Visual pollution refers to plastic bags, boxes, cups and bowls scattered in the environment, which bring bad stimulation to people's vision and affect the aesthetic feeling of the environment.
The potential harm of white pollution is various.
1, disposable foamed plastic lunch boxes and plastic bags for food seriously affect our health. When the temperature reaches 65℃, harmful substances in disposable foamed plastic tableware will penetrate into food, causing damage to human liver, kidney and central nervous system.
The ultra-thin plastic bags we use to hold food now are generally PVC plastic. As early as forty years ago, it was found that vinyl chloride monomer remained in PVC plastics. When people come into contact with vinyl chloride, there will be symptoms such as wrist and finger edema, skin sclerosis, spleen enlargement, liver injury and so on. In China, almost all the ultra-thin plastic bags we use come from the reuse of waste plastics, which are produced by small enterprises or family workshops. The raw materials used in these factories are discarded plastic barrels, cans and disposable syringes. In production, the raw materials are crushed into plastic particles by machinery, then the plastic particles are put into a pool for cleaning (called disinfection), taken out and dried, and then pressed into films by machinery to make various plastic bags. Every time when eating, many people put their meals in plastic bags. They don't know that this kind of behavior not only harms the environment, but also harms their own health.
2. Deteriorating the soil environment and seriously affecting the growth of crops. The degradation time of plastic products currently used in China usually takes at least 200 years. Long-term residue of discarded agricultural films and plastic bags in farmland will affect the absorption of water and nutrients by crops, inhibit the growth and development of crops, and cause crop yield reduction. If livestock eat plastic film, it will cause digestive tract diseases and even death.
3. Landfill is still the main way to deal with municipal waste in China. Due to the low density and large volume of plastic film, it can quickly fill the site and reduce the ability of landfill to treat garbage; Moreover, due to the soft foundation of the landfill, harmful substances such as bacteria and viruses in the garbage can easily penetrate into the ground, pollute the groundwater and endanger the surrounding environment.
4. If waste plastics are burned directly, it will cause serious secondary pollution to the environment. When plastics are burned, it will not only produce a lot of black smoke, but also produce dioxin, which is by far the most toxic substance. It takes at least 15 months for dioxins to decompose gradually after entering the soil, which is harmful to plants and crops. Dioxin has serious damage to the liver and brain of animals. The environmental pollution caused by dioxins produced by garbage incineration has become a sensitive issue of concern all over the world.
In addition, because disposable plastic tableware is difficult to degrade, many cities are now promoting the use of green tableware-paper tableware. The principle is that cellulose, the component of paper products, can be degraded by microorganisms. However, it is unwise to use paper tableware instead of foamed plastic tableware. First of all, paper tableware will also bring visual pollution. Their degradation speed is not fast, and often they will not be completely degraded for dozens of days or even months. Secondly, when making paper and tableware, in addition to straw pulp and rice pulp, wood pulp of about 1/3 should be added. If fully promoted, it will inevitably lead to the consumption of a large number of wood and the intensification of deforestation. However, the forest coverage rate in China is only 13.92%, and the per capita forest area is only 17.2% of the world average. Thirdly, pulping has always been a big consumer of water, energy and sewage. The pulping process needs a lot of water, and China is a country short of water. If the sewage is directly discharged into the river without treatment, it will cause water pollution; Paper tableware needs to be dried immediately after forming, which consumes a lot of energy. China's energy structure is dominated by burning coal, which will increase the content of SO2 in the air and cause acid rain.