Plastic in the Ocean
Many people love the ocean. Swimming in it on a sunny hot day, walking by it in the sunset or just watching it and hearing the waves. However, no one likes it when they see a perfect transparent blue ocean being full of plastic on it. But the sad truth is that plastic ends up in the ocean because of our every-day actions. What we do impacts the ocean even if we live a hundred miles away from it. 40% of the produced plastic is used for packaging and only around 10% of it is recycled. The rest of it can end up on the ocean. Things such as food wrappers, beverage bottles, grocery bags, straws, and take out containers are all made from plastic. The plastic doesn’t decompose and it can stay in the ocean indefinitely and it can also be found in the deepest reaches of the ocean, and even in remote Arctic sea ice. This because our seas are overused and under-protected.
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) says that plastic in the ocean for happens three main reasons:
- Reason for Plastic in the Ocean = Throwing plastic in the bin (instead of recycling it)
The plastic we put in the bin ends up in a landfill. When rubbish is being transported to a landfill, plastic is often blown away because it’s so lightweight. From there, it can eventually clutter around drains and enter rivers and the sea this way.
- Reason for Plastic in the Ocean = Littering
When you throw litter on the streets, it doesn’t stay there for someone else to clean it. Rather with rainwater and wind carries plastic waste into streams and rivers, and through drains that lead to the ocean. Likewise, careless and improper waste disposal is also a big contributor as they do illegal dumping of waste that adds greatly to the plastic surge in our seas.
- Reason for Plastic in the Ocean = Products that go down the drain
Products that we use daily are flushed down toilets, including wet wipes, cotton buds and sanitary products. As these release microfibres that are too small to be filtered out, they end up being consumed by small marine species, ending up in our food chain.
70% of our planet is the ocean. It’s home to a wide range of wildlife, it provides food for billions of people and a source of income for millions of others. But also, it’s the ocean alone that produces half of the oxygen we breath and it absorbs half of the man-made carbon dioxide.
However, because of all the plastic that ends in the ocean, there’s has been an accentuated decline in our ocean health. And the total amount of vertebrate sea life has reduced by more than a third since 1970.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THERE’S PLASTIC IN THE OCEAN
It’s not news that the plastic released into the ocean can be harmful to the sea creatures, such as birds, fish, turtles and whales. The marine species might even die because plastic can suffocate them. This happens or because they get stuck or mistakes the plastic with food.
An estimated eight million tonnes of plastic end up in the sea every year. Some plastics float once they enter the ocean, but not all of it. Studies show that that’s so much plastic that it will outweigh all the creatures in the ocean by 2050. Another study shows that already in 2015, 90% of these animals had eaten plastic.
For instance, often turtles mistakes plastic bags for jellyfish and seabirds are found with their stomachs full of plastic items. As said before, microplastics are consumed by animals as it looks like plankton and ultimately, we end up eating those animals, consuming plastic ourselves.
51 trillion pieces of microplastics can be found in the ocean. Microplastics are smaller than 5mm and come from cosmetic and cleaning products, tyres wearing down on roads, washing synthetic materials, and larger pieces of plastic debris that exposed to UV radiation, breaks down.
When sea birds consume plastic, it can come to weight to 10% of their total weight. By consuming plastic, seabirds can choke and die or when it goes to their stomach. Because plastic is indigestible and there are no nutrients for them, they end getting sick, starving and not making it to adulthood.
Plastic debris can also get lodged in coral and affect the health of reefs. By getting lodged in the coral, plastic affects negatively coral health, which in turns affects all the many animals dependent on coral reefs.
HOW IS PLASTIC IN THE OCEAN AFFECTING THE PLANET
The vast majority of the world’s plastic pollution comes from countries in Asia and Africa. 90% of plastic waste entering the ocean comes from just ten rivers in Asia and Africa. The Yangtze in China alone flushes around 1.5 million tons of plastic into the ocean each year. Besides China, India, Algeria, and Indonesia that industrialized rapidly in the last decades, couldn’t follow with collecting and recycling all the new waste they had brought from industrializing.
However, just because are the biggest companies and factories in the world that produce more plastic waste, doesn’t mean our individual daily action doesn’t have a huge impact. As said before, not recycling plastic, littering and using products that are bad for the environment are actions that can be easily done by anyone.
To help our planet and our ocean and all the sea creatures is important to change our habits and opt for better choices when it comes to consuming and treating our ocean.
HOW CAN WE HELP STOP PLASTIC IN THE OCEAN
- Reduce plastic use
We use so much plastic on our daily basis that doesn’t even realise how much it actually is. But being more aware of it is the first step to help our planet and ocean. Commit to changing your habits by reducing your use of disposable and single-use plastic items, reusing items and/or recycling them.
- Participate in a clean-up
Volunteer to pick up litter from the beach and ocean in your local community.
- Say no to Fast-Fashion
You might think it’s not related, but in fact, most of the clothes we use today are made from nylon, acrylic or polyester. As in fast fashion, mass production needs to be fast and cheap, using plastic is the best way brands have to release weekly collections. These are all forms of plastic and although they are all lightweight, soft and strong, they are also bad for the oceans. When you put them into the washing machine, your clothes release microplastics that, as explained before, are not filtered and end up in the ocean.
