Introduction
One of the central issues that affect wellness of the Earth’s population is plastic contamination. Today, almost every person knows that plastic kills millions of animals every year by entanglement or starvation (Parker, 2019). However, a rare person realizes that plastic is a source of significant problems with wellness. According to the Center of International Environmental Law (CIEL, 2015), In particular, microplastics entering the human body can cause severe health problems, including inflammation, genotoxicity, oxidative stress, apoptosis, and necrosis. Additionally, the production of plastic is associated with the release of harmful toxins to the atmosphere and water, which also negatively affects human health. Thus, the problem needs to be addressed systematically to avoid deaths of animals and deterioration of human wellness.
Issue
Plastic pollution is a global issue that affects every person on our planet directly or indirectly. The problem of plastic pollution became evident in the late 1960s when people noticed that albatrosses began ingesting plastic items and northern fur seals becoming entangled in netting (Science History Institute, n.d.). The presence of microplastics in the oceans came into focus in the 1970s (Ryan, 2015). However, the problems did encourage society to reduce the production of plastics due to its economic benefits (Gomez & Rima, 2019). Instead, marketers began to inform the public about the rational use of plastic and recycling methods (Ryan, 2015). This proved ineffective, as the production of plastic kept growing, while there were no economic incentives to recycle, as virgin material was of higher quality and cheaper (Gomez & Rima, 2019). By 2025, scientists expect to have 1 ton of plastic per three tons of fish in the oceans (Ryan, 2015). Thus, the problem of plastic pollution is evident.
The problem of plastic pollution affects biodiversity and human wellness. In particular, birds, animals, and fish die from entanglement and starvation. As for humans, microplastic can become a source of a wide variety of health conditions, including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, chronic inflammation, auto-immune conditions, and neurodegenerative diseases (Center of International Environmental Law, 2015). Thus, the problem of plastic pollution needs to be addressed to reduce its negative impact on humanity.
Target Population
Plastic pollution affects everyone, as anyone can be exposed to the conditions described above. However, the issue affects the populations at risk of these health conditions. In particular, the problem concerns older adults (Siegel et al., 2018). These people often at high risk of chronic diseases, including heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease (Healthy People 2020, n.d.). They are also at high risk of injuries and often need the support of caregivers (Healthy People 2020, n.d.). Plastic pollution contributes to the risk of chronic diseases, making the population vulnerable to changes in the environment. Therefore, even though plastic contamination affects everyone, older adults are most likely to be affected by the issue.
Relationship to Topic
The problem of plastic pollution is crucial for wellness, as it affects the environment. According to Stoewen (2017), there are eight dimensions of wellness, including physical, intellectual, emotional, social, spiritual, vocational, financial, and environmental. The environmental dimension includes understanding how the environment affects one’s health and well-being, realizing how everyday habits affect the current fragile state of the Earth, and demonstrating a commitment to a healthy planet (Stoewen, 2017). Thus, plastic pollution relates to wellness in three ways.
First, plastic pollution negatively affects human physical health. In particular, it is a source of severe health problems, including inflammation, genotoxicity, oxidative stress, apoptosis, and necrosis (Center of International Environmental Law, 2015). Second, the problem appeared due to practicing unhealthy consumption practices, which led to the emergence of consumeristic culture (Clark & Alford, 2019). Today, people need to change their habits by buying less plastic products and recycling. Third, committing to sustaining a healthy planet is the crucial step to addressing the problem, as the plastic waste can be minimized if people become responsible for their actions. Thus, there are close relationships between plastic pollution and wellness.
Impact on Target Population
Recent research demonstrates that plastic pollution has a direct impact on human health in general and on older adults in particular. Blumberg and Chamorro-Garcia (2018) recently published an article that explores the effects of plastic on the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus. The research demonstrated that swallowed microplastic might result in obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus due to the organism’s inability to digest it (Blumberg & Chamorro-Garcia, 2018). Moreover, plastic consists of endocrine-disrupting chemicals, which impede the ability of the endocrine glands to work properly (Blumberg & Chamorro-Garcia, 2018). However, obesity and diabetes are not the only health problems caused by plastics. According to McAloose and Newton (2009), plastic includes many toxins that cause cancer in humans and wildlife. Older adults are especially susceptible to chronic conditions (Healthy People 2020, n.d.). Therefore, it is clear that plastic pollution is dangerous for older adults.
