Why Is Plastic So Durable Yet So Bad for the Planet?

Plastic is like a super strong LEGO brick. You can throw it in the mud, leave it in the sun, or bury it in the ground, and it stays exactly the same for a very long time. This happens because plastic is made from tiny chains that are locked together tightly. These chains do not like to break apart easily.

When natural things like leaves or wood rot, they turn into soil. Bacteria eat them up. But most plastics were never meant to be eaten by bacteria. They were made in factories using heat and pressure to squeeze oil together into these strong chains. Because the bonds are so tight, nature has a hard time chewing through them.

The problem is that we use plastic for things we throw away after one minute, like straws or wrappers. We make billions of them every year. Since they do not rot, they pile up in landfills or float in the ocean. Over hundreds of years, big pieces break into tiny crumbs called microplastics. These crumbs stay around forever. So while plastic is great for keeping our food fresh and our water clean inside the bottle, it becomes a long lasting mess outside.