Answer to Question #168247 in Management for Sekyere Daniel

Question

Make a post of between 250 and 300 words on the environmental impacts of the plastic waste manace confronting major cities in and suggest one sustaniable way to address the situation.

Answer 1

Environmental impacts of the plastic waste menace confronting major cities

It pollutes the water- with tons of plastic waste being dumped into the water sources; river, ocean, etc. As it does not dissolve, it remains in the water, and it humpers its purity. This causes a clean water shortage.

It pollutes land- plastic waste damped on landfill pollutes the soil, it ruins the fertility of the soil and as a result food production goes down and hence hunger is an experience all over the world.

Endanger marine life- plastic waste impacts on marine species are; suffocation, ingestion, and entanglement. Marine wildlife like fish, turtle, whales, and seabirds mistake plastic waste for prey, they end up dying of starvation as their stomach is filled with plastic debris.

Air pollution- some plastic waste eventually rots, in the process, it may produce methane gas and bad smell, which contributes to greenhouse effects and is explosive.

Loss of resources- improper waste disposal of plastic prevent resources from being reused. This means a heavy reliance on virgin materials, which requires more energy to process.

A sustainable way to address the situation

Policy and planning- cities need to put in place adequate disposal and collection system, to ensure all waste is managed in an environmentally friendly manner. Next step they can pursue focus interventions e.g. burn certain types of plastic.  For example- the state of California burned plastic led, which led to a decrease in littering on a local beach with 72% from 2010 to 2017. However, plastic bun alone is not enough, cities need to support plastic policies with an effective waste management system and the ability to support this system by the government.