IndexEssay on eliminating single-use plasticWhy plastic is so popularThe need to reduce single-use plasticConclusionsWorks CitedEssay on eliminating single-use plasticIt's 6:30 in the morning on a Monday morning and you're not sure how you'll get through another long day at work. The only possible way for this morning to get better is to drink an extra large iced coffee. So, you go to your local Dutch brothers and wait in an hour long line for your drink. The coffee is served to you in a giant plastic cup, accompanied by our favorite form of plastic… the straw! Your coffee tastes decent and you finish it when you get to work. Walking in the door you throw the used cup into the trash can, not even thinking about who that plastic cup might affect later or where it might end up. After all, the mug was designed for one-time use only. We are all victims of choices like these. Plastic is everywhere and we are surrounded by it: “It is in the single-use packaging we discard, in the consumer goods that fill our shops, and in our clothes, which shed microplastic fibers during the wash.” To discuss the issue of single-use plastic, this essay analyzes the causes of its popularity and the need to eliminate its use. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Why Plastic is So Popular Plastic is convenient. It is easy to make, have and use, which makes it popular: “In addition to packaging, the popularity of single-use products has accelerated the increase in plastic waste. Such products include plastic cutlery, plates, drink bottles, straws, coffee stirrers and menstrual products” (Plastic waste). Because these products offer us so much convenience, they are also super easy to throw away! Just think of all the plastic products we use every day and which are intended to be used only once. After using them, we throw these products away. Tons and tons of plastic waste are created every year. This leads to the current single-use plastic epidemic that our world is facing today. We live in a world where we often say “it's just a matter of time”. “It is only a matter of time before all life in the ocean dies.” “It's only a matter of time before our garbage fills every inch of the planet.” How sad is it that it's okay for us to say things like this? Let's talk about how harmful plastic is while drinking from plastic water bottles! We choose plastic when we are asked “paper or plastic?” at the grocery store. We drink our daily coffees from a plastic cup only to throw them in the trash an hour later. Sure, plastic is convenient, but because it's so harmful to our environment a change is needed. The way we live our daily lives today is harming our environment more than we think. A change needs to be made, and that change needs to ban single-use plastics from our lives. Our daily life choices need a change. Plastic products have become part of our lifestyle, and it is in no way our fault. Plastic companies have brainwashed us into believing that we NEED plastic products. Why you might ask? Because plastic is convenient and very easy to use. Plastic has become a habit. One we desperately need to break. Studies have shown that up to 10% of the plastic we dispose of every year ends up in the ocean. This means that 700 billion bottles float in our oceans every yearplastic! Billions of water bottles out there kill and pollute our ocean life, “At current rates it is predicted that plastic will outnumber all the fish in the sea by 2050” (Ocean Plastics Pollution). If we don't stop and stop the production of plastic products, the consequences will be dramatic and will change the world. We need to be smarter about the products we choose to buy and how we choose to dispose of them. Single-use plastic has harsh consequences, and it's time we realized it. We have become dependent on single-use plastic products such as lunch bags, plastic containers and water bottles. Just because they offer us a little more convenience, we are willing to put our environment at risk: yes, it's scary to think of a world where you have to carry a reusable bag or worry about a paper straw falling apart in the half... Oh, wait. Knowing that every piece of plastic produced on Earth is still with us and that if we don't cut back now, there will eventually be more plastic than fish in the ocean - that's the truly scary thought. (Times Editorial Board). The problem is right in front of us, yet so many people still choose to ignore it. Haven't there been enough signs to tell us that our Earth is unhappy with our decisions? We've seen what plastic can do to our ocean life. We have seen the fires that have destroyed the homes of countless people. We have seen other countries ban plastic because they know what the source of the problem is. So why do we still use single-use plastic products? The need to reduce single-use plastic It's time to open our eyes and realize that plastic is simply harmful to our environment. It's not worth destroying our Earth with single-use plastic. You need to start making smarter choices when it comes to purchasing single-use plastic products. Plastic waste remains on this planet