Plastic bottles are harmful. Toxic bottles

Plastic and plastic are artificial synthetic materials that are necessary for industrial production and have a fairly low cost. In the modern world, their use is widespread, and the negative impact of plastics on health is not taken seriously, despite the fact that most adults and children come into close contact with the products.

Harm of plastic bottles to the body

Many oncologists say that such popular plastic dishes pose a danger to human health, since when heated, the container intensively produces carcinogenic substances, in particular bisphenol-A.

Foreign scientists expressed this opinion many years ago. Statistics show that one of the main etiological factors in the occurrence of breast cancer is drinking water from plastic bottles. The harm increases several dozen times if you drink water from such a container and leave it in the sun for a long time.

Doctors recommend drinking water from glass bottles, but plastic is much cheaper, and, therefore, drinks in plastic containers will also have a reasonable price. But in countries where drinks have been sold in plastic for many years, the incidence of cancer is much higher.

Other factors also contribute to the occurrence of cancer - for example, poor environment, heredity, unhealthy lifestyle, consumption of GMO products, etc. However, scientists from Australia conducted an experiment among people who regularly consume drinks from plastic bottles, and the carcinogen bisphenol-A was found in their urine, which increases the risk of developing not only cancer, but also arthritis, diabetes, heart and vascular diseases.

Harm from plastic utensils

Disposable tableware has been in great demand in recent years. It is divided into several types depending on the composition and hazard class.

It is strictly forbidden to heat drinks and food in plastic containers and plastic bags in a microwave (which itself can, in principle).

The composition of the plastic is indicated in the form of a special marking, so you can find out what the dishes are made of:

Polyethylene terephthalate. Disposable cups, bottles, and plates are made from it. It is extremely harmful and dangerous to heat and reuse this container. Heat above 25 degrees increases the rate of carcinogen release tens of times.
Polyethylene. It is used to produce bags, bottles, jars and cups. It is also prohibited to expose it to high temperatures due to the intense release of the powerful carcinogen formaldehyde.
Polyvinyl chloride. It is used to create plastic bottles and cling film. Do not heat or cool it to avoid the production of phthalates, dioxide and vinyl chloride, which can cause many diseases. It is recommended to avoid contact of such utensils with fatty foods.
Low-pressure polyethylene. Widely used in the production of flexible packaging and oil bottles. When heated, formaldehyde is released.
Polypropylene. It is often used to make cling film, yogurt cups, disposable plates, forks, spoons, lids, baby food bottles and hot food containers. Such dishes can withstand temperatures up to 100 °C, but you cannot drink alcohol or eat fatty foods from them. This type is the safest for health.
Polystyrene. These are trays, lunch boxes for food, glasses and other disposable tableware. It is forbidden to heat it, drink hot drinks and alcohol from it. The dishes are used exclusively for chilled food. Styrene, produced when heated, is an aggressive chemical and leads to diseases of the reproductive system.
A mixture of many plastics. Typically, several materials are used to produce coolers, etc.

Thus, any plastic utensils are harmful to health to one degree or another, so it is better to reduce their use as much as possible.

Harm to the environment and ecology

Due to the pollution of the planet with plastics and masses, natural and environmental problems also arise. The negative impact extends to animals, the earth's surface, oceans, seas and rivers:

Plastic can leach chemicals into the soil, which end up in groundwater and other water sources. So-called biodegradable plastics emit methane and tritanium, which have a negative impact on global warming.
One of the main components of garbage in the sea is plastic, which takes many years to decompose, releasing carcinogens bisphenol-A and polystyrene. In the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans there are huge garbage patches, sometimes growing to the size of islands.

Researchers have estimated that there are about 300,000 tons of plastic in the world's oceans.

Plastic pollution poisons and kills animals: they either accidentally eat the plastic or become entangled in it and die. Every year, about 500,000 thousand mammals in the ocean die for this reason, and this figure is growing rapidly.

How to protect yourself from harmful substances

It is worth paying attention to the fact that on any plastic container there is a special code indicating the type of plastic. For example, 2, 4 and 5 indicate its harmlessness. It is commonly used to make dairy products, toys, glasses and baby bottles.

