PLASTICS FACTS
Arrange them as Positive use of Plastics, Negative use of Plastics and Neutral.
Plastics are produced from by-products of crude oil. Because of this, they can be broken back down again into a usable product.
The first synthetic plastic was made in 1907 by a Belgian named Leo Baekeland. He invented bakelite in a lab in New York. Bakelite was known as ‘the material of 1,000 uses’. It has been used to make phones, radios, jewellery, chess sets and so much more.
Plastic is lightweight, strong and easy to create. It has been used in endless ways...and it’s so cheap to make and buy. Other more expensive natural materials, such as wood, metals, silks and animal skin have been replaced by plastics.
The durability and long-lasting life of plastics are the things that cause problems in the environment. It will take decades....centuries before plastics that are now on earth begin to break down.
Biodegradable refers to the ability of materials to break down and return to nature. For packaging products or materials to qualify as biodegradable, they must completely break down and decompose into natural elements. The decomposing process must take a short time after disposal – typically a year or less.Positive
Many marine animals mistake some types of plastic for food and eat them. Turtles often die because the plastic they eat blocks their digestive system, so they starve. Marine mammals (like dolphins) often get trapped by plastic nets or ropes and either drown or starve to death.Negative
Since the 1950s, one billion tons of plastic has been thrown away around the world. Micro-plastics – minute particles of plastic have been found in the deepest oceans we can explore, on the highest mountains we can climb, and in the most remote areas of the world.Negative
Since the 1950s, one billion tons of plastic has been thrown away around the world. Micro-plastics – minute particles of plastic have been found in the deepest oceans we can explore, on the highest mountains we can climb, and in the most remote areas of the world.
Some plastic products are highly flammable – for example: polystyrene, acrylics, polyethylene and nylons commonly used in packaging, home and office appliances. This makes them a fire hazard.
Plastics generally have a short life compared to metals. This short life cycle results in pile-ups of unwanted garbage in the homes, streets, towns, villages, waterways and waste yards. In some cities in the world creek and river waters don’t flow because of the plastics build up.
Polythene bags – the ones given out or sold in shops and used for some packaging, are easily carried by wind, something that makes them almost impossible to collect for recycling.
Sea creatures, like worms, molluscs and crustaceans, are at the bottom of the food chain – that is, are eaten by other larger animals. They often end up ingesting microplastics ... which then pass up the food chain. Other animals, and humans, end up with microplastics in their bodies....and get sick or die.
Great and rare sea birds like albatrosses get tangled up in old fishing gear and die. Around 400,000 marine mammals die every year due to plastic pollution in oceans.
A big source of microplastics is waste water from washing machines. Washing synthetic clothes in rivers and lakes does the same thing.
Biodegradable means substance or object being decomposed.
8 negative
2 positives
2 neutral
Today In Tech We Were learning things about what kind of plastic and bottles and what they can use to
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