Plastic pollution is a huge problem. Even though the problem is not new, there have been no solutions until recently. The city of San Jose, California has recently implemented a solution.
In June of 2013, San Jose became the first city in America to ban polystyrene (Styrofoam) food containers, also known as “white foam.” This plastic is non-biodegradable and tends to break up into tiny pieces rather than decompose.
The pieces are then ingested by many types of marine life and when we eat that seafood, we get the pieces of Styrofoam. San Jose’s ban only applies to certain types of polystyrene, and it does not provide any funding for enforcement.
This means that restaurants and fast food chains still use Styrofoam to pack your soda or burger. However, one thing that San Jose has implemented is a $2.50 fee on each polystyrene foam container that is brought to the city’s recycling center. This fee has been successful in other cities that have implemented it and is highly recommended.
Why Is Plastic Pollution Bad?
Plastic pollution is bad for the environment in a myriad of ways. It is particularly bad for sea life. Every year thousands of marine animals are killed by plastic pollution. The world’s oceans are choked with an estimated 100 million tons of plastic waste, of which between 6 to 13 million tons are added each year.
The plastic waste is responsible for carnage that is the killing of whales, dolphins and a host of other sea creatures each year. Plastic bags and straws can become deadly traps for sea turtles. In the United States alone, 500,000 plastic straws are used every day.
If they were placed end to end they would circle the Earth’s equator nearly twice every day! Most of them end up as litter on our beaches or in the oceans, where they can take decades to degrade.
Most of the plastic items we throw in the trash aren’t recycled, and they’re mostly buried in landfills, where they will remain for hundreds of years. It is estimated that around 8.8 million tons of plastic waste is generated by landfills each year, and only around 9.2% of it is recycled.
Plastic Pollution Facts In Long Beach California
plastic pollution is a huge problem in long beach, California. Plastic pollution is one of the most important issues that the world is facing today. It is the biggest threat to our existence. plastic pollution facts are directly linked to the environment.
The ecosystem is directly affected by animals, plants and microorganisms that are polluting the water bodies. The plastic pollution facts show that plastic pollution is a serious problem that has direct effect on the environment.
The concentration of plastic pollution in the Long Beach area is not going down, but up. The top three items that make up beach trash are cigarette butts, plastic bottles and plastic bags.
The five biggest contributors of beach trash are cigarette butts, plastic bottles, liquor bottles, food wrappers, and plastic bags. The top five items picked up during beach cleanups are Styrofoam pieces, cigarette butts, plastic beverage bottles, plastic grocery bags and plastic bottle caps. The best way to keep our beaches clean is to reduce, reuse and recycle.