use of plastic boon or bane ? explain

the use of plastic is a boon because it is a non- biodegredable material it decreases the fertillity of the soil.

Plastic has proved to be a boon in various ways. When you enter a hospital, you can never fail to notice plastic vials, bottles, syringes, tubes, and many more articles made of plastic; those which are used to save many lives everyday all around the globe. Plastic is used in the manufacture of thousands of home use articles such as boxes, cases, bottles, containers, tumblers, chairs, tables, and many more.

Lets see its bane,

• Plastic waste accumulated in land fills amount to a lot of soil pollution over the years since they are non-biodegradable.
• When plastic is burnt, the harmful fumes enter into the atmosphere and has direct effects upon someone who breathes it. And so, NO! we cannot eliminate plastic by burning it.
• Plastic also finds its way into drains and sewage pipes, clogging them; more often than not, this may lead to water pollution directly and/or indirectly.
• Animals sometimes, feed on plastic and die painfully as plastic chokes their digestive and respiratory tracts. This is a very serious concern in many countries worldwide.
• There have also been incidents of little children suffocating while playing with plastic bags and toys.

Packaging represents the largest single sector of plastics use in the world today.

Benefits of plastics-Boon
The considerable growth in plastic use is due to the beneficial properties of plastics. These include:

Extreme versatility and ability to be tailored to meet very specific technical needs.
Lighter weight than competing materials, reducing fuel consumption during transportation.
Extreme durability.
Resistance to chemicals, water and impact.
Good safety and hygiene properties for food packaging.
Excellent thermal and electrical insulation properties.
Relatively inexpensive to produce.


Plastics makes up around 7% of the average household dustbin.

Effects of plastic-Curse.

Plastics production also involves the use of potentially harmful chemicals, which are added as stabilisers or colorants. Many of these have not undergone environmental risk assessment and their impact on human health and the environment is currently uncertain. An example of this is phthalates, which are used in the manufacture of PVC. PVC has in the past been used in toys for young children and there has been concern that phthalates may be released when these toys are sucked (come into contact with saliva). Risk assessments of the effects of phthalates on the environment are currently being carried out.

The disposal of plastics products also contributes significantly to their environmental impact. Because most plastics are non-degradable, they take a long time to break down, possibly up to hundreds of years - although no-one knows for certain as plastics haven't existed for long enough - when they are landfilled. With more and more plastics products, particularly plastics packaging, being disposed of soon after their purchase, the landfill space required by plastics waste is a growing concern.

Plastic waste, such as plastic bags, often becomes litter. For example, nearly 57% of litter found on beaches in 2003 was plastic.

Recycling plastic -Advantages.

Conservation of non-renewable fossil fuels - Plastic production uses 8% of the world's oil production, 4% as feedstock and 4% during manufacture.
Reduced consumption of energy.
Reduced amounts of solid waste going to landfill.
Reduced emissions of carbon-dioxide (CO2), nitrogen-oxide (NO) and sulphur-dioxide (SO2).