Carbon Emission and Plastic Waste

We know enough about the disadvantages of plastic waste to realise that it is dreadful to our survival. Also, we do know how devastating the emission of carbon in our atmosphere is. The increasing masses of plastic waste and the rising global warming seem to have found a permanent residence amongst the leading concerns of the environmentalists for a very significant reason.

And the same is the reason why all the leading countries across the world have been working to bend the tide in the favour of sustainability.

While we know a lot about the severity of the two problems listed above, we do not realise how one drive forces the other. Did you know that carbon emission and the stumbling blocks of plastic waste go hand-in-hand?

Yes, that’s just as true. One of the prominent causes of global warming (carbon emission, I mean) is the burning of plastic waste.

This piece highlights the need to address and reduce the emission of carbon and other greenhouse gases. Because if global warming takes the lead, things might get out of our hands.

Carbon Emission: The Cause of Global Climate Change

To avoid the life-threatening impacts of climate change, we urgently need to curb the emission of greenhouse gases.

With carbon being the key greenhouse gas, our concern majorly revolves around reducing its emission into the atmosphere. All thanks to CO2 emission and the increasing global warming, climate change poses several new challenges for survival before mankind and beings on earth. Not to mention, it is we who are responsible for global warming and climate change.

If we are to define global warming, it can be described as long-term shifts (changes) in the temperature and weather patterns of the earth. Global warming eventually contributes to global climate change. Now you might want to revise the science lessons that explain how the atmosphere works to understand things with specificity.

Well, the atmosphere works to shield the earth and its organisms against the incoming UV rays. The atmosphere also keeps the environment warm while managing the weather patterns and the extremes between day and night. The greenhouse gases block the radiations from the sun from leaving the atmosphere hence, warming the earth’s surface. So, to support lives on the planet, the emission of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is important.

But as they say, not everything in surplus is good. So, if greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere in high concentrations, they cause global warming. This entire process can be summarised under the greenhouse gas effect. By trapping the heat from the sun, greenhouse gases have been keeping the climate habitable for living organisms. The increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere would mean a heated environment. And as much as we despise it, the changing climate would not be suitable to house a variety of species.

And as you read, global warming causes climate changes that do nothing but challenge our survival. When we say climate change, we do not mean the longer summers or shorter winters. We mean the frequent heat waves, droughts, storms, melting glaciers, rising sea levels, etc. By carbon emission, global warming, and climate change, we are indicating the rise in temperature of the earth’s surface.

Now for a man who walks down the street every day, a 1-degree rise in temperature might not be an alarming scenario. He’d be least worried about the same. At the very most, he’ll be up, all prepped with an extra glass of water in his diet to cover the dehydration in his system. He’ll use the air-conditioner in his room at the cooler temperature, sit down and relax.

But that’s not where the time bomb called global warming ends. The hurdles put forth by carbon emission create havoc in the ecosystem. They harm animals and destroy their habitats. Also, they increase global warming.

CO2 Emissions and the rising global warming aren’t something that can be managed by reducing the temperature in your room. The need is for the world to come together and seek development methods that do not encourage greenhouse gas emissions. The countries are in dire need to start cutting greenhouse gas emissions and preventing climate change.

Carbon Emission is a Serious Concern: Understand Why

Having read so far, you know how harmful carbon emission is. Here’s a quick guide on why carbon dioxide, amongst all the greenhouse gases, is the most threatening one.

When released, carbon dioxide (better known as CO2) remains in the atmosphere for a lot longer than you can imagine. It lingers on the upper surface for thousands of years. So, the carbon that is emitted today shall remain intact in the atmosphere and keep the sun’s radiations and heat from leaving the earth for another couple of thousand years. And carbon alone accounts for three-quarters of greenhouse gases.

Carbon emission is majorly sourced from the burning of organic materials (fossil fuels) including coal, wood, petroleum, solid wastes. But plastic waste is just as much responsible for CO2 emission.

How Carbon Emission and Plastic Waste are Related?

Since the 1950s, mankind has produced over 8.3Billion tonnes of plastic. And though, it seems unbelievable only 9% of the total production has been recycled. Eventually, 6.3Billion tonnes of plastic is estimated to have become plastic waste. The world resorts to nothing but two methods to get this off this fraction. It is either sent to the landfills or burnt.

While filling the makeshift landfills causes land pollution (we wouldn’t start a lecture on the disadvantages of securing plastic waste in the landfills), burning the plastic is even more dreadful. For every one tonne of plastic burnt, 2.9 tonnes of CO2 are released into the air. And from the looks of it, you might find it hard to believe but the non-recycled plastic waste is mostly burnt over ending in landfills.

The leading organisations encourage the world to come together and reduce carbon emissions. The countries are coming ahead to deal with the problems of CO2 emission. But for some reason, they are far behind the set target to curb the release of greenhouse gases.

And burning plastic is not the only reason for the same. The lack of renewable sources of energy is yet another prominent cause of carbon emission. While the countries do their job in finding a renewable source of energy to save the world, we shall do our share too. Do not worry, QMRE.Ltd does not ask you to stop using plastic or energy sourced from non-renewable sources. But this is something you might want to read.

How Do We Reduce CO2 Emission?

QMRE stands for QM Recycled Energy. Based in the United Kingdom, we bring the idea of recycling plastic into renewable plastic into reality. We work via pyrolysis technology, a tried and tested method to convert plastic into oil (the polymer state). Plastic manufacturers can later use this oil to create renewable plastic products. The pyrolysis-based chemical plastic recycling process outruns other plastic recycling processes in various aspects.

We aspire to provide an effective solution for plastic waste and the carbon emission associated with it. The plastic recycling method used @QMRE.Ltd reduces plastic waste while creating employment opportunities. Our mission revolves around eradicating the tsunamis of plastic waste via pyrolysis processing.

QM Recycled Energy works on an envisage of 150 systems. This shall be a network of 50 QMRE-owned recycling units and about 100 customer-owned units (which shall be managed by QMRE). The network shall effectively function and reduce the 618,750 tonnes of carbon emission per annum.

Source: https://dailybusinesspost.com/carbon-emission-and-plastic-waste/