### Instruction:
Is plastic bad for us?

### Response:
Have you ever thought about where your plastic water bottles go? It probably ends up in a landfill, where it will decompose for over 1000 years as it deposits toxic chemicals. Plastic is an invention that has done more harm than good. There are about 363,762,732,605 pounds of plastic covering the earth. Most of this plastic can’t be recycled. Although people think it is too expensive or inconvenient to get rid of plastics, we should reduce the amount of plastic used or increase the price of plastics. One reason is that when plastic invades a balanced ecosystem, it corrupts it completely. The marine biome is one that is affected by this product. The animals in the ocean die of suffocation, ingestion of plastics, and entanglement. The animals affected are seagulls, whales, seals, fish, and turtles, and that's just a few. The animals eat so much plastic that they die of constipation from it. Another reason is the presence of microplastics in food and people. About 99% of fish have microplastics in their stomachs, livers, and filets (the meat of fish). Approximately 80% of cows have microplastics in their meat and milk. A good point is that mealworms and waxworms are studied to digest plastics, and they should be added to landfills to break down plastics. There are about 50,000 particles of plastic in an adult person, and this number is rising fast. Third, most plastic is littered. There are about 10 million tons of plastic litter every year. Every week, you ingest about a credit card's worth of plastic. There are about 44 million pounds of plastic that are produced that is very deadly to the environment."The plastic in the environment is in your water, food, and body. These plastics should not be there; they can lead to cancer, according to a recent study. We need to stop using plastic in our lives. Some ways we can reduce the amount of plastic on earth are by using sustainable materials such as wood, plant fibers, and mushroom styrofoam. We can also try to buy recyclable plastics that have a triangle formed by three cycling arrows. Use a tote bag instead of a plastic one, or a metal and glass straw instead of a plastic one. You can also use a metal cutlery kit instead of plastic. These are all ways you can make a difference in your everyday life.