Taking Action For Our Shared Ocean

Plastic pollution is one of the biggest threats the oceans face today. But how much do we really know about it?

The environment plays a significant role to support life on earth and saving marine ecosystems is one of the most important environmental issues we are facing today. Many of these environmental issues are causing harm to marine mammals, their habitats, and ecosystems around the world. Marine ecosystems, which encompass the sea, marine wildlife, estuaries, and coastal habitats, are fa

cing many threats. The elimination of marine pollution has become one of the major issues that pose a clear and present threat to human health and well-being.

Every year, an estimated 33 billion pounds of trash and other pollutants enter the ocean. In fact, the amount of global trash is expected to increase every year for the rest of the century! When talking about ocean pollution there are many different types of chemical, light, and plastic pollution. One of the most devastating and widespread problems we’re facing today is plastic pollution. For many decades, plastic has affected the health and life of humans in ways that have garnered the attention of the whole world and sparked the question about the daily use of plastic. When throwing out plastic, it is very easy to forget the value of plastic and how it can take up thousands of years for it to decompose. Humans on a daily basis manage to dump garbage into the ocean and leave the trash to float in rivers. Plastic is one of the most harmful trash because it does not readily break down it just accumulates in the ocean. The ocean is full of little plants and animals for instance, phytoplankton that grows on things, so it sometimes floats along it collecting debris that can harm or kill any organism that ingests it.

Why is Marine Debris a Problem?

Marine debris is a problem that has raised concerns for scientists as an increased amount of marine debris has reached worldwide throughout our oceans and the great lakes. Many of this marine debris comes from trash and many land-based sources including litter, and debris from construction. This comes from different sources and enters the oceans in many ways. Mostly, litter makes its way into the ocean from a majority of people often entering the ocean and leaving trash on beaches. Improper dumping or disposal of plastic leads to contamination of the environment. The trash then goes directly into the ocean and a collection of marine debris covers the seas and large bodies of water. Debris that’s denser can sink centimeters or even several meters beneath the surface and less dense debris remains floating with surface ocean currents. It can take many years for debris to travel from coast to coast which causes the plastic to break down. Small pieces of plastic can block sun rays making it hard for plants and algae to get enough sunlight to create nutrients. These tiny pieces of plastic can also accumulate in the stomachs of tiny marine animals which makes it hard for them to digest food. It is also noteworthy that small plastic particles have been found in human lung tissue. There is more and more evidence that microplastics are entering the human body which has had a wide range of health effects on humans

Specific debris items that are eaten by the marine taxa and are responsible for causing death are shown in red. Debris items that are present in the gastrointestinal tract (not responsible for mortality) are shown in blue.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, discovered in 1997, is a collection of ocean and marine plastic in the world and is the largest of one of the five offshore plastic accumulation zones. Studies have found that 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic can be found in this area of the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and California. About 80% of the plastics in the garbage patch come from the land. Garbage patches are made up of microplastics and if ingested can block the GI tract of many organisms ultimately leading to starvation. As plastic waste proliferates around the world, more research was put into microplastics as it is crucial and microplastics fill our marine environment causing a greater concentration of these particles to turn up in our food chain. Microplastics can enter the environment from several sources which include plastic waste, plastic microfibers like tiny polyester and threads from each cycle of a washing machine, microplastics shed from car tires, etc. It’s also very important to understand what effects they have on animals living in the ocean.

A study undertaken of the garbage patch shows that the plastic floating between Hawaii and California has grown more than 600,000 square miles TWICE the size of Texas.

Most Polluted Beaches in the World

People from all over the world go to beautiful beaches filled with clear waters with stretches of sand ideal for sunbathing and strolling along the shores. However, contaminated beaches are arising a controversial issue to the public as many beaches are becoming harmful if left untreated. Although we are taught to believe that our plastic gets recycled, unfortunately in today’s recycling processes, less than 9% of all plastic waste ever created has been recycled. The developed world send’s a large part of our waste to countries like China and Malaysia. For many of these developing countries, better infrastructure is needed to properly dispose of the waste. Here is what some of the world’s most polluted beaches look like today.

cientific Fallacies and Common Misconceptions

With a lot of focus on plastic pollution in the marine environment, there are a number of myths and misconceptions surrounding our perception of plastic pollution. Here are some of them:

Myth 1: “Ocean plastics are just a trash problem”

Fact: Plastic particles have been found inside human lung tissue and throughout the ocean food chain from mussels to fish to turtles to whales

Myth 2: “The Great Pacific Garbage Patch” is a large island of plastic floating around on the surface in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

Fact: The accumulation of plastic does not consist of a large island of plastic bottles, plastic bags, and other discarded plastic debris. It’s more made up of small microplastics and tiny particles that are not even visible to the naked eye.

Myth 3: Ocean plastic primarily comes from ocean dumping and industry, such as cruise ships or container ships

Fact: Most of the plastics in the ocean come from everyday items such as bags, bottles, caps, food containers, etc. By limiting the use of plastics in our daily lives we can reduce the amount of plastic in the ocean.

Strategies For Preventing Plastic Pollution

“Plastic is not the root of the problem, but rather the single-use lifestyle we’ve become accustomed to”

Faye Haslam

Each of us socially plays a role in being conscious consumers so correcting our plastic waste problem requires each one of us to fundamentally change the way we think about how plastics are made, used, and discarded. A plan of action is needed for this issue because the scale of the problem in the upcoming years will be critical. From reducing the use of single-use plastics to making mindful purchase decisions, simply being aware of how our actions affect society can impact the amount of waste that goes into the ocean every year. Many volunteer organizations and individuals around the world have been fighting to save the ocean from plastic pollution. Some non-profit agencies that initiate volunteer beach cleanups are:

International Coastal Cleanup: The International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) engages people to remove trash from the world's beaches and waterways. So far, more than 17 million volunteers have collected more than 348 million pounds of trash

Plastic Free Foundation: The Plastic Free Foundation is helping millions of people around the world to limit their use of plastic. The movement has inspired 250 million in 177 countries to host events and make changes toward a plastic-free lifestyle

1 million Women: Launched in 2009, it is a movement of over 950,000 women and girls working to address the most pressing issues our earth is facing today.

Plastics For Change: Committed to uplifting waste-picker communities in India, the Plastics for Change foundation provides sustainable opportunities for people living in India to improve their quality of life.

Such approaches, adopted by billions of individuals, could prove of immense significance in ensuring our future health and food security as well as reducing waste and pollution