Everyday items made from plastic such as bottles, plastic wrap, and straws… all bring many benefits to people. However, these few minutes of convenience come at the expense of extremely serious consequences.

The environment is always a “hot” topic that everyone is interested in. Currently, one of the pollution problems that need to be urgently solved is the huge amount of plastic waste that is “invading” the living environment. It is not an exaggeration to say that plastic waste is one of the main causes of ecosystem change.

1. Current status of plastic waste

Every year, the amount of plastic waste accumulated globally increases at a dizzying rate. In 2023 alone, more than 430 million tons of plastic will be produced worldwide, but half of it is single-use and less than 10% recycled. This is equivalent to the amount of plastic waste created by humans being enough to cover 4 times the earth’s surface area, more than half sinking to the bottom of the sea and destroying the surrounding habitat.

Vietnam is estimated to account for an average of 2.9 million tons of waste each year, including more than 30 billion plastic bags. Products made from plastic are very convenient, but their characteristic is that they take a long time to decompose, taking from several hundred to thousands of years. Their abuse without corresponding solutions leads to increasingly serious environmental pollution.

According to statistics, Vietnam is currently ranked 17th among the countries with the highest amount of plastic waste every year. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment assesses the current situation of plastic waste in Vietnam as extremely serious, but treatment methods are still limited. More than  85% of waste in our country is treated by landfilling. This wastes environmental resources and greatly affects the ecosystem as well as human health.

2. Impact of plastic waste

Due to its difficult to decompose nature, most waste is treated by landfilling. However, they still exist for hundreds of years, changing the physical properties of the land, and causing waste of environmental resources. At the same time, some improperly treated waste can create a greenhouse effect, leading to climate change.

Since then, the ecosystem and human health have been severely affected. Plastic waste sinks to the bottom of the sea, creating “white pollution” that is deadly to many marine species. For humans, when they eat foods contaminated with microplastics, will suffer from many dangerous diseases. In addition, the use of plastic products to store hot food also produces toxins that affect health.

3. Solution

To solve the current situation of plastic waste “invading” the environment, the first thing is that each person needs to raise awareness of joining hands to protect the environment. Minimize products made from plastic or replace them with environmentally friendly plastics.

At the same time, recycling is considered the most effective solution capable of reducing environmental pollution. Instead of using it once, we can classify waste and reuse it. This reduces a large amount of waste in the environment, saves time and natural resources, and limits the impact on human health.

Plastic waste pollution is alarming and needs us to act together right now. Reducing the amount of plastic waste will bring great benefits in protecting the environment and landscape, building a “green” planet.