{"id":12541,"date":"2023-09-08T09:39:12","date_gmt":"2023-09-08T09:39:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.forcebrothers.com\/?p=12541"},"modified":"2024-02-05T10:44:05","modified_gmt":"2024-02-05T10:44:05","slug":"peki-siz-plastiginizi-nasil-alirdiniz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.forcebrothers.com\/en\/peki-siz-plastiginizi-nasil-alirdiniz\/","title":{"rendered":"PEK\u0130 S\u0130Z PLAST\u0130\u011e\u0130N\u0130Z\u0130 NASIL ALIRDINIZ?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Writer: Cansu K\u0131z\u0131lkaya<\/strong><\/p>

While the trends in the world are constantly changing at a fast pace that we cannot follow depending on the developments, we see that sustainability gains importance in all field as environmental problems become more noticeable in the 2020s. Consuming with awareness even in nutritional trends, slogans such as 'you are what you eat' often appear with the concepts of sustainable nutrition. However, while these discourses are on the rise, on the other hand, each individual eats an average of 5 grams of plastic, that is, the size of a credit card, in a week.1\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

Plastic, whose existence in human history dates back more than 100 years, is structurally composed of carbon and hydrogen compounds. Thousands of small molecules called monomers are combined under heat and pressure to form polymers, the most widely used type of plastic. Human-made synthetic polymers have the properties that are lightweight, durable, can take almost any shape, cost less and are suitable for mass production. For this reason, plastics are used in almost all areas of daily life. The phones, clothing, tools, furniture, and many other items we use today are at least partially made of plastic. However, over time, this miraculous material used in every field ceased to be a miracle and became one of the heroes of a giant environmental problem.<\/p>

A substantial portion of plastics, which make up 40%, is used as packaging material. These packages (such as plastic bottles, coffee cups, etc.) that we use frequently in our daily life and that we do not think about where they will go and what effect they will have when we throw them away; it takes 500 to 1000 years for them to disappear. According to the research conducted by industrial ecologist, Associate Professor Roland Greyer and his team at UC Santa Barbara's Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, from 1950, when synthetic plastic began to be produced industrially, to 2015, as much as 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic has been produced. 2\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

To visualize; it is emphasized that the said amount is equal to the weight of 1 billion elephants, 25,000 the Empire States Buildings, and 822,000 times the Eiffel Towers. According to the same research, as of 2015, of the 6.3 billion metric tons of plastic that has become waste, only 9% has been recycled and 12% has been incinerated, and 79% of it is in landfills and in nature. Most of the plastic waste in nature ends up in the oceans. In fact, according to the results of the 3-year research conducted by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation with more than 180 experts, it is predicted that the number of plastics in the oceans will exceed fish by 2050. 3\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

A human consumes an average of 20 kg of plastics in a lifetime.<\/h2>

Every year, 8 million tons of plastic waste that enters the seas can be consumed by animals or hinder the movement of animals and cause their death. On the other hand, they are decomposed by UV rays from the Sun, wind and waves and turned into pieces smaller than 5 mm, that is, micro-plastics, and are consumed by creatures in the sea. Thus, plastics take their place in the food chain.<\/p>

According to the \u201cMicroplastic Pollution in Sea Creatures in Turkey\u201d report prepared by Greenpeace in our country, approximately one of every two fish has microplastics in its stomach or intestines. Although this rate varies in different sea creatures, 91.2% of mussels sampled from 5 different points contain microplastics. In addition to sea creatures, when we consume honey, sea salt, any food or beverage with plastic packaging, we also consume micro plastic. 5<\/p>

In respect thereof, a study has been carried out under the leadership of Dr. Philipp Schwabl at Medical University of Vienna. The study, conducted with volunteers from Japan, Russia, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Italy, Poland, Finland and Austria, is based on 8 volunteers recording what they ate for 1 week and giving a stool sample. While 9 out of 10 types of plastic tested within the scope of the research are found in stool samples, the size of the plastics varies between 50 and 500 micrometers. As it that were not enough; cosmetic products, clothes, dust in the air and even the water in the fountain contains microplastics and get into our body. The amount of plastic we consume in a week, the size of a credit card, is equivalent to approximately 2.5 kilograms in 10 years, and 20 kilograms for a human lifetime of 79 years . 7\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

The consequences of plastic consumption in terms of human health are not known for certain. But the chemicals added to plastics worry scientists. For example, it is said that BPA, which makes the bottles transparent, can also affect our hormonal system, prevent the absorption of iron from the plastic in our body, or the DEHP chemicals, which provides the elasticity of the plastic can cause cancer.<\/p>

