Plastic types, challenges, effects on animals and plants, and solutions.pptx

World Environment Day 2023 is hosted by Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory coast, West Africa) in partnership with the Netherlands, with a focus on solutions to plastic pollution.

The UN calls it a ‘planetary crisis’. From the poles to the remotest islands, from the surface of the sea to the deepest ocean trench, the marine plastic pollution.

Production has rocketed in the last two decades, with as much plastic being produced between as in all the preceding years combined.
Understanding the evil effect of plastisphere and thinking of an alternative is the need of the day.

1. ZERO TOLERANCE TO SINGLE-USE PLASTIC SUBRATA RAHA, DEPT. OF BOTANY, S.K.B.U., PURULIA, W.B.

2. World Environment Day 2023 is hosted by Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory coast, West Africa) in partnership with the Netherlands, with a focus on solutions to plastic pollution . The UN calls it a ‘planetary crisis’. From the poles to the remotest islands, from the surface of the sea to the deepest ocean trench, the marine plastic pollution. Production has rocketed in the last two decades, with as much plastic being produced between as in all the preceding years combined. Even if all plastic pollution inputs into the ocean were to stop today, this process of degradation means the mass of microplastics in oceans and beaches will more than double between 2020 and 2050. WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY 5 th JUNE

3. Single-use plastics also referred to as disposable plastics, are commonly used for plastic packaging. Also include food packaging, bottles, straws, containers, cups, plates, straw, ear bud etc.

4. The majority of our plastic products are made from processing crude oil and natural gas, hence they are also called ‘Petroplastics.’ Crude oil is refined into very small molecules - ethane and propane - which are eventually put together into different ways to create different kinds of polymers. The 7 Common Types of Petroplastics plastic types 1 (polyethylene) and 5 (polypropylene), which are considered thermoplastics, and therefore more recyclable, at least in theory. In reality, most of those plastic types end up as “single-use plastics” and thus in landfills.

5. SINGLE-USE PLASTIC IN THE FOOD INDUSTRY Single-use plastic accounts for about 36% of total plastic production CHALLENGES Have tremendous advantages, widely using last 75 years. It is perfectly suitable for our modern, fast-paced lifestyle. It offers convenience, durability and accessibility to our everyday food, grocery, health and safety needs. Cheap and easy to produce. Of the total packaging wastes generated, approximately only 14% is recycled, of which only 2% is effectively recycled. Disposal has contributed to creating inequality on a global scale. Black coloured plastic containers are typically used in food packaging. However, its black colour makes it difficult to be detected by the equipment used to sort the plastic from the rest of the trash. Transportation of Virgin plastic

6. L ower soil bulk density (Machado  et al ., 2018) Impacts of microplastics on the soil biophysical environment.  Environmental Science & Technology   Reduce root penetration, soil aeration. Increase water evaporation resulting to soil desiccation . C hanges in soil microbial community composition: Mycorrhizae & Nitrogen fixers Contaminant transport or adsorption Direct toxicity: cause damage e.g. alteration of cell membrane, intracellular molecules, and generation of oxidative stress. P lastics may enter into the food chain through plants, livestock and Human. ( Bouwmeester  et al .,  201 5) Potential health impact of environmentally released micro- and nanoplastics in the human food production chain: experiences from nanotoxicology.  Environmental Science & Technology   (Zimmermann RP & Kardos LT. 1961) Effect of bulk density on root growth.  Soil Science  

7. Plastic waste is trapped by mangrove forests, and can be present in high quantities both on the forest floor and in the sediment. Field monitoring showed that plastic was abundant, with 27 plastic items per m2 on average, covering up to 50% of the forest floor at multiple locations. Cause immediate pneumatophore growth, clogging of roots and potential leaf loss. Ultimately leads to death.

8. Scientists found fifteen microplastic particles per gram of vein tissue, colon and lung tissues. Microplastics as carrier: These chemicals are known environmental pollutants, like pesticides, fluorinated compounds, flame retardants, and so on. Once in the body, these chemicals can be released, potentially leading to cancer, chronic inflammation, or other unknown effects.

