There is no doubt that pollution contributes to many of the problems related to climate change in our world today however, the invention of plastics and the widespread use of these plastics make ocean habitats uninhabitable for the plants and animal life that live there. Furthermore, there is evidence of micro plastics in literally all aspects of our lives.

According to The “Past, Present , and Future of Plastic Pollution, an article published in the Marine Pollution Bulletin, the Dutch/Belgian chemist Leo Baekeland invented the first known synthetic plastic in 1907. Since then plastic has taken ahold of the world, its accessibility to everyone no matter economic or political status makes it one of the most used materials of all time.

It seems that everywhere one goes there are single use plastics lying on the ground and in trashcans, this is not exclusive to city environments. Even when visiting the seemingly remote beach and forest there is always evidence of humanity’s carelessness and ignorance.

In todays world the majority of people are aware of the dangers that plastics pose to our health, and our surrounding environment. For example, even before elementary school, kids are taught to reduce, reuse, and recycle their plastics instead of throwing them in the trash.  The idea of recycling plastics came about in the 1960s when people started to realize the dangers plastic pose to the world around us. However, it wasn’t until 1972 when the first plastic recycling plant opened in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. Since then many more plastic recycling plants have opened and we recycle many more types of plastics.

Another large concern with plastics, or in this case microplastics, is that they are in everything we consume. This leads to people having plastic in their bloodstreams, the health concerns from this are obvious. Microplastics are found in newborn babies which means that they are in the womb during the babies developmental stages.

I think that in order to properly convey the message of reducing single use plastics we must educate people from a young age of the dangers we expose ourselves to whenever we consume from plastic bottles, bowls, and bags. In addition we should take steps towards making alternative solutions accessible to everyone regardless of economic situation. For example, the cost of metal and paper straws and bottles should be greatly reduced. Also the reintroduction of paper bags with the goal of completely removing plastic bags from stores should be emphasized.