What can we do to reduce the impact of plastics on the environment?
There are many types of plastic which have both positive and negative impacts on the environment. The negative: polythene bags take years to degrade if not disposed of correctly. In the country side / rivers they can cause death / injury to animals, birds and fish etc. plastic bottles etc that end up in the sea produce tons of waste that is washed up on the shore line + some get ground down into small particles that can be ingested by fish etc Some of these plastics can contain harmful materials: Phthaltes etc the good: Plastics can replace more expensive materials eg metal in cars which reduces the environmental impact of producing a car (making steel gives more C02 than plastic), plastic can be lighter than materials they replace Eg in a car, gives better fuel consumption etc Some plastics can be recycled again and again. making things out of plastic can reduce the demand on other natural materials.
