I'm very aware whats happening in our environment, I'm wondering what if the world is filled with plastic. How many years this will last?
Plastic is non biodegradable. It is a polymer which can't be broken down by natural processes. If humans keep on producing plastic and don't bother to dispose it properly, plastic will remain as it is till the day the planet ceases to exist. However there are certain chemical reactions in labs to convert plastic into certain other stuff. These reactions require adverse conditions and don't occur naturally.
The biggest current threat to the conventional plastics industry is likely to be environmental concerns, including the release of toxic pollutants, greenhouse gas, litter, biodegradable and non-biodegrable landfill impact as a result of the production and disposal of petroleum and petroleum-based plastics. For decades one of the great appeals of plastics have been their low price as compared to other materials. Yet in recent years the cost of plastics has been rising dramatically. A major cause of the increase is the sharply rising cost of petroleum, the raw material that is chemically altered to form commercial plastics. As the cost of plastic hinges on the cost of petroleum, should petroleum prices rise so will the cost of plastic. This affects the commercial viability of some plastic products and their manfacturers. With some observers suggesting that future oil reserves are uncertain the price of petroleum may increase further, and thus alternatives are being sought. Oil shale and tar oil are alternatives for plastic production but are expensive. Scientists are seeking cheaper and better alternatives to petroleum-based plastics, and many candidates are in laboratories all over the world. One promising alternative on the horizon may involve processing fructose found in simple sugar to provide an alternative for some types of plastic
We've been digging organic fossils of creatures who live hundreds of millions years ago. I hope someday there are still environmentalist-archeologist who will dig our mess and throw it all out to cosmic microwave background and protect our universe.
