The invention of plastic, the revolutionary game-changer in almost every industry was pioneered by

Leo Baekeland, a Belgian chemist who brought Bakelite into this world, the first fully-synthetic
plastic which contains molecules that can never be found in any corners of nature.(1) Now,
everything in almost every inch around us is originated from plastic. Seeing an item made of a fully
nature-resourced items is like seeing a red moon, a hardly-ever occurring incident. As plastic is the
ultimate monarchy in just about every production industry such as the production of plastic food
containers and so on, it has slowly conquered the means of everyone’s lifestyle. Global plastics
production has doubled since the beginning of the century, to almost 400 million metric tons per
year in 2021.(2) A very simple and basic example can be found in non - other than a supermarket.
Almost every tempting food product that lines the aisles is surely packed using plastic. At the
cashier’s checkpoint, cashiers, without much impulse would hand customers their purchased goods
in a plastic bag. Every habit begins with tiny practices and simple acts like this which does not involve
much consideration has become the foundation to the society’s dependency on plastic for
everything. Want to store food, keep it in a plastic container. This sheer dependency on plastic for
almost everything has made it like oxygen, something we humans may not be able to live without if
it magically disappears. The failure to consider their inevitable need of using plastic bags, as well as
the pros and cons that lie within it is certainly the tip on iceberg opening up to a plethora of
problems. Seeing how the usage of plastic is prioritized now, Baekeland would surely be in shock,
not knowing that his invention would not only serve everyone miraculous advantages on a gold
platter, but stir up a myriad of problems.

One of the various benefits of the use of plastic is plastic has a high durability. The long
polymer chains which constitute the plastics raw material make it extraordinarily difficult to break,
making it resistant to surrounding factors. Imagine carrying around a food container made of paper
which just tears apart by just a few touched of water. This profound and rare characteristic of plastic
makes it a green flag to many industry producers who aspire to create a long-lasting container or
food package which can be reused several times by consumers who purchases the product, thus
bestowing profit with only the sky as the limit upon the industry. The high durability of plastic is also
a go-to factor that most customers search high and low for because of its convenience to them as
the long shelf-life of plastic will adhere plastic from breaking into tiny pieces when dropped and
would not require customers to repeatedly purchase the same product for their daily usage, thus
preventing a dent in their budget, considering that these days, most are grappling with skyrocketing
prices of daily goods which has hit he pockets of the man on the street. For instance, a container
that has been used for a certain food packaging can be reused to store other food and kept for a
long period of time to store not just dry food, but also wet food which does not impact the quality of
a container. Since it is a win-win situation for both the producer and customer, plastic has been
widely used for its well-known durability. If things were to be looked at another perspective, plastic
items are simply lightweight. Plastic is considered to be lightweight because the polymers of plastics
are relatively loosely packed, reducing its overall density. Most people are certainly headstrong
against the idea of working up tons of energy to slog around carrying bags or containers made of
high-density material such as glass or metal. Instead, most people seek comfort and ease when
carrying an item which would not burden them as much as metal or glass containers would.
Lightweight plastic containers are also easy to transport as it is more ergonomical. An individual
would be able to purchase a simple meal with light packaging form a convenience store or carry
their meal around in a lightweight container, which eases their daily routine.

However, there are also certain drawbacks in the usage of plastic for food packaging. Plastic
packaging that comes into contact with food are designed to protect the food and to prevent
chemical and microbiological degradation. Thus, it should not contaminate the food and not
negatively affect the food’s sensory characteristics (Knight & Creighton, 2004). However, this is not
the case when it comes to storing hot food as it can pose a hazardous risk to one’s health. Contact
with greasy and acidic foods, heating the food in a plastic container or pouring hot beverage into a
plastic cup, use of old and scratched plastic as well as certain detergents increase the risk of
migration. Tokalak (2010) stated that polystyrene (PS) from plastics can pass on to the food due to
heat, which is why they are dangerous in terms of intake of toxic substances into the body. Another
issue to note is the substance Bisphenol A (BPA), which has recently been subject to claims that it
has carcinogenic properties. BPA, which is a necessary component for polycarbonate plastics, is
found in the compounds of many consumer products such as feeding bottles, water bottles, food
containers, stretch films and papers (Vandenberg et al., 2012, p. 408). In a study conducted in
America; 95% of 394 adults had BPA in their urine (Calafat et al., 2005). Harmful chemicals like
bisphenol A (BPA) and polystyrene can leach from plastics into food and drink. These endocrine
disruptors mimic hormones in the body and may impact fertility, neurological function, and
development issues. Phthalates added to some plastics are linked to allergies, asthma, and breast
cancer risks.In addition to that, many people encounter toxic, cancer-causing chemicals through
plastics, whether they're aware of the health risks or not. Plastic can harm our health at every stage
of its lifecycle. For example, PVC or polyvinyl chloride, a type of plastic, is made with vinyl chloride, a
known human carcinogen. Furthermore, plastic is known as the infamous contributor to worldwide
pollution, specifically water pollution and land pollution. Studies have shown that 12 million tonnes
of plastic finds its way into the ocean every single year. 9.5 million tonnes of this enters the ocean
from the land with 1.75 tonnes being chucked into the sea directly from the fishing a shipping
industry. There are approximately 51 trillion microscopic pieces of plastic, weighing 269,000 tons. To
think that dumping plastic waste such as plastic containers into the ocean would not affect us only
displays and reveals the heartless and narrow-minded thinking of an irresponsible litterbug. These
wastes are often swallowed by poor, unsuspecting and innocent marine life such as turtles which
causes them to choke on it or block their digestive tract which in the end, leads to the tragic death of
the marine animal.If not swallowed, the coloured and opaque plastic waste decorating the surface of
the ocean waters becomes a thick barrier which prevents oxygen and sunlight from entering the
ocean waters, leading o suffocation of marine animals. This leads to a massive disruption of the
marine ecosystem, causing an upset in balance of the marine ecosystem. Toxic substances and
dangerous germs may potentially be transmitted to fish through MPs. Humans who eat plastic-
tainted fish and are exposed to plastic particles. As a consequence, several chronic illness outbreaks
occur, and people will have to face the music as consequences of their irresponsible actions of
dumping plastic waste into the ocean. Many single-use items are made of plastic. While some
plastics are reusable or recyclable, packaging and thicker plastic items are not. Plastic can take
anywhere from 20 to 500 years to decompose, depending on the material's structure and
environmental factors such as sunlight exposure. The presence of these non-biodegradable items
which lingers in our environment for a very extensive period of time can affect the quality of our
environment, specifically the soil if the plastic items have been buried in the soil as a cheap and easy
way to get rid of the plastic container or item. But over time, plastic may slowly break down into
shards of microplastic which will seep into the soil. These microplastics, however, can change the
physical structure of the earth underfoot and limit its capacity to hold water. They also can affect
plants by reducing root growth and nutrient uptake.

In conclusion, it is very much evident that the use of plastic in food packaging can bring us
more disadvantages than advantages. Although plastic can have a high durability and is lightweight,
it can open up a new door to uncountable misfortune and setbacks if not used wisely and
moderately. Therefore, the government should join forces with non-governmental societies (NGO)
and the public to curb the excessive use of plastic and slowly shift gears to a more environmental-
friendly lifestyle which incorporates a controlled usage of plastic in a responsible manner, as well as
the use of various alternatives which are healthy for our environment in order to develop our
country into a greener, healthier and top-notch image country.