Lens Analysis
History
Even though plastic has become one of the central problems of modern society, it is only a little over a century old. The first plastic was synthesized by John Wesley Hyatt in 1869, who was inspired by an offer of $10,000 for anyone who finds a substitute for ivory (Science History Institute, n.d.). However, it did not find wide use until after World War II (Parker, 2019). Originally, plastic was supposed to be bliss, as it revolutionized medicine with life-saving devices, allowed space travel, and lightened cars and jets, which decreased pollution by improving fuel efficiency (Parker, 2019). Plastics also saved millions of lives by helmets, incubators, and equipment for clean drinking water (Parker, 2019). However, in the late 1900s, plastic became a significant problem that led to considerable danger to human wellness.
First concerns about plastic appeared in the late 1960s, as plastic debris was found in the ocean (Science History Institute, n.d.). The wide use of consumer plastic led to throwaway culture, which polluted the oceans and land with millions of tons of non-biodegradable waste (Parker, 2019). Today, scientists try to find a way to decrease pollution and find alternatives for consumer plastic products (Science History Institute, n.d.). However, the production of plastic keeps growing, which will cause significant wellness problems in the future.
In recent years, the understanding of plastic has entered a new era, as people became increasingly concerned with the changes in environment and plastic pollution. The demand for green products is growing rapidly, which demonstrates a paradigm shift to eco-friendly materials (Parletta, 2019). Even though there are no ultimate strategies to address the problem of plastic pollution worldwide, governments and global society is actively expressing the commitment to finding these strategies.
Humanities
Plastic pollution affects every part of our life, starting from philosophy and ending with politics. On the one hand, plastic is a cheap material that led to the development of throwaway culture, or consumerism (Clark & Alford, 2019). Plastic contributed to the idea that happiness can be achieved through shopping (Clark & Alford, 2019). Additionally, plastic helped to create the image that one can consume as much as one wants irresponsibly (Clark & Alford, 2019). Today, however, global society is forced to share the responsibility for uncontrolled consumerism.
On the other hand, plastic pollution affects ethics, as people started to create rules about dealing with plastics. For instance, recent research demonstrated that roughly 40% of plastics in the Mediterranean are the products thrown away by tourists (Hunts, 2020). Thus, ethics are crucial for mitigating the problem of plastic pollution.
In developed countries, it has become unethical to disregard the problem of plastic pollution. Separate waste collection is almost a must for every European, which gives hope that the problem with plastic pollution will be resolved in the nearest future. The central strategy for addressing the problem should be changing the idea of consumeristic culture to the values of sustainable development.
Natural and Applied Sciences
The problem of plastic pollution is widely discussed by chemists around the world. Chemistry is an applied science that created the problem with plastic, as plastic is the product of the chemical industry. Today, chemistry acknowledges the problem and tries to find a way to resolve it (Lemonick, 2018). However, chemists acknowledge that the problem is multidimensional, which implies that many types of stakeholders are involved. In particular, the journal of Green Chemistry states that the problem of plastic pollution is social, technical, and economic (Sheldon & Norton, 2020). Chemists acknowledge that current cycling methods are not perfect as they do not allow them to recycle all types of plastic. At the same time, the majority of recycled plastic loses its quality due to contamination with oily molecules, water, and other substances (Lemonick, 2018). Thus, even though chemistry has created the problem of plastic pollution, it does not yet have ways to resolve it.
It should be noticed, however, that chemistry is trying to provide ways to address the problem of plastic pollution. Currently, there are two general approaches to the problem. First, chemistry is trying to find ways to recycle or reuse the plastic people are using. During the past ten years, there have been significant breakthroughs in the field of recycling. For instance, GreenMantra Technologies in Brantford, Ontario, found a way to turn different types of plastics into waxes for roads and roofs (Lemonick, 2018). In 2017, Jinwen Zhang created a way to recycle thermosets, a type of plastic that could not have been recycled before (Lemonick, 2018). In other words, chemistry are trying to provide a way for people to revert the problem of plastic pollution by reusing the materials several times. While this approach is crucial, scientists agree that recycling alone will not be able to save the planet from plastic pollution.
Second, chemistry is trying to create biodegradable materials that have similar uses. The new material needs to follow 12 principles of green chemistry, including waste prevention, atom efficiency, less hazardous materials, safer products, innocuous solvents and auxiliaries, energy efficiency, and others (Sheldon & Norton, 2020). Currently, one of the most promising approaches is to create polymers that can easily return to their monomer state (Lemonick, 2018). However, this material will find it hard to compete with plastics in terms of reliability and cost-efficiency.