It is impossible to completely protect yourself and prevent chemicals from entering the body, but you can try to minimize the harm. To do this you should:

limit the use of utensils with dangerous coding;
do not heat drinks and food in plastic containers;
do not reuse plastic utensils;
do not store drinks and food in containers for a long time;
if possible, drink and eat from glass containers;
follow the rules for using plastic;
do not buy disposable products with bright colors and strong odors;
For children, use only environmentally friendly or glassware.

Countries like Australia, Bangladesh, Ireland and China strictly prohibit the use of plastic bottles.

There are many seemingly useful things that, when used thoughtlessly, are harmful to humans and nature. One of them is plastic, which has become an integral part of human everyday life and beyond. On the one hand, it is impossible to imagine modern medicine without plastic, for example – plastic products help save the lives of people and animals every day. On the other hand, plastic waste is rapidly polluting the planet. This collection contains 20 facts about plastic that will help you think about the feasibility of such a widespread use of this material.

Unloading garbage at a household waste dump on Volkhonskoye Highway in the Leningrad Region.

Plastic begins to decompose only after 450 years, and the process is completely completed after another 50-80 years. At the current rate of plastic production, the Earth will be covered in plastic before the first plastic items begin to decompose.

On the territory of the city dump of the city of Stavropol.

From 1976 to 2006, US bottled water consumption per person increased from 6 liters to 107 liters.

The largest landfill in Europe by area for storing solid household waste is "Igumnovsky" in the Nizhny Novgorod region.

Plastic bottles make up 40% of all plastic waste.

On average, 90% of the cost of bottled water is the cost of a plastic bottle.

On average, every person in a developed country buys at least 150 plastic bottles of water per year, without paying attention to the alternative.

It takes 571 barrels of oil to produce a billion plastic bottles.

It only takes 25 recycled plastic bottles to produce a men's jacket.

In Europe, only 2.5% of total plastic is recycled.

Every year, about 150 tons of plastic waste, including packaging, bottles and fishing nets, end up in the ocean.

The number of animals killed in the ocean due to plastic waste is in the millions per year.

Large garbage patches or islands form in the oceans. Currently there are five such spots: two each in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and one in the Indian Ocean.

Walter Parenteau/Flickr (CC BY ND 2.0)

Over 13 billion plastic bottles are produced worldwide every year.

The United States is the most active in plastic processing. The volume of recycled plastic has tripled in the past few years, and this figure continues to grow.

Slum dwellers sit outside their homes along a sewage canal in Madagascar's capital Antananarivo.

The United States recycles 27% of the plastic consumed in the country, the highest rate in the world.

A recyclables collector on the Bagmati River in Kathmandu.

The energy from one recycled plastic bottle is enough to power a 60-watt light bulb for 6 hours.

Recycling plastic can save up to 2/3 of the energy required to produce plastic from raw materials.

Four out of five bottles in the US are made of plastic. In other countries the figure is much higher.

About 90% of consumers reuse plastic bags, mainly as trash bags.

Storing and shipping water in plastic bottles is the most popular but least energy-efficient method in the world.

In a number of states, the use of plastic bottles is prohibited. In particular, these are Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Ireland and China, Lifeglobe reports.

MOSCOW, November 10 – RIA Novosti. Valery Spiridonov, the first candidate for a head transplant, talks about how the land and oceans of the Earth are rapidly “overgrown” with plastic waste, how it affects the functioning of ecosystems and how it can be dealt with.

The era of plastic

Often, modern benefits of civilization create not only convenience for people, but also cause irreparable damage to nature. In the last 10 years alone, the world has produced more plastic products than in the previous century.

Disposable tableware, bags, packaging, bottles and various containers are the most common types of plastic waste that we “produce” every day. Only five percent of its volume is ultimately recycled and reused in everyday life.

Plastic causes serious damage to the environment, from its production to its disposal. Factories that produce plastic products release up to 400 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere per year, and approximately 800 species of animals are now at risk of extinction due to eating and poisoning by plastic.

Disposable bags clog city sewer systems and pose flooding risks, and plastic waste litters shores and coastal recreational areas, crippling the tourism industry.