Plastic Pandemic<\/h2>

It would not be wrong to say that the use of plastic has gotten out of control over time. Although countries, companies and individuals have taken steps to reduce plastic consumption and this issue has occupied the world agenda for a while, priorities seem to have changed due to health concerns with the pandemic. Plastic gloves, cleaning materials, increasing packaging practice, disposable materials such as plastic cups and cutlery used by restaurants during home delivery and of course masks which we cannot go anywhere without, have occupied our daily lives and nature. In fact, it is also called the \u201cplastic Pandemic\u201d. Although it is said that it is too early to talk about the long-term effects of the increased use of single use plastic during the pandemic period, it is obvious that a positive result will not be mentioned when the \u201cplastic heritage\u201d from the past is taken into account.<\/p>

The Situation of Plastic Waste in Turkey<\/h2>

Unfortunately, recycling infrastructures are not planned proportionally with the usage rate of plastic in the world. On the other hand, some countries do not prefer to use the method of incineration of plastic waste in their own lands because this method pollutes the air. According to the news in BBC that concerning to the subject, although 78,5% of plastics are separated and collected in the EU, only 41,5% of them are recycled within the borders of the EU. The remaining packaging is sent to other countries in exchange for money to be recycled. Turkey, as the country that receives the most plastic waste from Europe in 2020, is among the countries that import the most plastic waste in the world.<\/p>

Although these plastics are only sent for recycling purposes, it is not possible to provide control and supervise of this. With the intense criticisms, imports of some plastics are currently banned\/the quota has been reduced. Still, plastic imports seem to be a strong obstacle to the \u201cZero Waste\u201d target.<\/p>

How to Solve the Plastic Problem?<\/h2>

The issue of restricting the use of plastic or the use of alternative materials instead of plastic also points to a different vicious circle, because much more carbon emissions are released during the production of materials that can be used instead of plastic. For example, according to the research conducted by the Department of Environmental Engineering at the Technical University of Denmark in 2018 for the Danish Environmental Protection Agency, in order for a cloth bag we use to go shopping to have less environmental impact than a single-use plastic bags, it must have been used 7,100 times. In addition, in our world where food waste is already a serious problem, plastic is extremely important for safe food packaging. Although what we can do individually about plastic waste, which is a much more complex problem than it seems, is limited, it is very important and valuable to avoid unnecessary plastic use, to use single-use plastics such as grocery bags for as long as possible, and to support campaigns that will push the industry and governments to take action in this regard. In a world where plastic waste regulations work better, recycling infrastructures are stronger and developing countries are supported on this point, each of us can avoid swallowing 1 credit card a week!<\/p>

The issue of restricting the use of plastic or the use of alternative materials instead of plastic also points to a different vicious circle, because much more carbon emissions are released during the production of materials that can be used instead of plastic. For example, according to the research conducted by the Department of Environmental Engineering at the Technical University of Denmark in 2018 for the Danish Environmental Protection Agency, in order for a cloth bag we use to go shopping to have less environmental impact than a single-use plastic bags, it must have been used 7,100 times. In addition, in our world where food waste is already a serious problem, plastic is extremely important for safe food packaging. Although what we can do individually about plastic waste, which is a much more complex problem than it seems, is limited, it is very important and valuable to avoid unnecessary plastic use, to use single-use plastics such as grocery bags for as long as possible, and to support campaigns that will push the industry and governments to take action in this regard. In a world where plastic waste regulations work better, recycling infrastructures are stronger and developing countries are supported on this point, each of us can avoid swallowing 1 credit card a week!<\/p>

For the Curious Ones:<\/h2>
  1. WWF Rapor, 2018: Plastik Kapan\u0131ndan \u00c7\u0131k\u0131\u015f: Akdeniz\u2019i Plastik Kirlili\u011finden Kurtarmak<\/a><\/li>
  2. \u201cPlastik Kirlili\u011fi: \u0130nsanlar D\u00fcnyay\u0131 Nas\u0131l Plasti\u011fe D\u00f6n\u00fc\u015ft\u00fcr\u00fcyor?\u201d Plastic Pollution: How Humans are Turning the World into Plastic - YouTube<\/a><\/li>
  3. If you want to see the average amount of plastic you consume per week: Home - Your Plastic Diet<\/a><\/li>
  4. Dr. \u00d6zlem Ak, T\u00dcB\u0130TAK Bilim ve Teknik Dergisi: COVID-19\u2019un Ba\u015fka Bir Sonucu: Plastik Salg\u0131n\u0131<\/a><\/li><\/ol>

    Documentary:<\/h2>
    1. A Plastic Ocean<\/a><\/li>
    2. Bag It\u00a0(2010)<\/a><\/li>
    3. If you want to see the average amount of plastic you consume per week: Home - Your Plastic Diet<\/a><\/li>
    4. The Story of Plastic<\/a><\/li><\/ol>

      \u00a0 i \u201cZero Waste\u201d; It is explained as a target defined as a waste management philosophy that includes preventing waste, using resources more efficiently, preventing or minimizing waste generation by reviewing the causes of waste generation, and collecting waste separately at the source and ensuring its recovery in case of occurrence (https:\/\/sifiratik.gov.tr\/).https:\/\/sifiratik.gov.tr\/<\/a>).<\/p>