Advantages and Dangers of Plastics

Utilization in following areas:

Medicine (purpose-built plastics)
Sports (special clothes/equipment)
Electronics (phones, remotes)
Transportation (cars, trains)
Construction/Habitation (floor, furniture)
Packaging (food, goods)

Because of these attributes:

Lightweight (less weight to carry)
Cheap (in production and purchasing)
Durable (tough resilient, absorbs shocks)
Odorless
Non-conductive (no electricity conductor)
Transparent
Heat resistant

→ plastic is an adaptable material!

Dangers are poisonous chemicals like:

Phthalates
Bisphenol A (BPA)
Polyzyclical Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAC)
These are being released by rubbing clothes and degrading plastic debris.
They get attached to dust particles floating in the air and reach the sea through sewers. Furthermore microplastics cannot be filteredAußerdem kann Mikroplastik (Kosmetik/Kleidung waschen) nicht gefiltert werden.
Please see also our subpages MIKROPLASTICS and TOXIC CHEMICALS.

Environment

Plastic degrades after 350 to 400 years. The cooling effect of the sea and saline environments are ideal circumstances. One square kilometer contains about 18,000 plastic pieces.

Animals

Animals take plastic debris with food (direct ingestion). Also they easily entangle in plastic pieces.

Humans

The dangerous contaminants in plastics harm kidneys and lever, disrupt biological functions, and can cause cancer. According to the "CHEM Trust Report" plastics can cause Diabetes Type 2. Also plastic is suspected to harm human systems like the nervous system or the immune system.

Author: Sarah Sasic

Download our information poster about the dangers of plastics:

Poster created by: Vanessa Krempl

REthink is a project of

What WE do to use less plastics

"I'm talking a lot with other people about plastic usage, since I feel that our generation still not have enough awareness for this topic. Every person I'm in contact with needs to think about what and where he or she buys things. Change starts in your head!" - Anthea Eichstetter, Team "Experiments"

"I cook my own laundry detergent and do only use special soap and solid shampoo bars for my personal hygiene. Doing so not just avoids buying plastic bottles over and over again, the used products also consist of 100% bio-degradable ingredients." - Kerstin Ludwig, Team "Website"

Raising Awareness of Plastic Usage - REthink: Start The Change!