The soil

Scientists: the stomachs of 90% of seabirds were filled with plasticOceanologists conducted a large-scale study of the diet of seabirds, which unexpectedly showed that the stomachs of 90% of sea birds contain plastic particles, indicating a more serious scale of marine plastic pollution than previously thought.

It is known that plastic takes about two hundred years to decompose. Once in the ground, plastics break down into small particles and begin to release the chemicals added to them during production into the environment. This can be chlorine, various chemicals, such as toxic or carcinogenic flame retardants.

Through groundwater, microbeads of plastic and its chemicals seep into nearby water sources, often leading to mass animal deaths.

Ocean

According to UN environmentalists, about 13 million tons of plastic waste enter the ocean every year.

Attempts to stop the catastrophic trend have been going on since the middle of the 20th century. Even then, environmentalists sounded the alarm about the growing “Great Garbage Patch,” which currently, according to various estimates, covers up to one percent of the Pacific Ocean.

According to the British Ellen MacArthur Foundation, by 2025, for every three kilograms of fish in the world's oceans there will be a kilogram of garbage, and by 2050 the mass of waste will be higher than the total weight of all the fish on Earth.

Plastic makes up 80 percent of all trash in the world's oceans. When exposed to sunlight, it disintegrates into small particles. Plastic microgranules accumulate persistent toxic substances on their surface.

Undegraded plastic bags end up in the stomachs of marine mammals and birds. Environmentalists estimate that tens of thousands of birds, whales, seals, and turtles die from this every year. Animals die from suffocation or indigestible waste accumulates in their stomachs and interferes with their work.

The result is that the same waste that we throw away ends up back on our dinner table along with our food or water.

Salt is no longer the same

Recent research by scientists confirms that these fears are well founded. For example, New York University professor Sherry Mason argues that plastic is already everywhere: “In the air, in the water, in the seafood, in the beer we drink, in the salt we use.”

In his work, the scientist examined 12 different types of salt from grocery stores around the world. Found plastic particles indicate that people constantly consume it as food. The calculation found that Americans eat over 660 plastic particles per year, with an average recommended salt intake of 2.3 grams per day. The effects of plastic consumption on human health have not yet been studied well, but there is no doubt that it has a negative impact, like on any living organism.

Spanish ecologists also found microplastics in two dozen samples of table salt. Most often they found polyethylene terephthalate, a polymer used in the production of plastic bottles. Another international team of scientists found other types of plastic in salt, such as polyethylene and polypropylene.

Sources of pollution

Today, environmentalists believe that China is the leader in ocean pollution. It is followed by other Asian countries - Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Residents of the sea coast in these countries do not always care about its cleanliness and all the garbage here, as a rule, ends up in the ocean.

The total number of plastic products thrown away daily in the USA, EU, Norway and China reaches 37 thousand tons, in Russia - no more than 10 thousand tons. Existing plastic recycling technologies can only partially solve the environmental problem.

Legislative regulation

Proposals are being put forward for a consolidated international action plan to tackle the plastic waste problem.

Experts from the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) acknowledge that the problem has been made worse by prolonged inaction. The Global Campaign to Combat Marine Litter has been launched under the auspices of UNEP.

An illustrative example is the Italian city of Capannori with a population of 46,700 people. A zero waste strategy was introduced here in 2007. Over ten years, waste volumes have been reduced by 40 percent. However, only 18 percent of waste ends up in landfills.

It is worth noting that such a strategy requires certain investments and should include mechanisms for financing the fight against waste. Alternatively, there is the “polluter pays” principle. For an industry with annual revenues of $750 billion, it could be quite effective.

More than 40 countries have established legal restrictions and bans on the use of plastic bags in their territories.

There are no such laws in Russia yet. According to current estimates by ecologists and economists, Russian industrial enterprises produce approximately 26.5 billion plastic bags. If they were all collected, it would be possible to cover an area three times the size of Moscow.

In this regard, Greenpeace Russia launched the “Package?—Thanks, no!” campaign. The campaign aims to encourage major supermarket chains to ditch plastic bags. Anyone can support the program by sending a letter of appeal to retailers on the organization’s website.

