This years Earth Day is celebrated under the slogan “Planet vs. Plastics” The goal is to encourage a reduction in plastic use for the benefit of human health and the planet, aiming to cut the production of all types of plastic by 60% by 2040.

Over the past 50 years, plastic polymers have simplified human life to such an extent that life without plastic is hard to imagine from todays perspective. However, at the same time, we have spread it so widely across the environment that few parts of the Earth remain uncontaminated by plastic waste.

Microplastics are found in all oceans and numerous animal and plant organisms. There have been several recorded instances of plastic being embedded in rocks, forming plastiglomerates. The use of artificially synthesized polymers, which we call plastics, from the 1950s to the present has flooded our world and changed the way we live. Due to their versatile properties and durability, plastics have become an indispensable material for a wide range of applications within just a few decades.

Long polymer chains are highly stable, and over time or through use, small fragmentsof plastic break off from plastic items. Fragments ranging in size from 0.1 μm to 5 mm are called microplastics, while smaller fragments fall into the category of nanoplastics. These tiny plastic particles are easily transported and spread throughout the environment, providing a suitable microhabitat for bacteria, forming the plastisphere. Additionally, the cracks in microplastics are ideal for binding heavy metals.

The market flooded with various single-use plastic products has led to environmental pollution, with waste ending up in soil, lakes, rivers, and seas. Water and air currents carry plastic fragments across the planet.

Most of the plastic we use today is produced from petroleum, and the productionprocess itself contributes to increased greenhouse gas emissions. Approximately 98% of single-use plastic products are made from fossil fuels or raw materials, and it is estimated that greenhouse gas emissions related to the production, use, and disposal of fossil fuel-based plastics will account for 19% of the global carbon budget by 2040.

Globally, plastic recycling rates remain low. In Europe, around 29 million tons of plastic waste are collected annually, of which 32% is sent for recycling, 43% for incineration/co-incineration, and 25% is landfilled. In recent decades, plastic packaging and single-use plastic products have polluted our planet at an alarming rate. Every year, 14 million tons of plastic waste (equivalent to 580,000 trucks) end up in the oceans. Of the total plastic waste in the marine environment, 80% originates from land. In the European Union, plastics make up between 80% and 85% of the waste found in the sea and on beaches, measured by the number of waste items on beaches. Single-use plastic items account for 50%, and fishing-related items account for 27% of the total waste.

Plastic waste is then carried by ocean currents, sometimes over very long distances. It can be washed ashore, degrade into microplastics, or form dense areas of marine debris trapped in ocean gyres. UNEP estimates that the damage to the marine environment globally amounts to at least $8 billion annually.

Source: https://www.haop.hr/hr