Waner Dong, Grade 4, Shenzhen Shekou International School

In 2021, our world has evolved so much in its use of and need for resources. One such change is the use of plastics. I want to talk about the history of plastic and where plastic came from.

Plastic was invented in 1850 by Max Schuschny. Everybody thinks it’s a start of an easy life, since plastic had many uses.

But they didn’t know the problems it would cause. Because of one-time-use plastic products which are not recyclable, plastic is now one of the main sources of garbage.

The garbage is starting to pour out from every country. So they thought of a dumb solution — dump it into the ocean.

Ocean is the mother of water, and also the main source of oxygen. When sea animals eat plastic, they die. It’s not just a human problem anymore; it’s a problem for the entire Earth.

Imagine you’re a sea turtle, swimming freely in the sea where you just happen to see a plastic straw. You play with it, and it suddenly pokes into your nostril. You try to get it out, but it is stuck. It sticks in you for 10 whole years. Horrible, isn’t it? It is exactly what happened to a small sea turtle.

Fortunately, two kind men helped to pull it out. The sea turtle is finally free from the straw. Scientists believe it has been stuck for 10 years by the look of the straw, blood and tissue that were stuck with it.

Another sad accident fell upon a young female sea turtle whose body had been washed up along the bank of Bali Island. Scientist found scraps of plastic in the gut of the turtle which proves the terrible harm plastic can do to animals.

In conclusion, stop using plastic for the sake of Earth and sea animals. For us, it’s just a piece of work. For them, their life depends on it.