Since man began to introduce plastic into mass production at the beginning of the 20th century, about 8,300 million tons of plastic have been created on Earth - more and more every year. According to the data provided by the respected "New Scientist", in 2016 alone, a total of 280 million tons of plastic was produced in the world.
China is in the lead, with 29 percent, followed by Europe (19 percent), the United States, Canada and Mexico (18 percent) and Asia without China and Japan (17 percent). The plastic produced is by far the most used for packaging (40%) and then for construction (20%). What happens next with the plastic produced? Why did it suddenly become such an important topic?
About three-quarters of the plastic produced is soon discarded. About 80 percent of discarded plastic ends up in the environment and in landfills. The images of our everyday life are devastating: every year, 8 million tons end up in the ocean - they eat fish, and then we eat them. The bellies of whales stranded on the shores are full of plastic waste, seals are entangled in garbage, beaches they are full of rubbish, and along the roads - we are witnesses ourselves - the same waste is piled up. The direct consequences for the common man, it is estimated, will only be felt because, if the way plastic is not changed does not change, by 2050 there will be more plastic in the oceans than fish.
In recent years, there has often been talk in Serbia about the need to reduce the use of plastic bags, and the same topic is relevant in almost all countries of the world. In some countries,governments and businesses, aware of the consequences of past spending, are working together to reduce the use of plastics, especially disposable ones, such as packaging plastics, plastic bags, straws and more.
The problem with plastics is that the current collection and recycling strategy is not yielding results. This is because used plastic is worthless and because it is cheaper for a manufacturer to produce a new one than to recycle a used one. About 50 percent of PET, the plastic from which recyclable bottles are made, is collected in recycling centers around the world, but only 7 percent is recycled while the rest stays there forever.What can we, individuals, do? We can reduce the use of disposable plastic - bags, straws, plastic bottles, plastic cutlery ... We can, for example, use solid "ordinary" soaps instead of liquid soaps because their packaging decomposes quickly and easily.
We can throw recyclable waste in recycling bins (you may not know it, but there are actually some around us, although they are a bit hidden). The plastic we want to discard can be given to collectors of secondary raw materials.We can even sell recyclable plastic to recycling companies (which also exist in Serbia and can come to your address if you have more) or take it to a recycling center. We can buy from companies dedicated to sustainable production, those that use recyclable materials in their production or that use little or no plastic for packaging.We can give and receive as a gift things that we have outgrown or stopped using. We can really use that ceger. With all these things that an individual can do, it is equally important that we demand that the state pay equal attention to this problem.
What should people do in villages that do not have containers and cannot recycle? Otherwise a great article.