Ocean Waste Plastic

Plastic is one of the most important inventions of the 20th century, but unfortunately it also causes pollution – especially in the world’s oceans. In fact, Denmark is the country in Europe that generates the most waste per capita. This post highlights some of the issues related to plastic waste. It also highlights four different types of plastic.

Plastic problems

A huge problem with high plastic consumption is the difficulty of recycling plastic. About 80% of the material therefore ends up as persistent waste. This is a huge environmental problem as it is so difficult to recycle. Its useful life is less than a year, but it can take hundreds of years for nature to break down the plastic. It is these issues that are contributing to plastic being a huge climate culprit.

Different types of plastic

Fossil fuels

The production of plastic is very energy-intensive. In fact, 4% of the world’s oil production goes to processing plastics alone. The material degrades slowly, resulting in toxic fumes. The production of plastics requires large quantities of chemical pollutants and fossil fuels.

Recycled plastic

The material is made of PCR plastic and sometimes added virgin plastic. The amount of fossil fuel resources is reduced and the material has a lower carbon footprint than virgin plastic. However, the process of recycling the plastic is harmful to the environment.

Bioplastic

Bioplastics are made from plants, including corn, sugar cane and algae. Production results in large amounts of pollutants such as pesticides and chemical processing. Production also causes greater ozone depletion than traditional plastics.

You can read more about virgin PET on our site.