[INFORMATIVE] The Effect of Plastic Pollution on Marine Life

The Effect of Plastic Pollution on Marine Life

By Mansi Kumbhare

What is Plastic Pollution?
Plastic pollution is the accumulation of plastic objects and particles (e.g., plastic bottles, bags, and microbeads) in the Earth's environment, adversely affecting humans, wildlife, and their habitat. Plastics that act as pollutants are categorized by size into micro-, meso-, or macro debris. Plastics are inexpensive and durable, making them adaptable for different uses; as a result, manufacturers choose to use plastic over other materials. However, the chemical structure of most plastics renders them resistant to many natural degradation processes, and as a result, they are slow to degrade. Together, these two factors allow large volumes of plastic to enter the environment as mismanaged waste, which persists in the ecosystem and travels throughout food webs.

What is Marine Life?
Marine life, sea life, or ocean life are the plants, animals, and other organisms that live in the saltwater of seas or oceans, or the brackish water of coastal estuaries. At a fundamental level, marine life affects the nature of the planet. Marine organisms, mostly microorganisms, produce oxygen and sequester carbon. Marine life, in part, shapes and protects shorelines, and some marine organisms even help create new land (e.g., coral-building reefs).

Most life forms evolved initially in marine habitats. By volume, oceans provide about 90% of the living space on the planet. The earliest vertebrates appeared in the form of fish, which live exclusively in water. Some of these evolved into amphibians, which spend portions of their lives in water and portions on land. One group of amphibians evolved into reptiles and mammals, and a few subsets of each returned to the ocean as sea snakes, sea turtles, seals, manatees, and whales. Plant forms such as kelp and other algae grow in the water and are the basis for some underwater ecosystems. Plankton forms the general foundation of the ocean food chain, particularly phytoplankton, which are key primary producers.

Effect of Plastic Pollution on Marine Life
The ocean is perhaps the most vulnerable environment to plastic waste. Once plastic enters the sea, it has no boundaries – waves and storms can carry plastics to even the furthest reaches of the ocean, where they accumulate into large gyres on the high seas or become embedded in shorelines and delicate coastal ecosystems; they’ve even been found on uninhabited islands. After some months or years at sea, plastic breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces, battered by waves and storms, eventually to sizes smaller than a grain of sand. This makes retrieving plastics from the ocean extremely difficult – almost impossible.

The effects of plastic in the ocean include:

• Harm to wildlife: Plastic pollution has a devastating impact on marine life and ecosystems.
• Harm to human beings: Microplastics have become part of the food chain and have been found in drinking water, salt, beer, and soil.
• Climate change: Plastic pollution contributes to environmental degradation.
• Economic effects: The cost of cleaning up plastic pollution and its impact on industries and tourism.

Plastic Pollution Key-Facts

• Plastic waste makes up 80% of all marine pollution, and around 8 to 10 million metric tons of plastic end up in the ocean each year. Research states that, by 2050, plastic will likely outweigh all fish in the sea. In the last ten years, we have produced more plastic products than in the previous century.
• The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has stated that 100% of all plastics human beings have ever created are still in existence.
• Plastic generally takes between 500–1000 years to degrade. Even then, it becomes microplastics without fully degrading.
• Currently, there are about 50-75 trillion pieces of plastic and microplastics in the ocean. This plastic either breaks down into microplastic particles (see below) or floats around and ends up forming garbage patches.

Why It Is Vital To Prevent Plastic Pollution
Plastic pollution is undoubtedly an issue that requires worldwide cooperation. Its consequences affect the whole planet and its inhabitants: it threatens ocean health, the health of marine species, food safety and quality, human health, and coastal tourism, and contributes to climate change.

Reducing the presence of plastic in our oceans will not only allow us to save marine species and ecosystems but will improve our overall health and that of the environment in general, helping us fight climate change and work towards a more sustainable future.

How to Stop Plastic Pollution In the Ocean
It is quite hard to retrieve plastic from the ocean once it has entered it. New technologies allow us to catch larger marine debris, but small plastic items and microplastics are virtually impossible to reach, especially when they are deep in the ocean.

Therefore, many scientists and conservationists have declared that the best solution is to prevent plastic waste from entering rivers and seas in the first place.

This could be accomplished with the improvement of our waste management systems and the implementation of recycling. In addition, it is essential to reconsider the design and usage of disposable packaging and the reduction in manufacturing of unnecessary single-use plastics.

Measures to Prevent Plastic Pollution

• There are many ways to keep plastic out of the ocean! Here are some strategies you can adopt and share with your community:
• Reduce plastic use: Think about all the plastic items you use in your daily life. Can you even count them all? Being more aware of the way you use plastic is a great starting point to reduce plastic waste.
• Participate in (or organize!) a cleanup: If you live by a sea or river, you can volunteer to pick up litter in your local community, thus removing plastics from the waterways and preventing them from getting to the ocean in the first place. There are many organizations you can join, or simply do it on the weekend with your friends and family. Every little helps!
• Support the right legislation: Of course, it is essential to change our behaviors and habits, but unfortunately, this is not sufficient to prevent and stop ocean plastic pollution. It is also essential that you support legislation that aims at reducing the use and production of plastic, improving recycling facilities, and better managing waste in general.
• Support research and organizations: One of the main weapons we can use to stop ocean pollution is research. By deepening our knowledge of the effects of the issue, we can start implementing better policies for all.

Sylvia Earle, marine biologist, said: “It is the worst of times, but it is the best of times because we still have a chance.” So, let us make the best of this chance; we can all make choices to protect our planet, it is not too late!


References
Ocean plastic pollution an overview: data and statistics. (n.d.). https://oceanliteracy.unesco.org/plastic-pollution-ocean/

United Nations Environment Programme. (n.d.). Plastic planet: How tiny plastic particles are polluting our soil. UNEP. https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/plastic-planet-how-tiny-plastic-particles-are-polluting-our-soil

Parker, L. (2024, February 21). The world’s plastic pollution crisis, explained. Environment. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/plastic-pollution

The Ocean Cleanup. (2024, August 23). The ocean cleanup. https://theoceancleanup.com/

RMcIntyre. (2018, April 17). How does plastic end up in the ocean? WWF. https://www.wwf.org.uk/updates/how-does-plastic-end-ocean

Hutchinson, B. (2024, April 25). 7 Solutions to ocean plastic pollution. Oceanic Society. https://www.oceanicsociety.org/resources/7-ways-to-reduce-ocean-plastic-pollution-today/