much longer than you might think. Even when we recycle, plastic waste remains on our Earth. As a result, we need to stop buying single-use plastic products that we all know we don't need,” In other words, because plastic is cheap, lightweight and durable, virtually every industry – be it retail, manufacturing or logistics. ..And because it is so durable, it doesn't 'go away'” (Wassener). We are taught to think that because we recycle, all is right with the world. When in reality that piece of plastic we recycled will be crushed into even smaller pieces only to pollute the air or ocean later. “The enormous volume of plastic waste covering the Earth today has become impossible to ignore. It is time for environmentalists, politicians and elected officials to start planning a broader response: phasing out all single-use plastic, not just the most harmful” (The Times Editorial Board), we have had plastic on this earth for decades and the problem The situation is not it will only get worse every day we continue to produce and purchase single-use plastic. Plastic waste will not disappear or go away: “There is no way out” (Leonard). While recycling will help solve our growing problem, “Recycling alone will never stem the flow of plastic into our oceans; we need to get to the source of the pollution and slow down the production of all this plastic waste” (Leonard). It all comes back to the production of plastic. It needs to be controlled, but the only way to control it is for consumers to stop buying it. Plastic companies will continue to produce only what we buy. Until we stop buying unnecessary cups, containers and straws, the problem will remain the same. It all starts by taking the first step andchoosing not to purchase single-use plastic products, and I encourage you to take that step. Some might say that although the plastic waste we produce is harmful to our environment, there can be some benefits derived from it. For example, single-use plastic is a key component in the medical field. Plastic products have not only improved medicine, but also play a huge role in keeping us safe and healthy: Plastic has reduced the weight of eyeglass frames and lenses. They are key components of modern prosthetic devices that offer greater flexibility, comfort and mobility. Plastic allows the artificial hip and knee to ensure smooth functioning and problem-free joints. Plastic packaging, with its exceptional barrier properties, light weight, low cost, durability and transparency, is ideal for medical applications. Innovative medical procedures depend on plastic. Plastic has changed medicine for the better. Although some products such as syringes and blood bags are used only once, they prevent the spread of diseases and infections. There is no substitute for medical plastic. It's the only type of single-use plastic that benefits us more than it harms us. Our coffee cups and plastic straws, however, do not serve the same purpose. If the only plastic waste we could create was related to the medical sector, our world would be in a much better place. While single-use plastics serve an important purpose in medical use, most of what we throw away has no medical connection. Single-use plastic is not something we NEED, and unless you're throwing away a plastic syringe or bag of blood, you should make smarter decisions about the products you buy. The trash we throw away has real-life consequences. Every time we take out the garbage or throw something in the garbage, we feel like the garbage is no longer our problem. We threw it away and now it's gone. In reality, though, that garbage isn't "gone" at all. The paper, plastic, food and waste we dispose of every day ends up on the streets, is thrown away or enters our oceans. Everywhere you go you will see rubbish on the ground, just think of how our poor marine life must feel: “Meanwhile, plastic in the ocean is estimated to kill millions of marine animals every year. Nearly 700 species, including those at risk of extinction, are known to have been affected” (Parker). Were we really so selfish as to want to seriously endanger all marine life? If we continue at the current rate, many species are destined to become extinct. We're not just destroying our world with our garbage, we're destroying theirs too. Many people may feel guilty about living in the ocean, but they aren't ready to give up the convenience of plastic, “Environmentalists argue that plastic bags' inability to degrade easily, low recycling rates and the frequency with which these items are disposed of improperly creating an ongoing threat to local wildlife and waterways” (Plastic Waste). Animals such as seabirds, turtles and seals are dying because they ingest plastic waste. plastic pollution). Let's put it this way: when humans eat pieces of plastic by eating microwave and canned food, drinking from water bottles or eating seafood, they could face problems such as “premature births, asthma, cancer, miscarriage, male infertility… ”. The list of side effects goes on and on. Clearly our bodies aren't supposed to digest plastic, so why do we allow ocean life to suffer this way?