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Plastic Pollution BY ‘kakas Plastic Pollution in Hawai’i Plastic plays a big part of our lives. The food we eat is wrapped with it, the toys our siblings or children play with is made from it, the television we watch is made with it, we play video games with plastic controllers, we listen to music with plastic head phones and the shelves we use is made with plastic. Material items made with plastic can be useful, cheaper, and durable but it can also harm the environment.
All of these plastic items don’t Just disappear in our rubbish disposals. Most of it piles p in landfills; however, plastic waste is able to go into the ocean water where the currents push the plastic away making a big mountain of plastic trash (Lucas-Zenk 1). This huge plastic garbage is creating havoc on our ocean ecosystem. Even though plastic is convenient and affordable, the overuse of it causes harmful pollution problems because it collects in the ocean, ocean life consumes it, and it deposits onto beaches in Hawaii.
So much plastic waste has entered the ocean water and made its way to Hawaii’s ocean and beaches. It has been piling up in a certain area called “The Pacific Garbage Patch,” which was discovered by seaman, Captain Charles Moore (Lucas- Zenk 2). While sailing with his boat from Hawaii to the U. S. , he recognized a huge pile of floating plastic garbage (Lucas-Zenk 2). The trash was mostly made from plastic pieces breaking apart in the ocean. Researchers say that this plastic trash came from a broken down house that was supplied with plastic goods (Lucas-Zenk 2).
If plastic remains in the ocean for long periods, it eventually breaks down into smaller pieces and gets swept away from the currents (Lucas-Zenk 2). The Pacific Ocean urrounding Hawaii is not the only place plastic garbage is being identified. It’s found inside of sea creatures. Sea creatures living in the ocean near Hawaii are consuming plastic garbage. When plastic garbage enters the ocean life, it floats towards current pockets which get stuck or spit back out (Goldstein 1). This is hazardous to sea creatures, like fish, because they eat it.
The plastic waste breaks apart into tiny pieces and it looks exactly like natural food for fish (Goldstein 1). This doesn’t Just affect the small sea creatures in the sea. It affects the bigger creatures as well (Goldstein 1). The reason why fishes don’t survive after consuming plastic is because it contains a toxic known as hormone disrupters (Goldstein 2). This toxic can cause unnatural reproductive cycles and death. Plastic doesn’t only affect life in the ocean (Goldstein 1. ) It’s affecting life on land in Hawaii. The beaches are starting to collect huge piles of plastic trash.
When plastic waste ends up on shore, they dissolve into small plastic pebbles (Lucas-Zenk 3). These plastic pebbles get washed up by the current on beautiful beaches (Lucas-Zenk 3). In Kailua, Kona, plastic were found all over lava rocks. The plastic found on the beaches or on the lava rocks are the waste that hasn’t been eaten from sea creatures in the ocean (Lucas-Zenk 3). Land creatures such as birds are also affected by plastic waste. Birds eat the plastic garbage because their food source is usually food that is on the ground (Lucas-Zenk 4).
It’s harmful to them because they can choke (Lucas-Zenk 4). When these birds don’t Tina plastlc, It turns Into gravelly Tormatlons (Lucas-LenK 3). I nere Is mucn more plastic waste on rocky beaches, like laundry detergent tubs and soda bottles (Goldstein 3). These wastes can also be broken up into smaller particles making it arder to clean. Hawaii’s beautiful beaches are becoming more like a garbage swamp. Plastic pollution is a serious threat to Hawaii’s environment but there are ways to prevent serious damage from happening.
Recycling is one way to keep our environment clean. The point of recycling is that we can reuse plastic bottles. Last week, I interviewed my dad about solving the plastic pollution problem. He said, “l think the plastic waste can be transformed into fossil fuels or energy but I’m not sure when they will start approving that method. ” I also interviewed a friend who works at Walmart, Rylan Martines. He explained that “Walmart’s role in protecting our environment is charging a fee for plastic bags to encourage customers to bring in their own bags from home. We want them to actually save their money too instead of buying plastic bags”. Plastic pollution can be controlled if we are proactive. We can reuse plastic items, transform them into fossil fuel, or bring in our own bags instead of buying plastic ones. In conclusion, plastic pollution is a serious problem that is causing many issues for Hawaii’s environment. We need to be more cautious about where we put our plastic waste. They end up in our ocean which creates loating garbage. This trash affects sea creatures because it looks like food.
Many of these sea creatures can die from eating it. Plastic garbage is swept on Hawaii’s beautiful beaches. It makes the beaches look like big ugly swamps and it can also harm land animals such as birds. Plastic pollution can be stop with solutions like: recycling, charging plastic bag fees, raising money for foundations, and using plastic waste into a fossil fuel. We have an obligation to protect our environment. The sooner we act on this issue the better. We must remain proactive in keeping Hawaii safer and cleaner.