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What if we could make plastics from less harsh products? This means we get rid of them much easier and in a much safer way. Most bioplastics are made from natural materials like corn starch. Some bioplastics look identical to traditional petrochemical plastics. The main ingredient in bioplastics is Polylactide acid (PLA), which looks and behaves like polypropylene and polyethylene, widely used for the production of food containers. Producing PLA, according to NatureWorks, saves two thirds the energy you need to produce traditional plastics. However, a problem remains, even with the advent of bioplastics. Those currently in use do not fully degrade in the environment. Also, their use is limited to packaging material or producing containers for food and drink. Researchers at Harvard’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering have now introduced a new bioplastic, isolated from shrimp cells. It is made from chitosan, a variety of chitin – the second most abundant organ...

With all multitude of roles played by plastic in our lives in the 21 st century, it is hard to imagine a life without this material. Because many plastics are based ultimately on crude oil, there is a continuous rise in the cost of raw materials and this increasing cost is something that chemical engineers are trying to work around (Johnson, 2015) . If we used small amounts of plastic, the challenge wouldn’t be that big, but no, we use them in astounding quantities. In a small island like Britain, about 8 billion disposable plastic bags are used annually! We are literally drowning into plastic, being unable to get rid of them. Another domain of concern is that of environmental degradation. Getting rid of plastic is a daunting task. Burning is not an option as this entails the release of toxic chemicals like dioxins. Plastic disposal is a critical issue that needs to be addressed, we need to adopt more sustainable strategies in plastic disposal. This issue is currently being ad...

Detectable levels of Bisphenol A (BPA) from plastics have been found in urine of 95% of adults in the United States (North & Rolf, 2014) . According to a study in the Annual Review of Public Health, carried out in 2010, BPA holds endocrine-disrupting properties. Health risks involved include: decreased male fertility, early sexual maturation, and aggressively (aggressive behavior). DEHP (di-ethylhexyl phthalate) which is often used in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) products, easily leaches out and has negative effects on health like: insulin resistance, enhanced waist circumference, and distortions to the male and female reproductive systems. Phthalates which are used in softening plastics. Studies have linked various phthalates to abnormal male sexual development, male infertility, premature breast development, cancer, miscarriage, premature breath and asthma (Plastics and Human Health, n.d.) . Infants and pregnant or nursing mothers are at heightened risk for toxic exposure...

An estimated 100 million are estimated to have been discarded into the world’s seas so far, circulating in vast oceanic gyres are a great threat to marine life. Plastics pose a dangerous risk to sea turtles, which erroneously consume plastic bags, because they resemble jellyfish; this eventually leads to their death. November 2008, in Australia, a 10-foot-long crocodile tagged as part of a government wildlife-tracking program turned up dead, having consumed 25 plastic shopping and garbage bags (McNamee, 2008) . Plastic ingestion is a real cattle killer disease, with almost no known cure. It indeed is a quiet and painful way for cattle to die, the cause of the agony is difficult to determine as the symptoms are often are misleading. Plastic is of various shades and tastes, some sweet, others salty, and cattle like kids, will eat just about anything. Plastic has been discovered in the bowels of most cows during postmortem analysis. Most cattle die within a week after ingesting ...

It is now believed that there are 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic debris in the ocean. Of that mass, 269,000 tons float on the surface, while some 4 billion plastic microfibers per square kilometer litter the deep sea (Parker, Ocean Trash: 5.25 Trillion Pieces and Counting, but Big Questions Remain, 2015) . Marine debris is one of the most visible forms of plastic pollution. The term ‘marine debris’ has been used for at least 25 years to refer to man-made materials that have been discarded or lost into the ocean (Lytle, 2015) . Marine debris in turn has catastrophic impacts on sea life, and ecosystem as well. Marine debris contains other elements in addition to plastic, such as: metal, glass, rubber, and textiles. Plastic makes up for the majority of floating debris, but the ocean floor holds denser debris. According to UNEP (United Nations Environmental Program), marine debris, or marine litter is ‘any persistent, manufactured, processed, or solid material discarded, disposed o...