I am not too sure how
plastics pollution can be related to physics. The non-degradable nature of most plastics is
really much more in the realm of Chemistry than Physics.
However the pollution of the world, espeicially the oceans by the 'disposal' of plastics is a world wide problem. We use far to much plastic in packaging, especially of our food, and this is usually not bio-degradable and is a major hazed to marine life.
If I was you I would concentrate on
the nuclear industry (regretfully they have had plenty of bad publicity over the years) since
this is one area where Physics is directly related to pollution.
The waste products
from fission reactors in the nuclear industry could be a major source of pollution unless well
controlled. In addition to the problems of the disposal of waste from commercial power
stations there have also been a few major accidents such as Three Mile Island, Chernobyl,
Windscale and Chelyabinsk.
Other ideas are:
Light pollution (affecting our lives
at night and of particular nuisance to astronomers) Potentially dangerous devices such as
lasers and high voltage power supplies.
You might also like to consider the possible
damage to the human brain from electromagnetic fields produced by the radiation from
power lines and mobile phones.
The emissions from defective microwave ovens might
also be an area worth looking at.
How about noise pollution in cities and the work place
– a real problem in modern day life and a factor leading to stress.