Since the 1800s the development of plastic has revolutionised our lives. Durable, easily produced and cheap, it is being used to package medicines, extend the shelf lives of many foods and transport products around the world. It has also boosted the global economy and provided around 220,000 jobs in the UK alone.
Although plastic production has increased significantly over the last 40 years our recycling efforts have not developed proportionally. In addition the one off use of plastic products such as plastic bags, packaging and water bottles has resulted in them contributing between 60-80% of the UK’s general litter.
Plastic takes around 1000 years to degrade, so nearly every bit of plastic made still exists today. An animal that eats plastic will decompose before the plastic does, allowing it to be released back into the environment more or less intact!
The Problem with Plastics: A Plastic Ocean?
How does Plastic get into the Ocean?
How does Plastic Harm Marine Life?
Plastic Toxicity and how it Enters our Bodies
Additional Reading and Resources
A Plastic Ocean?
In the UK, we use and throw away billions of plastic bags, bottles and countless other object every year. In 2006 alone, we used 2.7 million tones of plastic to bottle water worldwide.
Much of the waste in our ocean is plastic, which breaks down into tiny fragments by salt water, sunlight and wave action. These fragments can attract and hold toxic elements (including DDEs and PCBs) at up to one million times background levels.
It has been reported that over 46,000 pieces of plastic are floating on every square mile of ocean today (UNEP-IUCN 2006 Report) and plastic is increasing in the world’s oceans by roughly 100% every three years. See Global Garbage Patches
Marine debris affects at least 267 species worldwide including 86% of all sea turtle species, 44% of all seabird species and 43% of all marine mammal species. Plastic can have a serious impact on the vitality of our oceans, marine life (through ingestion, suffocation and entanglement) and may even impede our own health through toxic accumulation up the food chain.
Sources:
Derraik, J.G.B. 2002. The pollution of the marine environment by plastic debris: A review. Mar. Poll. Bull 44 pp. 842-852
Ryan, P.G., Moore, C.J., Van Franeker, J.A. & Moloney, C.L. 2009. Monitoring the abundance of plastic debris in the marine environment. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B. vol. 364 no. 1526 pp. 1999-2012.
Sutherland et al. 2010. A horizon scan of global conservation issues 2010. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 25 Issue 1 pp. 1-7.
How does Plastic get into the Ocean?
- Merchant ships dumping plastic containers.
- Recreational fishing and boats dumping marine debris i.e. nets, tackle and equipment
- Littering on the beach - In the UK alone, plastic makes up 60% of beach litter (Marine Conservation Society Beachwatch 2008)
- Littering in urban/industrialised areas - can reach the sea when carried by rivers and drainage systems, often caused by heavy rains
How does Plastic Harm Marine Life?
Ingestion, Suffocation, and Entanglement:
Marine mammals can mistake plastic for food and suffer from suffocation.They also get can entangled in plastic and other marine debris, such as fishing nets.
Damage also occurs when plastic enters marine animals through ingestion. The plastic breaks down further but will not fully bio-degrade nor will the animal digest it. This allows for less storage in the stomach and therefore shrinks meal size. This reduces the organism’s energy reserves and in turn, their ability to reproduce and migrate. Also plastics blocks the intestines, leading to constipation and eventual starvation.
About a million sea birds die a year from [pollution] ingestion and about a hundred thousand sea animals die every year from plastics. Turtles are particularly at risk as they often mistake plastic bags for jellyfish, a common prey.
Diagram showing the percentage of marine species worldwide ingesting or entangled with plastic
Read the WDCS report on marine debris and cetaceans HERE
Quick Fact - Invasive Species: Plastics floating at sea may also facilitate the expansion of invasive species by providing a surface for them to be carried upon.
Sources:
Derraik, J.G.B. 2002. The pollution of the marine environment by plastic debris: A review. Mar. Poll. Bull 44 pp. 842-852
Ryan, P.G., Moore, C.J., Van Franeker, J.A. & Moloney, C.L. 2009. Monitoring the abundance of plastic debris in the marine environment. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B. vol. 364 no. 1526 pp. 1999-2012.
Sutherland et al. 2010. A horizon scan of global conservation issues 2010. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 25 Issue 1 pp. 1-7.
Talsness et al. (2009) Components of plastic: experimental studies in animals and relevance for human health. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B (2009) 364, 2079–2096
Plastic Toxicity and how it Enters our Bodies
Plastic enters our bodies in 2 ways:
1. Plastic fragments attract and hold toxic elements present in surrounding seawater (including DDEs and PCBs e.g. from pesticides). These plastic fragments are then eaten by countless marine organisms including plankton, which represent the source of the food chain.
2. Plastics exposed to sunlight release toxins (plasticizers and additives) into the ocean. These then accumulate in marine organisms by entering the food chain.
By eating contaminated marine life, these toxins may then enter human systems and may in turn, negatively impact on our immunity, hormone levels and reproductive health.
Sources:
DC Bureau 2009
Yan, S et al. 2010. Emerging Contaminants of Environmental Concern: Source, Transport, Fate, and Treatment. Pract. Periodical of Haz., Toxic, and Radioactive Waste Mgmt. Volume 14, Issue 1 pp. 2-20.
Follow our Solutions link for more information about how you can help marine life.
Additional Reading and Resources
See our blog post on 'Plastic in the news' HERE
Check out the wonderful animation 'Save My Oceans' by The Loud Cloud on Vimeo HERE
Make a difference on the Plastic Oceans page HERE.
Read Greenpeace's report on plastic debris in the world's oceans HERE
Jacobsen, J.K., et al.(2010) Fatal ingestion of floating net debris by two sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus). Marine Pollution Bulletin 60, 765-767.
Kubwaboa et al. (2009) Migration of bisphenol A from plastic baby bottles, baby bottle liners and reusable polycarbonate drinking bottles. Food Additives and Contaminants. Vol. 26, No. 6, June 2009, 928–937
Meeker et al (2009) Phthalates and other additives in plastics: human exposure and associated health outcomes. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 364, 2097–2113
Mozaffarian & Rimm (2006) Fish Intake, Contaminants, and Human Health Evaluating the Risks and the Benefits. JAMA. 296:1885-1899
Talsness et al. (2009) Components of plastic: experimental studies in animals and relevance for human health. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 364, 2079–2096
Victoria McGovern – reporting in Environmental Health Perspectives: Plastics and Human BPA Exposure. Urinary Levels Rise with Use of Drinking Bottles.
Special thanks to Plastic Oceans for the use of their photos.
