In the article "Choking the Oceans With Plastic” by Charles Moore explains the existing pollution in our ocean and how different states in the United States are implementing new laws and regulations in their city to reduce pollution going into the ocean. California was mentioned and has been on structural controls, such as covering gutters and catch basins with screens. Moore also includes that many activists around the world are lobbying to ban such plastic materials for our goods. Moore then adds that the city of California has implemented a ban on throwaway plastic materials; he states, “In California, nearly 100 municipalities have passed ordinances banning throwaway plastic bags and the Senate is considering a statewide ban.” (Moore 1) These regulations and ordinances attack the pollution problem straight to the source, which is a very effective way to reduce the plastic pollution in our …show more content…
Plastic recycling and reusing can become very tricky because the dependence is on location and what types of plastic can be recycled in that factory. Plastics can only be down cycled, meaning they can't be used to make the same quality product and eventually have to go to landfill. Plastics are toxic to produce and don't biodegrade only break down into smaller toxic pieces. Recycling has lead to the over use of plastics and give people the false sense that plastics aren't polluting because they can be recycled. In the article “When Recycling Is Bad for the Environment” by Rachel Cernansky explains the adverse effects of recycling plastic. Each and every recyclable plastic has a number identity depending on the type of plastic additives it has inside. The identity indicates which plastics can be sorted to be recycled together because different numbered indicators melt at different temperatures and have different additives in it. This identity creates some issues in recycling plastics in the their facilities limiting the kinds of plastics they can recycle. Cernansky says “But not all plastic can be recycled, and only about 6.8 percent of the total plastic used in the U.S. actually goes that route” (Cernansky 1) in general it is very difficult to have plastic recycled properly. She concludes with a solution to get educated on