New Study Reveals United States a top source of plastic pollution in coastal environments

     After reading about the fact that we, US citizens, are poisoning our earth and killing the marine environments, should make us all think again about throwing a piece of plastic away. After reading this article, I have learned that over the past 10 years we went from the twentieth ranking to the "third among countries contributing to coastal plastic pollution when taking into account its scrap plastic exports as well as the latest figures on illegal dumping and littering in the country." We are now the third-worst in the world contributing to the pollution to marine life and the environment. Something needs to change. When you think about it, almost everything has plastic on it, for example, the plastic wrapping on boxes keeping it from opening up, led pencils, bubble wrap in boxes, and even everyday materials like some cups. Beyond our boarders, "the researchers estimated that up to 1 million metric tons of U.S.-generated plastic waste ended up polluting the environment." We should all take in account for what we are throwing away.

    What can we do to help the plastic pollution? We can create something that is an alternative to plastic that can disintegrate reducing and even eliminating the poisoning of the environment. An idea that was stated in the article, by Natalie Starr said, "We need to change the math by investing in recycling technologies and collection programs, as well as accelerating research and development to improve the performance and drive down the costs of more sustainable plastics and packaging alternatives to address the current challenge." An immediate solution for citizens of the US is to practice recycling and finding a better way to dispose of the recycling then having to ship it across the ocean. A way we can all help reduce the number of trash that gets polluted can be simple. Like for instance, my family and I burn cardboard boxes to heat our house and we practice recycling. One problem with recycling that we face is the fact that no one picks it up and we have to drive it somewhere which takes time. Many of us know that recycling is important although it takes time to drive it out and drop it off. Though this takes time, it will save our earth and the marine environment. 

Link to Article:

 https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201030142125.htm