Plastic pollution threatens the future
ON WORLD ENVIRONMENTAL DAY, June 5, this year we want to encourage countries to take stronger actions in the fight against plastic pollution and to transition to a circular economy, because plastic products are polluting our planet at an alarming rate.
"From the fifties of the 20th century until today, plastic has flooded the world and changed the way we live. The market flooded with single-use plastic products resulted in the burden of the environment with waste that ends up in the soil, lakes, rivers and seas, and today there is almost no corner of the Earth left without plastic," said Hini in the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development.
Plastic makes up between 80 and 85 percent of the waste found in the sea and on the coast
Most plastics are produced from oil, which contributes to increased greenhouse gas emissions. 14 million tons of plastic waste (580,000 truckloads) end up in the oceans every year, and 85 percent of it comes from land.
Plastic makes up between 80 and 85 percent of the waste found in the sea and on the coast. Microplastics are found in all oceans and numerous organisms, and there are several recorded cases of plastic embedding in rocks, resulting in plastiglomerates.
Damage to the marine environment is eight billion dollars a year
It is estimated that the damage to the marine environment on a global scale is at least eight billion USD per year. The Ministry warns that our health is inextricably linked to the state of the environment, so we introduce plastic from the environment into the body in the form of micro and nanoplastics by breathing air, through food and water and even through the skin.
Pieces of plastic are present in the lungs, liver, spleen and kidneys of people, and recent research has confirmed that they are also found in the placenta of newborns. The full extent of the impact on health is still unknown, however, numerous scientific studies indicate that some of the additives contained in plastics cause health problems, for example endocrine and developmental disorders, reproductive disorders and cancers.
Around 29 million tons of waste plastic is collected in Europe, of which 32 percent is sent to recycling, 43 percent to incineration/co-incineration, and 25 percent to landfills.
Source: index.hr web - June 5, 2023.
https://www.index.hr/vijesti/clanak/plastika-zagadjuje-svijet-brze-nego-ikad-trebamo-kruzno-gospodarstvo/2468872.aspx