Question

Why is accumulation of plastic considered a serious problem?

Answer 1

Hint: Plastic is made from petroleum products and its refining process puts toxins into the earth's atmosphere which takes a long time to decompose and as it does the chemicals used to make the plastic harm the water table and animals as well.

Complete step by step answer:
-Plastics are inexpensive (low cost), lightweight, strong, durable, corrosion-resistant materials, with high thermal and electrical insulation properties.Virgin plastic polymers are rarely used nowadays and typically the polymer resins are mixed with various additives such as inorganic fillers, plasticizers, retardants, etc so as to improve its performance.
-Substantial quantities of plastic have accumulated in our natural environment and in landfills. The plastic accumulated on the land area is eaten by cows, dogs or other animals, choking their throat and leading to death. Discarded plastic also contaminates a wide range of natural terrestrial, freshwater and marine habitats, with plastic debris on even some of the highest mountains.
-Most polymers are buoyant in water (float on water), and since items of plastic debris such as cartons and bottles often trap air, substantial quantities of plastic debris accumulate on the sea surface and may also be washed ashore. These stop the oxygen from getting dissolved in the water and thus reduces the dissolved oxygen content of the water. This results in the death of fishes and other marine animals.
-Plastics are not environment friendly. As they don’t decompose easily and re used in large quantities, their discharge requires a lot of space, cost and energy. Also, the rag-pickers collect the plastics from a dump area and tend to suffer from lung diseases, as ethylene and methane gases are released when it is undergoing decomposition. These gases are harmful for human health.
Hence, we saw that many problems occur if plastic accumulates in nature posing a serious problem.

Note:
But nowadays, plastics have been recycled from the scrap or waste plastics by reprocessing them into useful products. There are countries where use of plastic has been banned to prevent its leading cause.