Personal consumption culture

Every day we have an alternative: buy mineral water in a glass or plastic bottle, take disposable paper dishes or plastic plates for a picnic, use reusable shopping bags or shopping bags. Concern for the environment or personal convenience? Choice determines a person's level of self-awareness.

Of course, such a culture has been instilled in society over the years. The less each of us starts using plastic in everyday life, the faster manufacturers will reduce their production volumes. Don't choose "disposable" plastic solely because of its low price - many plastic items can often be replaced with reusable products made from more environmentally friendly materials.

For example, calculations by British analysts show that reusing plastic packaging will save up to $120 billion every year. Reducing the production of plastic, it seems to me, can increase the demand for more environmentally friendly reusable goods from other raw materials and make them cheaper by increasing their mass production.

It is likely that in a few years we will be able to turn the situation around and stop or at least slow down the environmental catastrophe.

There are other futuristic views on pollution problems. According to some scientists, irreversible changes are already taking place on our planet; we are threatened by a shortage of drinking water, global warming and other things that will make the Earth unsuitable for human life.

Some of them propose not to look for new ways to save the Earth, but to focus on finding new planets that are most suitable for relocating humanity. Even putting aside questions of ethics and morality, it seems to me that such a path is not reasonable from a strategic point of view. It’s easier to put your “beautiful and well-equipped house” in order by cleaning it than to build and inhabit a new one.

Plastic or plastic Organic material based on natural or synthetic high molecular weight compounds. The most popular type of plastic is made from synthetic polymers.

The most common polymer materials (types of plastic):

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
Polypropylene
Polyethylene
Polystyrene
Polycarbonate

They are used to produce both technical and food plastics.

Plastics used for the production of products in contact with food and children's assortment must undergo examination for compliance with sanitary and hygienic standards and be certified. The manufacturer is obliged to label its products. Food-grade plastic has the generally accepted marking - “glass and fork”. It may state that it is intended for cold, bulk or hot foods, for use in the microwave or for freezing, sometimes indicating a temperature range.

For example, “Snowflakes” indicate that the container is suitable for freezing food, “stove with waves” means that the dishes can be heated in the microwave, and “shower plates” indicate that the containers can be washed in the dishwasher. This marking is also used by some Russian manufacturers.

Harm

The harm of plastic

Plastic in its pure form is a rather fragile, fragile material - it cracks in the light and melts in the heat. For strength, stabilizers are added to it. This makes the plastic stronger, but also more toxic. Because of this, it appears harm from plastic dishes.

The polymers themselves are inert, non-toxic and do not “migrate” into food. But intermediate substances, technological additives, solvents, as well as chemical decomposition products can penetrate into food and have a toxic effect on humans. Under certain conditions, plastic releases toxic compounds that, when entering the human body, negatively affect his health.

This process can occur while food is being stored or when it is heated. In addition, polymer materials are subject to change (aging), as a result of which destruction products are released from them. Moreover, different types of plastic become toxic under different conditions - some cannot be heated, others cannot be washed, etc. Improper use becomes the main reason harm from plastic utensils.

American scientists claim that up to 80% of “plastic” substances found in the human body come from construction and finishing materials, in particular from the popular plastic windows, furniture, but most of all from dishes: from food plastic, all kinds of compounds pass into food nutrition. Domestic manufacturers assure that certified plastic tableware is absolutely safe - if used as intended.

Benefit

Advantages of plastic dishes

Compactness, lightness, hygiene, low cost, ease of operation allow you to use plastic utensils outside the home - on the road, outdoors, etc. They do not require washing or cleaning. Therefore, the need for using plastic utensils is growing. Plastic utensils are also used by fast food restaurants, outdoor cafes and snack bars.

Plastic food utensils: how to use

To plastic utensils are not harmful health, it must be used strictly for its intended purpose. Different brands of food grade plastic have different properties. One brand of this polymer raw material is intended for the production of water bottles, the other for carbonated drink bottles. Yogurt cups are made from a grade of plastic that allows the casting method to produce a lightweight, cheap container that is neutral to milk fat, while pudding cups must resist sugar.

Experts insist: in no case should plastic packaging be used as containers for storing food, and disposable tableware should not be used repeatedly. Disposable packaging should be used for one time only.

