3 ways to understand Ocean Plastic
With skyrocketing plastic production, low recycling, and inadequate waste management, As of 2021, there are at least 363,762,732,605 pounds of plastic pollution in the world’s oceans — sufficient to cover each foot of shore on the planet! Here are some effects, dangers and solutions as to how we can reduce this plastic going into our oceans -
- Effects:
Plastic makes up around 80% of ocean debris found from surface waters to deep-sea sediments. The main sources of plastic debris found in the ocean are land-based, coming from urban and stormwater runoff, sewer overflows, littering, inadequate waste disposal.
Ocean-based plastic pollution originates primarily from the fishing industry, nautical activities and aquaculture. It threatens ocean health, the health of marine species, food safety and quality, human health, coastal tourism, and contributes to climate change.
2. Dangers:
When plastic covers up 80% of ocean debris, it poses as a great threat to at least 2141 species in the marine ecosystem.
Fish, seabirds, sea turtles, and marine mammals can become entangled in or ingest plastic debris, causing suffocation, starvation, and drowning. While plastics are estimated to take up to hundreds of years to fully decompose, some of them break down much quicker into tiny particles, which in turn end up in the seafood humans eat.
Plastic waste damages the aesthetic value of tourist destinations, leading to decreased income from tourism. And all of this adversely affects climate change and making the plastic in the oceans more harmful and toxic than ever.
3. Solutions:
1. Reduce Your Use of Single-Use Plastics:
Single use plastic products like bags, straws, use-&-throw utensils, low quality plastic containers, toothbrushes, etc and many other small things made of plastic should be reduced from our daily essentials. Sustainable alternatives of these products made from metal or glass and other sustainable materials should be brought in use. Simple switches like these and encouraging people around you can make impact bigger than you can imagine.
2. Recycle Properly:
While using any plastic be sure to recycle what you can. If you don’t know which products are recyclable and which are not you can look for the sign of recycling on the label of that product. Recycling helps keep plastics out of the ocean and reduces the amount of “new” plastic in circulation.
3. Avoid Products containing Microbeads
Tiny plastic particles, called “Microbeads,” have become a growing source of ocean plastic pollution in recent years. Microbeads are found in some face scrubs, toothpastes, and bodywashes, and they readily enter our oceans and waterways through our sewer systems, and affect hundreds of marine species.
These are some adverse effects of plastics in oceans and they will keep growing until we curb the use of plastic and help the environment and in turn help ourselves, after all there is no Planet B!
