It's not just the ocean

Plastic pollution is the accumulation of plastic items in the environment. Plastic is affordable and abundant in the economy, and the more abundant it is the more harmful it is.

Concerns about plastic pollution is often focused on in the ocean, as it affects sea life such as sea turtles, fish, and hundreds of other marine creatures. Despite the disastrous issue of plastic pollution in the ocean, plastic pollution on land destroys our home and kills thousands of animals each year.

Plastic pollution has been found by scientists in every part of the earth from the tops of the mountains to the air we breathe. On land it can also affect pollution in the water; many different things can carry plastic from land to the ocean, destroying both parts of our world. During this process plastics can get caught on anything man made or in nature, causing us to live among what destroys our home.

The plastic that destroys our environment also maybe helping to destroy our future; plastic pollution is a major cause of climate change, which can lead to natural disasters that will damage our homes and displace thousands of people.

The destruction of homes and displacement of people will inevitably lead to homelessness and hunger, this raises the possibility of many other issues having to do with plastic pollution.

Many people focus on how plastic pollution is killing our marine life, and while that is a big issue, plastic pollution on land is also destroying our planet, peoples homes, and killing thousands of animals.

Climate Change

Plastic pollution is one of the main contributors to climate change. Since plastic takes hundreds of years to decompose, it stays in the environment and heats up the earth. Plastic creates this issue because it traps heat and releases dangerous greenhouse gases. When dispersed into the environment the sun causes plastic to heat up and accelerate the rate of climate change and global warming, which by extension causes hunger and homelessness.

The creation of plastic is harmful to the environment because it is produced by fossil fuels. Oil, gas, and coal are all fossil fuels and go into creating plastics. Plastics refining is also greenhouse-gas intensive, because of it's reliance on ethylene.

Plastic is disposed of in landfills, incineration, or recycling. Incineration has the biggest impact climate change because of plastics problematic relationship with heat.

Climate change causes many problems for us; it can lead to various natural disasters such as hurricanes, floods, droughts, and heat waves. The disasters will displace people and destroy crops, leading to increases in hunger and homelessness around the world.

Hunger and Homelessness

Plastic pollution can negatively affect hunger and homelessness in many ways.

Each step in the plastic production and disposal lifecycle has a negative impact on the environment and climate change. Climate change in turn has the greatest impact on poor and low-income communities around the world. More frequent and more dangerous weather disasters such as droughts and heat waves can lead to people being displaced and crops destroyed. It can also cause a lack of water for people. All these effects lead to greater hunger and homelessness.

“The world’s poorest communities often live on the most fragile land, and they are often politically, socially, and economically marginalized, making them especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change,” said Christina Chan, director of the World Resource Institute’s Climate Resilience Practice.

In addition, plastic particles are ending up in our food supply. People consume foods that contain mild amounts of plastic, which can lead to buildup inside the body. For the hungry and homeless, it may be much harder to avoid plastic infested foods the chances of consuming it is much higher.

Actions and Solutions

Studies show that we have the technology, tools and abilities to make an huge impact on climate change and plastic pollution. If the effort was put in, plastic pollution could be cut by 40% from 2016 levels.

The entire supply chain of plastic would need to be changed for this to work, and every step of the way would have to become more environmentally friendly. People will have to become more environmentally conscious.

A large problem contributing to plastic pollution is not that people don't want to recycle, but that people can't recycle. Studies show that there are billions of people who do not have access to any form of recycling or plastic collection services.