How plastic will react to contact with ingredients for which it was not intended, and what compounds may form in this case, no one has studied. Particularly insidious are fats and acids, which can extract free toxic compounds from plastic.

Foods high in sugar and fat should not be cooked in plastic containers. They are heated to the point where the plastic melts and deforms. You need to cook them in a special container that can withstand heating up to 140, 180 or more C.

When reusing disposable plastic tableware, its outer protective layer is damaged, and carcinogenic substances - formaldehyde, phenol, cadmium, lead - begin to be released.

You should not drink alcohol from disposable plastic glasses. Any plastic contains toxic substances that do not dissolve in ordinary cold drinks, but cannot withstand the chemical attack of alcohol.

The release of various compounds from plastic increases many times over when heated. Therefore, only special containers designed for this purpose can be used in a microwave oven.

At home, immediately remove the packaging film from food. Trim off the top layer of food stored in plastic packaging.

Do not use disposable packaging to store food. Store food in glass and ceramic containers. Try to avoid products packaged in plastic whenever possible, preferring loose ones.

Buy baby food only in glass or cardboard. Do not use plastic containers for baby food. Do not microwave food in plastic containers.

Do not keep water in pitcher filters for a long time. In the morning and evening, replace the remaining water with fresh water. A plastic water jug that becomes cloudy should be thrown away.

Also, disposable packaging was not intended for washing, so the result may be unpredictable.

Any polymer material ages under the influence of light, heat, heating and contact with all kinds of substances. Then it becomes cloudy, absorbs odors and ingredients from the contents and releases toxic substances.

Food manufacturers indicate that shelf life applies not only to the product itself, but also to the packaging. This is most true for canned goods. For example, a toxic substance can be found in them - biphenol.

Plastic film containing biphenol is used to line the inside of cans to prevent the metal from coming into contact with food. From here biphenol can pass into the contents.

It is advisable to replace canned food with fresh or frozen foods.

Transfer food from opened cans into glass containers, even if we are talking about short-term storage (under the influence of oxygen, the corrosion of cans increases sharply and the content of lead and tin in food begins to increase rapidly).

Toxins can accumulate in the body for years, undermining your health. Even small amounts are poisonous if exposed for a long time.

Buy food, plastic utensils and cling film only from reputable manufacturers and only from reliable stores.

Today, there are disposable tableware made from environmentally friendly materials - reed, bamboo, eggshell-based, as well as paper tableware made from cardboard.

ADDITIONALLY

Labeling of plastic utensils

To simplify the sorting of plastic, a special international marking has been developed - triangles formed by arrows with a number inside. The number indicating the type of plastic is located inside the triangle. Below the triangle is a letter abbreviation indicating the type of plastic.

PET Polyethylene terephthalate: bottles for carbonated drinks, water, juices, dairy products, vegetable oils, cosmetic products, etc.

Frozen prepared meals in trays that can be reheated in the microwave or oven are made from crystallized polyethylene terephthalate. Its properties remain unchanged in the range from -40º to +250ºС. True, some brands may lose the necessary heat resistance after being subjected to deep cooling.

Buy drinks only in PET bottles and do not reuse them.

PP Polypropylene: medical products, bottle caps, hot dishes, food packaging film

Dishes made of polypropylene (PP marking) are safer. The polypropylene glass can withstand temperatures up to +100°C. You can drink hot tea or coffee from polypropylene glasses; you can heat food in the microwave in plates made from it. But upon contact with strong drinks and alcohol, it releases formaldehyde or phenol. If you drink vodka from such a glass, not only your kidneys, but also your eyesight will suffer. Formaldehyde is also considered a carcinogen.

PS Polystyrene: disposable tableware, cups for dairy products, yogurt, electrical insulating film

Polystyrene is indifferent to cold liquids. But when polystyrene dishes come into contact with hot water or alcohol, they begin to release toxic compounds (monomers) - styrene. It is not recommended to place hot foods in polystyrene plates. Polystyrene plates are often used in summer cafes for barbecue. And along with hot meat and ketchup, the client also receives a dose of toxins - styrene, which accumulate in the liver and kidneys.

