3.6 Ki te aha?
WALT: to organise our ideas into paragraphs
We have many environmental problems globally, but one of the most problematic and harmful environmental issues would be plastic pollution. Many people know that plastic pollution is a big problem throughout the world, yet people continue using and making plastic. As most of the world's population uses plastic it’s being made more, and more of that plastic ends up in our beautiful oceans. Those actions are causing plastic pollution to become an even bigger environmental issue that only a few thousand of us are dealing with properly. Plastic pollution in the world is so inferior we have an island of rubbish just floating in the sea. The most disappointing thing is that only a few of us are doing something about plastic pollution, it’s about time we all do something to help the environment. One simple thing you could do to commit to helping the environment is possibly using as many biodegradable plastic objects you can, as it can break down quicker than normal plastic.
Everyone knows how useful and beneficial plastic can be to us, but with those benefits also comes problems, and inconveniences. Plastic is durable, and that's convenient, but it’s also the main problem about plastic. The fact that it’s durable makes it harder to break down. It can take up to 1,000 years at most, and that’s only an estimate, it could possibly take longer. Once the plastic breaks down a bit it’s small enough for marine animals to eat, because of that the fish we eat are likely to have ingested plastic, meaning we are also eating plastic.
Plastic is used a lot in our daily lives. We use plastic so often that it seems like we need it, but we don’t. Instead of using single use plastic you could replace it with something else like maybe replacing a plastic water bottle with a stainless steel bottle. Another thing you could replace would be cosmetics. A lot of people don’t know that there are little pieces of plastic hidden inside a few cosmetic products. Those littles pieces of plastic are called microbeads. Fortunately microbeads have been banned in a few countries.
Not every piece of plastic is single use. In Fact you can always use it again. Clean the plastic again and use it, don’t throw it away and get the same piece of plastic. If you use it again it doesn’t have to still have the same purpose. You can always repurpose the plastic by turning something like a water bottle into a vase, or pencil holder. Use your mind and be creative. Not only would you be helping the environment, but you could also entertain yourself creating something with the plastic.
Often we buy things with plastic that we don’t need, leaving you with left-over rubbish. You can avoid that necessary waste by refusing to buy the plastic in the first place. Instead of going to a store where things are new and packaged in plastic you can go to a second hand shop. I recommend going to a second hand shop because it’s already unpackaged, you would have no leftover plastic. Not only will it be ridding you of extra waste but it could also save your money.
If you want to see the world restored to its original beauty, the best thing you could do is follow doing as many of the R’s as you can. Make sure you continue it even if it feels like you're not doing anything helpful, because in reality you are. You shouldn’t do it by yourself so tell your family and friends, so we can save the earth.
