic Takeaway Containers
- Polystyrene Containers and Products
- Plastic Lined Coffee Cups and Lids
- Disposable Plastic Cups, Plates and Bowls
While dwelling upon all products that pollute may be lengthy and may disrupt our thinking process on how one can tackle this menace, let’s dwell upon ONE pollutant that consumerism has thrown up, namely, Styrofoam.
Styrofoam
Styrofoam is made up of polystyrene, which is a type of plastic. Polystyrene is made up of a styrene monomer. The styrene monomer is flammable and can be very harmful to our health. It is usually a colourless or yellowish liquid. This liquid is made from a flammable hydrocarbon, which is a compound made from hydrogen and carbon. Styrene monomer is also found in cigarette smoke and is produced from the burning of rubber, gasoline and even food. Exposure to styrene monomer can occur through inhalation, ingestion and skin contact
Styrofoam is a single-use product, which means it is non-biodegrade and will continue to pollute our environment, indefinitely.
The most common use of styrofoam on a day-to-day basis is in takeout containers and disposable coffee cups. If you've ever received a package marked 'Fragile' it most likely contained Styrofoam as protective padding and packaging. While expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam — or Styrofoam, as it's more commonly called, is just as ubiquitous as single-use plastics, it's much more harmful than understood by consumer folks.
Even though it's not biodegradable, EPS can still be recycled. But unfortunately, doing so is not as easy as throwing it into the nearest Blue Recycle Bin. Here's what you need to know. Let’s start with the various sources.
Sources of Styrofoam Pollution
Cigarette Smoke: Styrene monomer is found in cigarette smoke. Cigarette smoke is a mixture of over 4,000 chemicals. Some of the chemicals found in cigarette smoke include tar and nicotine. Tar is a sticky, brown substance that can cause cancer, and nicotine can lead to addiction and can affect your mood and behaviour. Cigarette smoke is considered to be the major source of styrene monomer exposure in people.
Food: Styrene monomer is found in food. Styrene monomer is found in foods such as meat, fish, chicken, and dairy products, as well as in the fats and oils that are used to prepare food. Styrene monomer is also found in coffee, and in alcoholic beverages, such as beer and wine.
Rubber: Styrene monomer is produced from the burning of rubber. Rubber is a material that is made from the sap of certain trees, which is then mixed with chemicals to create rubber. Rubber is used in the manufacturing of tires, shoes, and rubber bands.
Gasoline: Styrene monomer is produced from the burning of gasoline. Gasoline is a liquid that is used to power vehicles, power lawnmowers and other machines and is used to run generators. Gasoline is a liquid that is used to power vehicles, power lawnmowers and other machines and is used to run generators.
The dangers of Styrofoam
There are multiple ways Styrofoam can affect our health and planet.
Inhalation: Apart from cigarette smoke, inhalation can happen in a poorly ventilated room, which has plastics aplenty, both in the form of furnishings, wall panels, ac vents, etc.
Ingestion: This can happen when we eat packed foods or drink, especially beverages that contain styrene monomers.
Skin Contact: Touching Styrene or body contact can lead to contamination.
Styrofoam can be recycled and up-cycled
There are many ways to do this. One way is to make new products using Styrofoam, like pens, picture frames, egg cartons and so on. They are extensively used in home insulation, panels and even furniture. They can also be reused in packaging, once again, after suitable processing and re-moulding.
Reducing Styrofoam use could be a good solution.
Reducing the use of plastic cups, plates, cutlery, plastic bags and so on, can help. Many have started to replace these with metal cups, glassware, cutlery and reusable shopping bags.
Conclusion
Expanded polystyrene (EPS), commonly known as Styrofoam, doesn't degrade or break down over time. Styrofoam is recyclable, but it is only accepted by a very small number of recycling facilities. The best solution for recycling Styrofoam is to create new products from it and to reduce usage.
Can You burn Styrofoam? No. You should never burn Styrofoam or another polystyrene foam material. Burning Styrofoam releases toxic chemicals such as styrene monomer, benzene, carbon black, and carbon monoxide into the air.
While many believe it's biodegradable or recyclable, Styrofoam is far from eco-friendly. It may break down in high temperatures, but it pollutes our earth with alarming volumes of micro-plastics, affecting animals and humans alike. You can recycle only some forms of Polystyrene, but it's incredibly costly.
One common estimate is that Styrofoam can take up 30 per cent of the space in some landfills. Once in the landfill, it does not decompose quickly. Some estimates put the lifespan of Styrofoam in a landfill around 500 years, and some put it way beyond that.
EPS foam also disintegrates over time in water without actually degrading, creating thousands of micro-plastics that spread throughout the oceans, endangering wildlife for thousands of years.
YOU can help by recycling and reducing your use of Styrofoam.