Disposable cups can only be used for water. It is better not to drink sour juices, sodas, hot and strong drinks from them. Some coffee machines use polystyrene cups. That is, you cannot drink hot coffee or tea from them.

When purchasing instant products (those that just need to be poured with boiling water), pay attention to the packaging (cup, bag, plate). Although Rospotrebnadzor and certification bodies monitor the safety of materials, nevertheless, manufacturers often use polystyrene packaging. Therefore, it is better to transfer the products into ceramic or enamel dishes and then pour boiling water over them.

Cool food before storing it in a container. For hot food and microwave ovens, use only special containers.

If there is no marking on the plastic, you can distinguish PS from PP by touch - polystyrene crunches and breaks, and polypropylene wrinkles. Also, the main distinctive feature of polystyrene bottles is the bluish color of the container. And when pressing with a fingernail on PS plastic, a whitish scar (stripe) always remains; on PP plastic, the container will remain smooth.

HDP High Density Polyethylene: packaging bags, garbage bags

PVC Polyvinyl chloride: construction and finishing materials, furniture, shoes, medical products, water bottles, cling film

The synthetic poison dioxin can be released from PVC utensils in cases of heating food in microwave ovens or freezing water in freezers. Dioxins accumulate in human adipose tissue and are not eliminated from the body for a very long time (up to 30 years). Dioxin released causes cancer (especially breast cancer).

LDP Low density polyethylene (low pressure): bottles for detergents and edible vegetable oils, toys, pipes, plastic bags.

Other types of plastic are multilayer packaging or combined plastic.

Mayonnaise, ketchup and other sauces, seasonings, juices, jams, ready-made soups and cereals that require heating, sold in bags. Such bags are made from multilayer combined films. The choice of film depends on the properties of the product, the period and conditions of its storage. Soups, cereals, and main courses are packaged in bags made of films that have a high melting point. Dishes in such packaging can be heated in the microwave or boiled directly in the bag. Such dishes can withstand temperatures from -40 to +230° C or more. But physiologists still advise eating them less often.

Dishes made of melamine (polymerized formaldehyde) - it is white, shiny (reminiscent of porcelain), weighs lighter, and does not break. When tapped, melamine dishes produce not a ringing sound, but a dull sound.

Using such utensils is extremely dangerous. To make the dishes stronger, asbestos can be added to it, which is prohibited even in construction (such dishes come to Russia from Turkey, Jordan and China). It cannot be used for hot food. When hot water is poured into melamine dishes, formaldehyde begins to dissolve in the water. Formaldehyde and asbestos can cause cancer. To ensure that the design on such a plate lasts for a long time, paints containing heavy metals, primarily lead, are used.

Municipal secondary educational institution

Secondary school No. 4, Ak-Dovurak

Research work on the topic:

"Plastic waste"

Teacher: Saryglar Alexander Ayizhyevich

Student: Seremel Alimaa Rodikovna

I. Introduction

II. The benefits and harms of plastic

1. Production of plastic products

2. Environmental problem

3. Plastic recycling

4. “Second” life of plastic

III. Conclusion

IV. List of used literature

I. Introduction

Plastic (plastic)- This is a material obtained artificially. Plastic is made by connecting long chains of molecules called polymers to each other. Depending on how these polymer chains are connected, the properties of the plastic depend. Hard plastics very often replace metal in automobile production.

Nowadays, it is impossible to imagine a world without plastic and plastic products. But, despite the everyday occurrence and prevalence of such products, plastic appeared recently - about 150 years ago.

The first scientist to receive plastic was the inventor Alexander Parkes from Birmingham. Using nitrocellulose, alcohol and camphor in his experiments, he obtained a substance that he named parkesin and first showed it at the international exhibition in London in 1862.

But despite their properties, plastic products cause great harm to our environment. They pollute it.

Relevance: About 50 years ago, humanity invented the plastic bottle. These days, millions of bottles are produced and thrown away every year. And every year, waste from plastic bottles is growing, due to the fact that more and more products are being packaged in plastic bottles. The huge amount of garbage on the city streets makes us think about the question: where to put a plastic bottle?

Research problem lies in the contradiction between the positive properties of plastic and the environmental problems that arise as a result of environmental pollution with waste that does not decompose for centuries.

