It was a hot Saturday afternoon at Maracas Beach. Keyon was with his parents, who were sun lounging on the shore. He was just finished eating marshmallows but there were no bins, so he dropped the wrapper on the sand.

His mother shouted, "Do not throw that wrapper there! Why are you contributing to plastic pollution!". Confused, he said, "What? What is plastic pollution?"...

What is Plastic Pollution?

Plastic pollution is the accumulation of material waste made from plastics such as bottles, snack wrappers and bags.

Why is this bad?

Excess plastic is dumped and finds its way into landfills. However, these materials can take 

hundreds of years to decompose. When 

they are burned they can cause air 

pollution and release harmful 

chemicals and toxins which are bad 

for the environment, people, and

animals. These chemicals can result in long-term health problems such as cancer. When people litter and it rains, the plastic washes into drains, rivers, and eventually into the ocean. Animals such as turtles mistake plastic bags for their favorite food, jellyfish. That can make the turtle feel full but it is not and it starves itself to death. They can also become entangled in fishing nets and other plastic packaging.

Fishes eat small pieces of plastic called microplastics. This moves up the food chain and 

ends up in human bodies. Therefore 

plastics affect the entire ecosystem.

How are plastics made? What are they made of?

Plastics are made of fossil fuels like oil, coal and natural gas through a scientific transformation. They are refined into ethane and propane which are combined to form different polymers. 

Why have plastic become so common in everyday lives?

Plastic has become so common in everyday lives because it is easy to bend into shape, it does not break easily like glass and can hold liquids without leaking.