Because of the Covid-19 virus, the lifestyle of people has changed a lot. Most especially, the biggest difference is that we spend more time at home which leads to eating more delivery food. Moreover, the delivery foods are usually packed in a disposable product. According to this phenomenon, the number of plastics is increasing sharply.

The increased number of plastics has many effects. First, it destroys the marine ecosystem. The most representative example is the garbage island which is called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It is located in the North Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and California. It is located in the North Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and California. It is 16 times bigger than South Korea, and it weighs 80,000 tons. It is made of microplastics, so it is hard to dispose of. Moreover, it can be eaten by marine animals. When marine animals eat plastic, it can cause obstacles to their growth and reproduction, and it causes various diseases. Also, when humans eat marine animals who eat plastic, we can be in a dangerous situation as well. Second, the increased number of plastics causes a lot of greenhouse gas. Greenhouse gas is that dangerous gas that surrounds the Earth and absorbs or reflects infrared radiation radiating from the Earth's surface to space. Greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide. The most dangerous feature is that this gas causes an increase in the temperature of the Earth, so it causes global warming.

▲ Great Pacific Garbage Patch

The problem about the increased number of plastics needs to be solved by us. Before introducing the solution to this problem, there are many companies that have special items and ideas. First, it is the famous cafe, Starbucks. In Starbucks, they have events that they give two cups of coffee for free to customers who bought a new tumbler. Also, when customers take their tumbler to Starbucks, they give a special reward. Second, it is Apple, the leader of the IT industry. In 2020, they said they found a way to reduce the usage of plastics in our lives. So, they changed the way of their products' packaging by getting rid of adapter and reducing the size of the packaging and using only paper. Third, Nivea, which is known for baby lotions and hand creams. Nivea made a "Refill Station". People cannot buy a new one, but they can refill their plastic container, which helps to decrease the usage of plastic.

▲ `Refill Station` of Nivea

We need to solve this problem together by doing some solutions. In daily life, using a bag which is made of paper or fabric can be a help to solve this problem. Also, using a tumbler instead of using a disposable cup can also be a solution. It is time that we should keep in mind the saying, "No mill, no meal."

By Kim Yucahe