Styrofoam : Useful or Harmful ?

Styrofoam is a very familiar thing in our everyday life. We usually use it for the food container, art work, and the same kind that we can found in the box of electronic appliance such as TV or refrigerator in order to protect and minimize the collision effect. We often see the garbage always fulfilled by the Styrofoam trash. In fact, we can’t deny that Styrofoam is very close with our life. But, did you know what is the styrofam actually ? Here is some explanation.

  
Styrofoam is a popular name or trademark of the polymer styrene which first produced by The Dow Chemical Company for thermal insulation and craft applications. Styrofoam is one of the most favourite materials because of its water and thermal resistance, light weight and cheap, it is quite strong and not easily broken. Because its advantage, it often used in food industry to pack the food or drink in order to keep the taste, wholeness and freshness of the food or drink.

But, did you realize that it is seriously risky for our healthy ? Styrofoam  was made from the styrene particles which processed with benzene. In facts, benzene is one of the chemical materials which can cause many illness. Benzene can cause the problem in tyroid gland and nervous system, increase the speed of heart beat, cause insomnia and tremors. In a point of fact, benzene can cause the decrese of consciousness and finally, death. When benzene was eaten accidentally by the human, it will absorbed to the blood cells and slowly harm the spinal cord. The effect is the decrease of blood cells production and cause anemia. Another effect, it can cause the weakening of immune system so we easily infected. In women body, this substance can give the bad effect for the menstrual cycle, threatening pregnancy, and cause the breast cancer. World Health Organization’s Internatiolnal Agency for Research on Cancer has been categorized Styrofoam as carsinogenic substance (the substance which can cause the cancer disease).

When the food was packed in the Styrofoam, the chemical substance in Styrofoam will
devolve to the food. The movement of this substance will increase depending on the content of fat in the food. The content of alcohol and acid (lemon tea, for example) can also increase the speed of substance movement.The research prove that, the heat can also influent the speed increasing of this movement.
Styrofoam is harmful for the environment, because it is cannot degradable by the nature. Styrofoam will pollute the nature and the Styrofoam which wasted to the river or sea will damage the water ecosystem. Some factory can recycle it, but they just deform the old Styrofoam, produce it into the new one and then use it again. The producing process of new Styrofoam can pollute the environment, too. Enviromental Protection Agency in 1986 said that the pollutant which produce from the Styrofoam manufacturing is so much and harmful. EPA also categorized the Styrofoam manufacturing as the 5th of the biggest pollutant producer in the world. Styrofoam manufacturing process release 57 dangerous substance to the air.

So, what can we do to decrease the bad effect of Styrofoam use ? Here is some solution that easy to do.
Take the food from our home, instead of buy it in the canteen. It is quite easy ways to do. Just take the food from our home, and put it in your locker when you arrive at the school. When the breaktime bell ringing, simply take it and eat it in your classroom. This is better than you must spend your valuable breaktime to queue in the canteen. If there is more people do it, it will significantly decrease the number of Styrofoam trash. If you don’t have a time to prepare the food so you must eat in the canteen, try to use plate instead of using Styrofoam. At least, it will be advantageous for the seller because they can save the Styrofoam for next day and it will increase their profit.

Styrofoam is useful, but we should use the Styrofoam wisely and carefully because we know that it is harmful for our heath and environment. The most important thing is we have a responsibility to keep and protect the earth for our next generation. Always do our best for better earth and certainly, better future