Plastic should be replaced for the planet's health
For as helpful as plastics been to bring humans further in their technological advancement it's starting to become a problem. The land, sky, and sea are all being hit hard by pollution and it's up to everyone to take initiative and start taking care of the environment.
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The Argument
Plastic has been useful ever since its discovery but it might be time for something new to take the spotlight. For as much good as its done there's been equal fallout with its creation. Marketing has made plastic the disposable item, something that could and should be tossed after it's been used. This though leaves around a lot of trash, trash the planet can't break down properly.
Now, most plastics are made from polymers.[1] [2] Whether synthetic or organic, they're often made from cellulose or petroleum and fossil fuels. When plastic takes this soft or hard form it can start to break down, but not like other organic material. Plastic breaks down into pieces, into micro plastics. These plastics are then ingested by wildlife and pollute the environment. Plastic alone makes up 80% of all the pollution in the ocean.[3] This doesn't even take into account what's in the landfills.
While plastic has been one of the reasons for human advancement, like all things there can, and should be, improvements. Finding new materials that are better for the environment but can replace plastic might be hard, but it's important to protect the planet, now more than ever.
Counter arguments
Plastic isn't the only thing that's causing the planet's health to decline, and taking a look at the bigger picture makes it apparent it's not the straws in the ocean causing the problem but big business cutting corners.
Chemicals, waste, byproduct, broken equipment, worn nets, rusted parts and day to day trash, all of this ends up in the ocean and a small part is due to people being careless.[4] A bigger part is due to businesses doing the cheaper option by cutting corners and illegal dumping. With the power these companies hold it's also easy to hide these deeds and publish papers that put the blame on things like straw usage instead of the real people at fault.[5]
It's not that plastic needs to be replaced but that those in power need to make major changes to the rules on what people are and aren't allowed to do, on what people can and can't get away with. It's not plastic that's damaging the planets health but human greed.
Proponents
Premises
[P1] Plastic makes up 80% of the trash in the ocean
[P2] It's one of the biggest causes of the decline in the planets health
Rejecting the premises
[RP1] Plastic doesn't need to be replaced, the process of recycling and processing needs to be replaced
References
- https://www.sciencehistory.org/the-history-and-future-of-plastics
- https://www.plasticseurope.org/en/about-plastics/what-are-plastics/how-plastics-are-made
- https://www.iucn.org/resources/issues-briefs/marine-plastics
- https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/ocean-coasts/ocean-pollution
- https://earth.stanford.edu/news/do-plastic-straws-really-make-difference#gs.mqf916