The United Nations warns that the world produces more than 400 million tons of plastics annually worldwide, while less than 10 percent of them are recycled.
Did you know that scientists have found microplastic particles in human blood? And they also monitored tiny particles of plastic in the placenta? Are they confused about hybrid embryos that contain human and artificial cells?
The problem of plastic has become an issue out of control and micro-plastic particles are now present in our soil, water and air that we breathe.
The danger is that plastic contains chemicals that take hundreds of years to decompose.
And governments say plastic is recycled.
Yes, this is true.. but according to the United Nations, only 10 percent of plastic is recycled.. Indeed, there are recent studies that say that the recycling process itself harms the environment as it results in microscopic plastic particles that pollute the environment..
As a result, an estimated 19 to 23 million tons of plastic per year end up in lakes, rivers and seas. Which is roughly more than two thousand times the weight of the Eiffel Tower.
The question that may come to the mind of everyone who hears me now.. Why don’t we do without plastic?
Environment and development specialist Hassan al-Talili expressed his wish “if it were that simple.”
What makes plastic so popular is its ease of use, cheapness, and light weight.
Despite the gloominess of the matter, work is underway in full swing to devise alternatives to plastic.
In Egypt, for example, researchers are developing a way to convert shrimp shells into thin films of biodegradable plastic, while researchers in Indonesia are working on producing alternatives to plastic from seaweed.
A group of Pakistani scientists discovered a type of fungus that has the ability to analyze polyurethane in plastic.
However, these positive initiatives did not prevent the United Nations from warning against plastic.
And consider it as a slogan for this year’s World Environment Day.
