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What are the impacts of excessive plastic waste production worldwide?

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From an environmental lens, excessive plastic waste production has negative effects worldwide due to the harm to marine organisms and air pollution and health effects from the burning of plastic waste.

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Plastic pollution harms marine life and ecosystems.

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The “entanglement by fishing-related gear, balloons, and plastic bags [has emerged] as the greatest threat” to marine organisms. All three of these items are typically made of plastic, which means the threat to the organisms is fundamentally plastic pollution in the ocean.

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It was found that “plastics make up an estimated 60 to 90 per cent of marine litter.” This means it is an established fact that plastic is a major contributor to marine pollution.

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According to van Reenen, ”[plastic] can also accumulate chemicals and leach them into the environment with potentially toxic effects on wildlife” such as behavioral and reproductive issues. This can lead to devastating future effects as marine populations decline.

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Floating plastic in the marine ecosystem can act as transportation, acting as a way for invasive species’ to be introduced into new areas. Furthermore, plastic on the surface of the ocean can limit light penetration and oxygen levels in the ecosystem, harming productivity, tropic relationships, and biodiversity.

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People burn plastic in order to get rid of the excessive plastic waste, causing air pollution and health effects.

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According to Bhatia and Sengupta, “the burning of plastic releases toxic gases like Dioxins, Furans, Mercury and Polychlorinated Biphenyls into the atmosphere.” The descriptor toxic indicates that these gases are likely to be harmful to organism health.

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According to S. Singh, a major waste company in India, Dalmia Polypro, made it such that “60 per cent [of plastic waste] was ‘recycled’ by burning in various facilities.” This is proving that often recycling is actually burning, which is harming the environment.

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Center of International Environmental Law (CIEL)

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Center of International Environmental Law (CIEL)

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According to the CIEL, it was “estimate[d] approximately 2.9 metric tons of carbon dioxide [was] emitted per tonne of plastic burned.” Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, which means this is causing air pollution.

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According to R. Singh, “the burning of plastic produces solid residual ash…and soot…[which] have a high potential to harm human health and the environment.”

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According to Williams and Rangel-Buitrago, plastics have become ubiquitous due to their excessive production, so much so that they are almost always in the top ten of harmful litter worldwide.

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According to Kantai, “every piece of plastic we have ever touched is still on Earth.”