The Plastic Crisis

Did you know only 7% of plastic actually gets recycled?! Most of the plastic we use gets dumped into the ocean. This is extremely unsettling. It destroys sea life and life on land. For example, in the Philippines a whale washed ashore with 88 pounds of plastic in his stomach. The plastic clogged it's digestive system and the whale no longer ate or drank. The whale died. When I read this, I felt upset and disappointed, and that I should do something about the plastic problem. Also, plastic is made of fossil fuels, such as crude oil and natural gas. These natural resources are beginning to fade away. It’s time for companies to start doing the hard work. They need to follow an engineer design process on how to ask questions, imagine ideas, plan out, create, and improve design. Engineering is a critical part of fixing the plastic crisis. Engineers can fix the current existing plastic waste problem and create new biodegradable products that are not plastic. Also, engineering teams can help countries work together to fix the plastic crisis.

Engineers can fix the current existing plastic waste problem by doing a few things. First, they can create a better machine to recycle plastic properly. Straws and microplastic fall through the cracks of the current sorting machine. The machine should sort every single piece of plastic properly, so all the plastic will be recycled. Second, there are lots of creative ways to use plastic waste. For example, a British engineer, Toby McCartney, created roads out of bottles and plastic bags. They are 60 percent stronger than regular roads. Also, Nzambi Matee, a scientist from Kenya, built bricks out of plastic and sand. It is heated and baked and stronger than concrete. She has already recycled 20 tons of plastic from 2017 to today. Engineers can continue to build roads, houses, schools, and businesses out of recycled plastic.

Also, engineers can create new biodegradable products that are not plastic, like water bottles, plates, utensils, etc. For example, a sixteen year old, Angilina Arora, from Australia, used shrimp shells and a protein found in silkworm cocoons to make a plastic bag that breaks down in 30 days. Another example is an engineer in Mexico invented utensils using avocado pits that decomposed in 240 days. Further, another engineer figured out a way to turn plastic water bottles into thread. Also, engineers can make more bamboo products because bamboo is biodegradable, lightweight, durable, and sustainable. Bamboo grows very fast and everywhere, except Antarctica, so we will never run out of it.

Engineers can work with other countries to stop the plastic crisis for good. This is a world wide crisis and we need everybody to work together to find a solution. Engineers can create a plan with all the good ideas and spread the word to the world.

In The Last Straw, it says “We need a plan, a new solution. We need an eco-revolution.” Engineers are a big part of the plastic solution. We need better machines in all facilities, we need biodegradable products, and we need to partner with all countries in order to solve the plastic crisis.

Did you know, 8.8 million tons of plastic is dumped into the ocean every year, that is 533,000 school buses full of single use plastic? That is disgusting! We need to work together to help our environment. Not only engineers can help, but you can too! You can help by not using plastic at all or picking up plastic and reusing it, you can even create art! An 8 year old kid collected 1,600 bottle caps and had them made into buddy benches. If an 8 year old kid can make a difference in the world, YOU can too! The question is, how will YOU make a positive impact on the world?

Bibliography

The Last Straw. Susan Hood. New York, NY, HarperCollins Children's Books, 2021.

Kids vs. Plastic. Julie Beer. Washington D.C. National Geographic, 2020.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch. CBS This Morning Eye on Earth. May 28, 2021.

Join the No-Plastic Challenge. Scot Ritchie. Kids Can Press.

How Engineers Solve Problems. Robin Johnson. New York, NY, Crabtree Publishing Company, 2019.