Plastic and Microplastic Pollution. Consequences and Proactive Steps

Seminar paper from the year 2021 in the subject Environmental Sciences, University of Missouri - Kansas City (UMKC), course: English 102, language: English, abstract: Plastic pollution is viewed as one of the worst threats to both humanity and the environment known today. This essay summarizes multiple research studies to determine whether this is true while also analyzing interviews with some of the most active environmentalists in North America. The dangers that plastic and microplastics pose to the land, oceans, and air are addressed. Also discussed is the common misconception that recycling can reverse the already detrimental effects that pollution has had thus far. While simply re-using plastic items cannot combat the massive amount of synthetic material that has piled up in landfills and oceans, an increase in awareness along with global changes in plastic production may be able to cause real change.