Social Sciences
Today, the problem of plastic waste is mostly economic, as it is a material used by major industries. Almost 75% of plastic demand is generated by packaging needs (40%), building and construction (20%), automotive industry (10%), and electronics (5%) (Gomez & Rima, 2019). The central problem is that economics does not view plastic as a major pollutant. Instead, economics views plastics as durable, cheap, and easy-to-produce material (Gomez & Rima, 2019). There are little economic incentives to resolve the problem of plastic pollution, as of the central solutions to it, recycling, is not economically advantageous.
The problem is that recycled material is usually of lower quality and often more expensive than virgin material (Gomez, F., & Rima, 2019). Turning to eco-friendly materials may lead to a decrease in the economic growth of food companies, as the packaging cost would increase, while the quality of packaging and life of the product would decrease. In other industries, using substitutes of plastic or recycled plastic will also mean a revision of the supply chain, which is associated with additional costs (Gomez, F., & Rima, 2019). Thus, the problem with plastic pollution is deeply rooted in the economy.
In recent years, however, the situation has started to shift dramatically. According to Parletta (2019), “going green” has become an economic incentive, as the demand for eco-friendly products is growing fast. Today, all types of industries try to find ways to reduce plastic pollution and utilize recycled materials in production (Parletta, 2019). Additionally, world governments also started to create incentives for industries to reduce plastic waste. For instance, the Plastics Strategy adopted by the European Commission in January 2018 emphasizes the importance of a circular economy, which eliminates waste, maximizes value, and uses plastic efficiently (Calleja, 2019). Thus, the recent changes in economics bring hope that the problem with plastic will be resolved.
Conclusion
Wellness is extremely important for people, as it affects every part of human life. Every person needs to achieve physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. This can be achieved by wisely balancing the all the aspects of wellness, including physical, intellectual, emotional, spiritual, environmental, financial, occupational, and social dimensions. Today, the majority of people face problems in several of the aspects of wellness, which leads to distress, illnesses, and unhappiness. The present paper demonstrates how analysis of wellness issues can help to acquire deeper understanding of the problem. In particular, using lens analysis showed how every issue can be viewed from different sides to find its roots.
The problem of plastic pollution has damaged physical health of people around the globe. However, social practices can address the problem in a variety of ways. The analysis demsotrates that going green, creating the demand for eco-friendly products, and supporting legislations that care for the environment is the key solution to the problem. Plastic pollution is a multidimensional problem, which is hard to address, as it is deeply rooted in today’s culture, economy, and habits. However, governments, society, and major industries united to find the problem of plastic pollution.
References
Beitsch, R. (2020). US to exit Paris accord whether Trump or Biden wins. The Hill.
Blumberg, B., & Chamorro-Garcia, R. (2018). Obesity and diabetes: 2 reasons why we should be worried about the plastics that surround us.
Calleja, D. (2019). Why the “New Plastics Economy” must be a circular economy. Field Actions Science Reports. The Journal of Field Actions 19, 22-27.
Center of International Environmental Law. (2015). Plastic and human health: A lifecycle approach to plastic pollution. CIEL.
Clark, C., & Alford, H. (2019). The throwaway culture in the economy of exclusion: Pope Francis and economists on waste. American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 78(4), 973-1008.
Gomez, F., & Rima, S. (2019). Setting the facts straight on plastics. World Economic Forum. Web.
Healthy People 2020. (n. d.). Older adults.
Hunts, S. (2020). What tourists need to do to reduce plastic waste.
Lemonick, S. (2018). Chemistry may have solutions to our plastic trash problem. Chemical and Engineering News, 96(25). Web.
McAloose, D., & Newton, A. L. (2009). Wildlife cancer and plastic pollution. Nature Reviews Cancer, 9(11), 842-842.
Naik, M. (2017). 5 ways plastics revolutionized the healthcare industry. Medical Product Outsourcing.
Parker, L. (2019). The world’s plastic pollution crisis explained. National Geographic.
Parletta, N. (2019). Going green – What’s good for the planet is good for business. Forbes.
Ryan, P. G. (2015). Marine anthropogenic litter. Springer, Cham.
Science History Institute. (n.d.). History and future of plastics. Science History. Web.
Siegel, K. R., Bullard, K. M., Imperatore, G., Ali, M. K., Albright, A., Mercado, C. I.,… & Gregg, E. W. (2018). Prevalence of major behavioral risk factors for type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care, 41(5), 1032-1039.
Stoewen, D. L. (2017). Dimensions of wellness: Change your habits, change your life. The Canadian veterinary journal, 58(8), 861-863.