In a study published by Science Magazine in 2015, it
was determined that around 8 million metric tonnes of plastic waste enters the
ocean each year. It turns out that much of this plastic is not immediately
visible to the human eye. Much of the
plastic is broken down into tiny pieces called microplastics that can cause a
major risk to marine life, and even humans. Trash in the oceans has become a huge
issue across the world and it has many layers that make it very difficult to
find a solution. Today I’m going to discuss the causes and effects of
mismanaged waste, what large scale cleanup efforts are currently taking place,
and how you can help stop plastics entering our precious oceans.
First off, what is mismanaged waste? It turns out
that mismanaged waste is any type of waste that is moved from its original position,
a landfill or trashcan, to somewhere else by air or water. Essentially, all waste
that ends up in the oceans is mismanaged waste. There are many ways that waste
can enter the oceans. One way is excess litter left on beaches being washed
into the water by waves or wind. This debris is often plastic bags and bottles
that are left behind instead of disposed of properly. Additionally, plastics
and other wastes left in the streets is often washed down storm drains by precipitation.
This includes all sorts of plastics like bottles, cups and fast food
containers. Finally, poorly managed landfills can allow waste to fly off the
surface to other areas, like the ocean. This is usually plastic bags, but can
include other items like milk jugs, ice cube trays, toothbrushes, and pretty
much any other plastic that goes to a landfill.
The most well-known effects of plastic debris in the
ocean are those that effect large animals like whales and turtles. Many large
marine animals mistake plastic items as food, such as plastic bags being
confused as jellyfish. These animals can choke on these items and die. Some
items like plastic ropes or soda can rings can get stuck around animals and
they have no way of removing them. According to the website Animals Australia, more
than 100,000 animals die each year due to consumption or entanglement of
plastic bags alone.
Not only do large pieces of plastic cause marine
death, but disintegrated plastics can be even more harmful to the environment
and the biodiversity of an area. Considering that plastic is not biodegradable
and remains intact for thousands of years, the mismanaged plastic that is put
in the oceans is just broken down into smaller pieces called microplastics. These
pieces are less than five millimeters long, and cause lots of damage to marine
life. Because these pieces are not easily spotted by humans, they cannot easily
be cleaned up with traditional methods. These microplastics can easily absorb
hazardous chemicals from fertilizers and hazardous waste sites. When they are
mistaken for plankton, these plastics allow chemicals to accumulate in the
stomachs of marine animals, causing their ultimate deaths. They die because of
the lack of food in their stomachs and the high levels of toxins. Though the
effects on humans are not well known, consuming these contaminated fish must be
harmful as well.
Though the effects of plastic debris in the oceans
sounds inevitable, there are efforts beginning to find ways to clean up the
oceans. Because of ocean current patterns, much of the floating surface debris
ends up in one large area surrounding a circular ocean current. One example of
this is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. This is an area in the northern
Pacific Ocean that contains about 7 million tons of waste and is approximately
twice the size of Texas. 19-year-old Boyan Slat engineered a mechanism that can
help clean up this garbage patch. He hypothesized a V-shaped screen-like system (shown below) situated
near the garbage patch to catch the trash that is moved by the ocean currents.
This trapped trash can then be harvested and recycled nearby. In addition to
ocean cleanup, there is a strong focus on beach cleanups around the world.
Removing trash from beaches can greatly reduce the amount of trash that is
allowed in the ocean. Large environmental companies organize cleanup efforts to
prevent large scale pollution and to raise awareness about litter around the
world.
Not only are large companies responsible for plastic
cleanup, you can help too! There are many ways that ordinary people can help
too. First off, don’t litter! This is the simplest way to ensure that waste has
a small chance of entering storm drains and nearby bodies of water.
Additionally, make sure to recycle your plastic so they do not end up in
landfills and cannot escape by wind or other weather tactics. The final way to
attempt to get less plastic in our oceans is to decrease your consumption of
plastics. Ways to do this include using cloth bags instead of plastic bags at
the grocery store, buying fewer processed products that need plastic packaging,
and providing your own reusable containers when buying nuts or fruits or
vegetables. As you can see, mismanaged waste is a huge problem, especially as
it pertains to our oceans, but there are many ways that the excess amounts of
plastic can be reduced, and many of them are already underway! It is necessary
to make sure that, as a worldwide population, we are working together to
protect our most precious world biomes.
Stay Sustainable,
Shelby
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