How One Student is Empowering Environmental Action Through Education
➢ Nurture nature
➢ Go green and save green
➢ Cut down a tree, cut down a life
➢ Pollution is never a solution
➢ Re-use your today so that you don’t have to reduce your tomorrow
Basing my essay on Uganda’s 2024 theme “Plastic Vs. Planet”, I’ll highlight the conflict between the health of our planet and the pervasive use of plastics. I want to emphasize the urgent need to address the impact of plastic waste on the environment—particularly different marine eco-systems, wildlife and human health.
Despite the fact that plastics are useful, they are indeed more disastrous to the environment. One type of plastic, PVC, is used for making pipes, flooring and packaging for food products. Another type of plastic is, PET, is used for making water bottles, and food containers, among others.
Plastics are very durable and do not break down easily, so it can stay in the environment for a very long period of time. In case they are dumped anywhere, they block water from reaching the soil, this reduces the soil fertility because it reduces the moisture content of the soil. This in return reduces the crop yield, and a decreased crop production affects my plant-dependent community.
Plastics, especially PVC, are made of chemicals, so in case they are littered, they release harmful chemicals that can leach into the environment, and this claims lives of helpful organisms. In case the soil composition is tampered with after the lives of these organisms are claimed, this shall still affect humans because it shall still lead to reduced crop production.
