![]() Landfills can leak harmful pollutants into the watershed and plastics on top of a landfill can be carried away by the wind and rainwater. ![]() Getting a handle on that source at scale is a slow process because of the nature of governance in those countries and the ways in which waste disposal is managed. In China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines ― which were identified in a 2015 Ocean Conservancy report as the top five plastic-polluting nations in the world ― the amount of mismanaged waste was close to 75 percent or more of the total waste generated. So where is the plastic coming from besides littering? More than two billion people live without any waste collection. alone-almost two for every man woman and child! We use half a BILLION plastic straws a day in the U.S. Only 1 percent of the 4 trillion plastic bags used annually is recycled. But for daily use, it’s the more expensive choice, has a huge climate footprint, and is a big part of the plastic waste mismanagement problem. hurricanes, floods, etc.) bottled water is a public health good and delivery in plastic is cheaper. We buy about 1 million plastic bottles every minute of every day! Where sanitation is a huge problem (e.g. Finland is one leader on plastics management, the European Union is doing quite well over all. Others should be used only when and where they meet a unique or emergency need-think plastic straws, bottled water, bottled sodas, and plastic packaging-and that’s probably not in the EU or the US. Some single use plastics should stay that way-especially for hypodermics and other medical uses. So, what is it about single-use plastics? They represent somewhere between a third and a half of all global plastics production, which reached about 335 million metric tons in 2016. It also affects community health not only for the reasons above, but because plastic waste can collect water, allowing disease-bearing mosquitoes to breed, and poorly managed debris can clog the outflows of rivers and streams, causing flooding. It’s no surprise that people like to visit clean beaches more than dirty ones. Plastic litters our beaches and landscapes which in turn affects tourism revenue. And that’s just in shellfish (mussels in particular in this case). Two Belgian researchers, looking at the amount of microplastics in some shellfish, concluded in 2014 that the average European seafood consumer could be eating 11,000 pieces of microplastic every year. These properties of plastic, especially microplastics, have implications for human health as we consume fish and shellfish. Plastic is also a vector for bacteria and viruses. They can be absorbed into the brains of fish, altering behavior. These can damage tissues and organ function. microplastics (microbeads, microfibers) can serve as vector for chemicals to get into the bodies of marine animals, where they can accumulate in fat cells. Plastic is capable of emitting and absorbing or carrying all types of toxins, including flame-retardants and pesticides (DDT). When animals-sea birds and corals for example-take in plastics, it leaves no room for real food-and they suffer starvation as a result. Whales, fish, and other animals get entangled in derelict fishing gear and other debris and die a slow painful death from asphyxiation or starvation. Plastic poisons and injures marine life as shellfish, corals, and other marine life eat microplastics and fibers as they filter for real food. ![]() So, what does plastic in the ocean do? Some effects are not fully understood-such as the degree to which microfibers themselves or the toxins they carry cause harm in humans and other animals and at what scale. They are everywhere in the ocean as well as in lakes, rivers, streams, and even your drinking water. Microfibers-These are the very tiny fibers from your fleece, athletic, or other synthetic clothing that shed every time you wash them in a machine. Microplastics are found in every part of our global ocean. Microplastics-These are the tiny pieces that plastic breaks into over time-not disintegrating, but simply fragmenting, making it ever more accessible to marine life. Part of this is debris from marine sources such as fishing gear. Marine Debris-This includes everything from construction materials to beer coolers, but when we’re talking about ocean plastics, we generally mean the bigger pieces that are easily seen and can readily be picked up. ![]() Ocean plastics can loosely be categorized in the following ways: Currently approximately 8 million metric tons of plastic waste enters the ocean every year! That’s enough to line every foot of our coast. It is a particular problem for the ocean. We all know that plastic waste is a problem. Good for you! You’re part of the solution.ĭo you own yoga wear or other synthetic clothing items? Spalding, President, The Ocean Foundationĭo you use your reusable water bottle and coffee mug?ĭo you remember to say “no straw” when ordering a drink?
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