British media: What will happen if we stop using plastic?

The Broadcasting Corporation website on June 8th, original title: What will happen if we stop using plastic? As of the end of 2015, 6.3 billion tons of 8.3 billion tons of primitive plastic produced around the world were discarded. Most plastic garbage is still by our side, buried in landfills or polluting the environment. But what would happen if we wave the magic stick and remove all plastic from life?

Without them, patients will lose their lives

In the hospital, no plastic will be devastating. Sharon George, a lecturer in the environment of Kiri University in the United Kingdom, said, "Imagine running for dialysis equipment without plastic." Gloves, catheters, syringes, blood bags, sampling tubes, etc. are inseparable from plastic. Essence According to a study, more than 100 pieces of plastic waste will be produced by a British hospital for tonsilism. Although some surgeons believe that disposable plastics are overdolved in hospitals, many plastic medical supplies are now essential. Without them, people will lose their lives.

Some daily plastic products are also crucial to protect health. The condom is included in the basic drug list of WHO. As a mask and respirator of plastic products, it helps to slow down the spread of new coronal viruses.

Replace plastic packaging to increase carbon emissions

Without plastic, our food system will quickly disintegrate. We use plastic packaging to protect food from damage during transportation, and save enough time to go to the supermarket. If there is no plastic, not only consumers need to change their habits, but the supermarket supply chain optimized for sales products also needs to be completely adjusted. At the same time, long -distance rotten goods transported between farms and supermarkets, such as asparagus, green beans, and berries, may be discarded in the field.

Replacement of plastic packaging will have a chain reaction to the environment. Although the glass has some advantages than plastic, a 1 -liter glass bottle weighs 800 grams, while a plastic bottle of the same capacity is only 40 grams. When these heavier bottles and cans need to be transported long distances, carbon emissions will increase more.

However, from a certain perspective, it is easier to change food packaging. You may buy glass bottled milk, but you need to suck milk from cows to milk cans need plastic tube. Even if the vegetables you buy are bulk, the plastic film can help vegetable farmers save water and prevent weeds from growing. Without plastic, the industrialization and agriculture we know cannot be realized.

"It is impossible to let everyone on the earth wear leather shoes"

Life without plastic also requires us to change the way of dressing. In 2018, 62%of the global textile fiber was synthetic fiber from petrochemical products. Although cotton and linen can be replaced well, it is costly to expand production to meet the current demand. Cotton has been planted on 2.5%of the world's cultivated land, but cotton crops occupy 16%of the use of insecticides, which brings risks to farmers' health and contaminate water sources.

Before using synthetic plastic, shoes are usually made of leather. But today, the population on the earth has increased a lot, and the number of shoes for each person is more. In 2020, we produced 20.5 billion pairs of shoes. "It is impossible to let everyone on the earth wear leather shoes." George said.

Re -evaluate "abandon culture"

The world without plastic is also good. We can avoid the harmful effects of plastic on health. To achieve a world without plastic, the biggest change we face will be to re -evaluate our "abandoned culture". From clothing, food to washing machines and mobile phones, we need to change the method of consumption, but also to change the production method. George said: "We are anxious to buy cheap and disposable things. We should make items compatible and have more standardization, so that we can replace and repair."

Without plastic, we may even change to talk about our own way. "Consumers are essentially a disposable term," said Stuart Walker, a researcher at Ex University University in Britain. In a world that is reused and reused instead of being discarded, we can become (supporting sustainable development) citizens.

Maybe we will also find that although plastic has so many real good things, the changes in lifestyles brought by it are not all positive. Plastic packaging allows us to have lunch while walking. The communication equipment made of plastic means that we can always keep in touch. Jenna Jenberg, a professor of environmental engineering at Georgia University in the United States, said: "If these do not exist, life will slow down. Will it be so bad?"

- END -