This document discusses the dangers of plastic to the environment. It defines plastic as a synthetic material made from polymers that can be molded. The main types of plastics are thermosetting and thermoplastics. Plastic packaging poses a major pollution problem as it takes hundreds of years to decompose in landfills. Billions of single-use plastic bags are used worldwide each year, but less than 1% are recycled. Plastic pollution has severely impacted oceans, where debris has been found in large quantities, and plastic bags in particular threaten sea turtles.

1. Plastic and Our Environment
By,
Jujhar Singh
GradeVIII

2. Points to be Discussed
▪ What is a Plastic
▪ Types of Plastic
▪ Dangers by Plastic Packaging
▪ Plastic Bags
▪ Facts And Figures
▪ ThankYou

3. What is Plastic
a synthetic material
made from a wide
range of organic
polymers such as
polyethylene, PVC,
nylon, etc., that can be
moulded into shape
while soft, and then set
into a rigid or slightly
elastic form.

4. Types of Plastics
Thermosetting
Plastics
Thermo Plastics
PVCPolytheneNylonBakelite Melamine Resin

5. Dangers by Plastic
Packaging
The most obvious form of pollution associated
with plastic packaging is wasted plastic sent to
landfills. Plastics are very stable and therefore
stay in the environment a long time after they
are discarded, especially if they are shielded
from direct sunlight by being buried in landfills.
Decomposition rates are further decreased by
anti-oxidants that manufacturers commonly
add to enhance a container’s resistance to
attack by acidic contents.

6. Plastic Bags
▪ Each year, about 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic
bags are used worldwide.
▪ Because it costs more to recycle than produce
one bag, only 1% of the bags are recycled.
▪ It costs $4000 to process and recycle 1 ton of
plastic bags, which are then sold for $32”
▪ A study in 1975, showed oceangoing vessels
together dumped 8 million pounds of plastic
annually.The real reason that the world's landfills
weren't overflowing with plastic was because
most of it ended up in an ocean
▪ If just 1 out of 5 people in our country use cloth
bags we can save 1,330,560,000,000 bags over
our life time.

7. Facts and Figures
▪ It takes hundreds of years for plastic bags to decompose and while
they do, they release toxins into our soil, lakes, rivers and oceans.
▪ the production of plastic bags requires millions of gallons of
petroleum and banning the production would significantly reduce
carbon dioxide emissions. reducing plastic bag production in Britain
by a quarter would reduce CO2 emissions by 63 tons a year.
▪ In 2006, the United Nations found that each square mile of the ocean
has 46,000 pieces of plastic in it.
▪ Plastic bags which pollute our oceans have a bad habit of killing sea
turtles in particular.