why we should ban plastic

Mum why is there a whale lying on the beach dead?” asked Caleb`

“Oh that whale, it is because humans constantly throw plastic into the sea and it harms many animals because they mistake it as jellyfish,” said Mum. I strongly believe banning plastic is important because it stops polluting the environment, killing wildlife and you can substitute plastic with other materials.

Firstly, plastic pollutes the environment and is difficult to break down. Did you know the average time for a plastic bag to dissolve underground in 400 to 1000 years! In addition, while producing plastic bags, manufacturers use a lot of fossil fuels and natural gas which is deadly to both the environment and humans.  Furthermore, 35 percent of fossil fuels are spent on creating plastic bags. Therefore, plastic bags take several years to break down,  pollutes the environment and harms the wildlife

In addition,  plastic bags also kill wildlife as they often end up floating in the seas. According to PEW, 1 million sea animals are killed per year by mistaking plastic bags for jellyfish.  One species that is at great risk from plastic bags is the already endangered Leatherback Turtle. Turtles often have mistaken floating plastic bags for jellyfish as their main food. Nearly 700 species, including endangered ones, are known to have been affected by plastic bags in the ocean. Besides, kids can not have fun in the ocean because it is full of rubbish. According to Simon reddy,  director of PEW, 13 million metric tons of plastic were dumped in the ocean every year. 

Finally, we can make some little changes that might help the world. For example, you can use reusable water bottles instead of plastic ones. Another example is using reusable bags instead of plastic bags. Countries like Africa, Kenya, New Zealand and South Africa have stopped using single-use plastic bags.  Another change we can contribute to the environment is to stop laminating paper. The average time for laminated paper to decompose underground is 3-5 months.

In, conclusion, I believe plastic is very harmful to the environment because it takes years to break down, and manufacturers produce plenty of carbon dioxide in the process of making plastic bags. In the next ten years, every ocean will be filled with plastic and if you don’t want this to happen we need to stop this.