According to a study published in the journal PLOS ONE, plastic used in everyday objects from bottles to packaging emits potent greenhouse gases like methane and ethylene when exposed to sunlight, terming it a global concern about its impact on the world's oceans grows.
A giant island made up of plastic waste, found in pecefic ocean is much more bigger than anticipated earlier, environmentalists across the world are scrutinising plastic pollution because the scale of the problem has become clear now.
The effect of green house emission from plastics was largely ignored in the past because of their low exposure to sunlight but the danger is nor increasing as the pollution increases.
Plastic pollution and GHGs
Burning fossil fuels is major source of Methane emission, which is a major driver of global warming. Now the study indicating plastic pollution adding more to the emission can be a cause of concern for those who are fighting against climate change.
More than nine billion tons of plastic has been produced since 1950 with most of it discarded in landfills or the environment, the study is another source of consolidating the view that "losing plastic to the environment is not good".
Moreover Scientists have repeatedly linked exposure to some plastic chemicals, such as bisphenol A (BPA), to health risks.
The garbage patch of plastic floating in the Pacific holds as much as 16 times more debris than was previously thought, directly exposed to sunlight, proving that plastic pollution can be a cause of not only health risk or marine life but a risk to earth itself by contributing to global warming.
Recommended books for UPSC/CSE IAS and State PSCs, click to purchase.