Plastics is one of the most used material in the world. It is present in everything. The benefits of plastic is that it is cheap, light, malleable, durable and recyclable. Plastics has all this great properties but it also comes at a cost, it is not easy to dispose plastics. It takes hundreds to thousands of years for plastics to degrade in landfill. The degradation itself is also an environmental issue, as the breaking down of plastics into microplastics pollutes our land, air and ocean. When larger pieces of plastic waste are disposed of in the environment they get weathered and degrade. These larger pieces of plastic break down into smaller and smaller pieces and are eventually reduced to microplastic particles. The problem is that these particles are entering the food chain. 

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We know that plastic causes environmental issue, but why do we still use plastic instead of using other material. It is because it is hard to determine which material has the least environmental impact. It’s not just plastics that can cause problems if not disposed of correctly, for example, metal and glass also do not break down easily and can also cause land and marine pollution.

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It is not easy to find a replacement for plastic because the properties that plastic has is just better than other materials. For example, many people believed that plastic should be replaced with paper or cardboard. Because it is believed that paper or cardboard are more environmentally friendly than plastic because they are made from a renewable resource, can biodegrade, and are recyclable. However research shows that plastics outperform papers environmentally, on manufacturing, on reuse, and on solid waste volume. Paper products take substantial amounts of energy to make, making paper and cardboard is the third largest industry with the most usage of energy on the planet. In comparison to cardboard, plastic is lighter and more durable and less energy intensive to manufacture.

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Some people also believe that glass is a viable alternative to plastic. But researches shows that glass takes more resources and energy to produce. Glass making involves mining raw materials such as silica sand and dolomite, and that can release pollution which, when inhaled, can cause the lung diseases. Glass also has bigger contribution to global warming than plastic. High temperatures are needed when producing glass, it is needed to melt the materials, the process is overwhelmingly powered by fossil fuels. Other than that, glass is also heavier than plastic, one-liter glass bottle can weigh up to 800g, while the same size plastic bottle weighs around 40g. That extra weight means vehicles transporting glass bottles consume more fossil fuels to deliver the same amount of liquid.

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People also believe that metal specifically aluminum is a viable alternative to plastic in the water packaging industry. People believe that water should now be packaged in aluminum cans rather than plastic bottles. It is believed that aluminum cans creates less environmental problem than plastic bottles. Aluminum cans might indeed mean less ocean waste, but they come with their own price: the production of each aluminum can pumps about twice as much carbon into the atmosphere as each plastic bottle. According to Reuters, a 330 ml aluminum can is responsible for 1,300 grams of carbon dioxide emissions, which roughly equates to the emissions produced by driving a car 7 to 8 km. While a plastic bottle of the same size, made from the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic, accounts for up to 330 grams of carbon dioxide emissions. Another thing is that the raw material cost for a aluminum can is about 25% higher than a PET bottle. A shift to aluminum cans would raise costs for drinks companies, also including new manufacturing infrastructure, thus hitting product competitiveness against plastic rivals. Another thing is consumer convenience,  most cans are opened and stay open, while bottles can be recapped. 

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There is still no material that is better than plastic. Plastic is the best option out of all the material that is available, plastic is cheaper, lighter, more malleable and more durable. However this benefits comes at a cost which is that it is difficult to dispose plastic. If not disposed correctly, plastic can harm the environment. If disposed recklessly into the environment, plastic can cause plastic pollution. Plastic pollution can harm the environment because it can cause diseases and disturbs the ecosystem. There is one way to prevent this though, that is to control and manage the plastic waste. We need to collect and sort the plastic waste properly so that we can process and recycle it into plastic again. This way the plastic waste wont just go into waste and will become useful. Theta Plastic is here to collect and sort the plastic. Theta Plastic is here to provide plastic that is ready to be cleaned, processed and recycled.