Plastic Pollution in the Ocean
Abstract
Pollution is one of the leading harms facing the world today along with climate change, global warming, natural resource depletion, poor disposal of waste. Presently, plastics are used in covering various items because of their flexibility and durability. However, environmental concerns have always arisen because of improper discarding or recycling with some of them reaching water bodies such as oceans and becoming sources of pollution. Plastics are known to have an indestructible morphology that brings harm to the ecosystems. Moreover, they contain toxins that affect marine life thereby attracting the attention and the need for research. The following study focuses on plastic pollution in the ocean with a focus on the scientific perspectives, the negative effects such as loss of nutritional value for marine creatures, physical damages, the transport of alien species, and exposure to pathogens, and possible mitigation strategies.
Plastic pollution in the ocean
Introduction
The twenty-first century is known as the “Age of Plastics” because plastics are used in packaging almost all manufactured items. The versatility, durability, and resistance of plastic are the characteristics that have rendered many companies and institutions to use the plastic material as their product. Plastic is a boon to humanity. Soda bottles, plastic bags, drinking straws and takeout containers are some of the plastic materials in question that total to about 19 billion pounds of garbage (Mosbergen, 2017). The garbage figure is bound to double by 2025 if no measures are adopted. In 2013, plastic production accumulated to 300 million tons. Although the plastic industry in Europe is known to have employed over 1.4 million people...
Such factors have contributed to the excessive production and poor disposal in many organizations, companies, and businesses. Sadly, almost 10% of plastic produced annually ends up in the ocean and yet the degradation process of plastic can take several hundreds of years. The non-biodegradable feature of plastic means that they break down when exposed to sunlight into smaller pieces and these fragments are what is called microplastics. In exfoliates to health and other beauty products, microbeads are added to them, which pollute the ocean’s ecosystem.
The underlying question is how the plastic ends up in the ocean. Most of the plastic is transported off land litter by wind, and other contributing channels of transportation are the beaches and land-based sources like wastewater discharges, storm water runoff, and rivers among others. Furthermore, landfills that are poorly managed contribute to some plastics entering the ocean. Moreover, littering and tourist activities and fisheries are other sources. Additionally, other sources could be the loss of gear materials by recreational anglers and other professionals engaging in maritime activities. Moreover, there are instances when debris is dumped into the ocean by commercial entities, private ships, or even cruise personnel.
Microplastics are also found after washing synthetic clothing especially those made of acrylic or polyester. In 2016, a study carried out showed that a single cycle of a washing machine could release into the environment more than 700,000 microplastic fibers…