9. in January 2018, a  20-year-old wild elephant in Periyar , India  perished from plastic ingestion from waste discarded by the millions of Sabarimala pilgrims who trek through the heavily wooded forest to reach the shrine every winter. It was revealed that significant amounts of plastic have blocked up the elephant’s intestines, causing internal bleeding and organ failure. Impact on Land Animals

10. DYING CORAL REEFS DUE TO PLASTIC POLLUTIION In areas polluted by plastic, corals are more susceptible to disease development.  Coral reefs need clean, clear water to survive. When they are covered by plastics, speed the growth of damaging algae, and lower water quality. Plastic wastes deprive oxygen supply as well as light to the corals and releases toxins that help bacteria and viruses to invade.

11. Scientists studying flesh-footed shearwaters ( Puffinus carneipes ) observed that plastic consumption can lead to problems like organ damage, and ultimately an early death. Microplastics create injuries within the stomach , most of the birds had scar tissue indicative of plastic-related fibrosis, or plasticosis. Seabirds with plasticosis, exhibits reduced digestive ability, also have trouble deriving nutrients from its food and unable to fight off infection or parasites.

12. SINGLE-USE PLASTIC IS HARMFUL TO NATURE Harmful to our water supply, sanitation and overall health of our ecosystem Ingestion of plastics by marine animals, is extremely harmful & could be fatal Trapped and vulnerable to predators, as well as unable to swim and feed Single-use plastic can leach out harmful chemicals such as phthalates into our soil and water. Enters in food chain, damage kidney, lung, liver even carcinogenic. Burning plastic releases toxic chemical fumes - dioxins, mercury, and polychlorinated biphenyls - highly carcinogenic

13. The term was coined by Linda Amaral- Zettler , a marine microbiologist at the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research. The plastisphere consists of ecosystems that have evolved to live in human-made plastic environments. In the ocean, the plastic waste is eventually fragmentized into microplastics under the disruption of physical and chemical processes. MPs are colonized by microbial communities such as fungi, diatoms, and bacteria, which form biofilms on the surface of the plastic called "plastisphere“. They often break down plastics and thus plastic enters in food chain. Plastisphere S cientists in Japan discovered  Ideonella   sakaiensis , a bacteria, evolved an enzyme that enabled it to eat plastic.

14. sunlight and heat cause the plastic to release powerful greenhouse gases . As our climate changes, the planet gets hotter, the plastic breaks down into more methane and ethylene, increasing the rate of climate change. Chlorinated plastic can release harmful chemicals into the surrounding soil, which can then seep into groundwater or other surrounding water sources, and also the ecosystem. Plastics

15. India served as the global host of the 2018 World Environment Day

16. Plastic

17. HATS OFF TO INDIAN RAILWAYS

18. VERTICAL GARDEN REUSING PLASTIC BOTTLES

19. To reduce the amount of plastic consumed, opt for alternative products

20. Water Hyacinth Bagasse Jute Mesta Betel Nut Banana

21. Bio-oil based asphalt Poly lactic Acid Plastic from cane Sugar. Cellulose-based plastics Use of Bio-plastics Genomatica with Versalis has enabled the production of butadiene from waste, used in rubber for tires, electrical appliances, footwear etc.

22. Kappaphycus alvarezii Eucheuma denticulatum Chondrus crispus Sargassum sp

23. https://www.nrdc.org/stories/single-use-plastics-101#why https://www.considerate-consumer.com/single-use-plastic-alternatives#challenge https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/plastic-planet-how-tiny-plastic-particles-are-polluting-our-soil https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2022/july/solutions-climate-change-plastic-pollution-linked.html REFERENCES

24. Only we humans make waste that nature can’t digest. Charles Moore, Oceanographer Hope you will f ocus on making the more sustainable choice