Target: encourage others to think about the important environmental problem of our planet using the example of human pollution of the environment with plastic waste.

Tasks:

1. Find out what plastic is and when plastic products appeared.

2. Find out about the possibilities of recycling plastic bottles.

3.Get interested in the possibilities of creating many interesting and useful things from plastic.

4. Create an exhibition.

Object of study: unnecessary plastic bottles and packaging

Subject of study: possibility of recycling bottles

Research methods: studying literature and information on the Internet, creating an exhibition of crafts from plastic bottles and packaging with the help of classmates.

Hypothesis: If plastic waste pollutes the environment, then by approaching this problem creatively and economically, we can find many ways to use plastic that will save us money and preserve nature.

II. Chapter

The benefits and harms of plastic.

About 50 years ago, humanity invented the plastic bottle. The first samples weighed 135 g, now it weighs 69 g. The production of plastic products is increasing from year to year. These are bottles, cans, bags, film, tape, folders, packaging and many other products. The amount of plastic waste is also increasing, which not only litters the environment, but also pollutes it.

Every year on the planet, entire islands are formed from plastic waste in the ocean. There is a giant floating pile of garbage in the Pacific Ocean. It poses a huge threat to sea inhabitants and birds, as well as human health. Fish with plastic in the blood may end up on our table tomorrow.

Scientists say that the stomachs of dolphins and whales are 50% full of plastic waste. Many birds die because... they eat this plastic with fish. The ocean dump is so huge that it can even be seen from space.

Plastic does not decompose over time. For example: paper decomposes in the ground - 1 month, and a plastic bottle - 450 - 500 years. The question arises: where to put the plastic waste that we throw away?

Burn plastic waste it is forbidden ! When plastic is burned, phosgene gas is released, known since the First World War as a chemical warfare agent (the latest known case of poisoning by the combustion products of plastic is the tragedy at the Lame Horse club). When burning, the acrid smoke does not dissipate, but settles on the beds, trees and shrubs, but that’s not all! When burned, the most toxic substances are formed - dioxins, which cause a serious risk of developing cancer, asthma, and allergies. These substances should not be allowed to settle on plants and get into food.

Plastic products must be recycled. Currently, the problem of processing such waste is relevant not only in connection with environmental protection, but also due to the shortage of polymer raw materials. 1 kg of waste produces 0.8 kg of secondary raw materials

Plastic recycling consists of several stages:

collection, sorting, pressing, processing (cutting, washing, drying, production of regranulate), production of new products.

Tons of waste can be collected, compressed and handed over to special factories, they will process it, and thus create waste-free production. We have a container near our house to collect plastic waste.

About a third of recycled plastic is used to make fiber for carpets, synthetic fabrics, and clothing. Large fibers are used as insulation in sportswear, sleeping bags, and as filling for soft toys.

Recycled plastic is used to make fibers that make rayon wool used in knitted shirts, sweaters and scarves. For example, making a warm faux wool sweater requires approximately 25 recycled bottles.

Fabric made from recycled materials is cheap and environmentally friendly. The plastic is painted in one color or another, so it does not need to be painted. During the World Cup in South Africa, football jerseys were made from this fabric.

Plastic bottles can be found in every home. They are not only different in size, but also in color. Empty plastic bottles are a material that can be used for crafts, both the simplest and more complex projects, which will become a worthy decoration for the interior of the house and yard. We get this creative material completely free of charge. Anything can be made from plastic.

In Africa, a house was built from plastic bottles, while others created a boat. Wonderful sculptures decorate courtyards, flower beds, and garden plots.

A ship made from plastic bottles traveled 150,000 kilometers across the Pacific Ocean when it arrived in Australia. The action took place to support the protest against plastic waste pollution of the world's oceans. Within 128 days, the ship, consisting of 12,500 plastic bottles, crossed the Pacific Ocean and docked in the port of Sydney.

III.Conclusion

While doing this work, I learned that due to such properties as lightness, elasticity, and strength, plastic takes up more and more space in a person’s life, but it cannot be destroyed after use. Plastic packaging does not decompose, and when burned, it releases toxic substances.

Thus, I concluded that plastic should be collected and recycled so as not to pollute the environment.

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