Application assignment #1
Section 1:
1. The environmental impacts presented in the reading
Americas recycling is shipped to over 13 countries. China was Americas main source of disposing of the plastic waste causing thousands of people to undergo many hours of labor into sorting the plastics. Most recycling that China gets from America is contaminated with food or dirt which then is not recyclable, so it gets transferred to the China landfill. That caused China to close off receiving any dirty plastics in 2017 due to the environmental and health fears. Now that China has cut off all dirty plastic waste that led America to shipping overseas to countries that are already drowning in their own plastic waste. That now causes major concern for the environment because the plastic waste then gets dumped into landfills that are overflowing. A plastic sorter from Vietnam says how his country does not dare to drink the water from underground because of the plastic fumes polluting the water. Extra plastic waste gets dumped into the beaches in Vietnam which causes pollution in the oceans causing toxic air and toxic water. In some areas on the Cambodian seaside almost every inch of the ocean is covered with floating plastic.
2. Human impacts presented in the reading
The workers who separate Americas recycling have to work in very dangerous circumstances and environments. Most places these workers live do not have clean drinking water and polluted air caused by the plastic fumes. They are exposed to many chemicals like sulfur dioxide, hydrochloric acid, and heavy metals which can cause development disorders, endocrine disruption and cancer. In Cambodian most houses are floating on sea water covered in plastic and garage imported from America. The fumes from the plastic cause illness's in almost every family who lives by the seaside.
3. Why are humans causing the impacts presented in the reading
America sends 1 million tons of plastic waste overseas every year. Even if some parts of the world cannot keep track of their own recycling, they still have to somehow manage Americas recycling waste. Every country has countless amounts of garbage. Almost all countries do not have space to hold all that waste, so they send it off to landfills or pollute the water and land. As the world grows in population this problem is only going to get worse. Soon everywhere will be contaminate with trash and everything will be polluted.
Section 2:
To compare plastic pollution to another human impact I would relate it to oil drilling in the amazon. This is similar to the plastic pollution because both result in pollution towards the environment. The government also has full control over both of these topics. They have full control over where the plastic waste goes and have full control over where the oil will be going and how it will be collected. The difference between these two topics is the fact they have two different effects towards the environment. The plastic pollutions result in human illness and water pollution and air pollution. The oil drilling and spilling effects result in water pollution but also deaths in animals in the water and in the forest or wherever the government is drilling the oil.
Section 3:
Hls Commercial 21 Gallon Stainless Steel Rectangular Open-Top Trash/ Recycle/compost Bin Set | HD Supply (hdsupplysolutions.com)
Ways Keene State College students can prevent plastic pollution is to recycle clean waste. Make sure the plastic you recycle is washed out and clean instead of moldy and dirty bags/containers. We can also prevent this from happening by not littering our trash and throwing it away responsibly. I will be walking around campus and trash is laying around on the ground which is upsetting to see now that I know the results of this problem. It is very easy to dispose of your trash correctly, but most people do not care enough about the environment because they believe it will not affect them but in reality, it will affect them. An easy way to dispose of your trash responsibly is to compost and recycle the correct trash. In all budlings here on campus there are three trash options, compost, recycling, and regular trash. Most people just throw everything in the regular trash option but to be more responsible and cautious of the environment composting left-over food and recycling plastic will help more than people think.
what resonates the most with me is how we as Keene state students can do by taking responsibility for our trash.
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