Effect of Ocean Plastic Pollution on Environment

The ocean plastic is harmful to different ecosystems and marine life. According to UNESCO, around 10 million metric tonnes of plastic enter the ocean every year. The major problem with plastic is that they are non-biodegradable and remains in the environment for thousands of years.

In this article, we will look into the Effects of Ocean Plastic Pollution on the Environment in detail.

What is Ocean Plastic Pollution?

Ocean plastic pollution is the accumulation of plastics such as microplastics, bags, and plastic bottles. Littering, improper manufacturing processes, and industrial waste cause the majority of ocean plastic pollution.

It is a vital problem that poses serious threats to ecosystems, human health, and marine life. Plastic waste accumulates in the ocean from various sources such as disposal in rivers, coastal areas, land, and aquatic activities.

Causes of Ocean Plastic Pollution

Some of the major causes of ocean plastic pollution are :

• Air Pollutant: Pollutants flowing in the atmosphere settle on the ocean surface. As a result, the particles of plastic material and sometimes lightweight plastic material fall into the ocean through the wind.
• Surface Runoff: Cars, truck, buses while commutation, leaves plastic bags, or plastic bottles or any other plastic material on the roads. eventually these waste reach the water source and ultimately to the ocean. Hence causing plastic pollution.
• Littering the Coastline: Most of the coastline are full of plastic waste because the visitors dispose off the single use plastic container, bags, straws on the beaches. This leads to deposition of plastic waste at the beaches which runoff into the ocean with waves.
• Landfills: Landfills are the man-made land created by depositing waste material collected in an area. These waste material contain plastic packets, bottles, and other plastic material. over a period of time these waste gets into the contact of water level and eventually pollutes the ocean water.

Effects on Environment

Ocean plastic pollution has a significant influence on the marine ecosystem, tourism, climate, food, and human health. These effects are described as follows:

Effect on Marine Life

When plastic enters the marine ecosystem, it causes harm to both its biotic and abiotic components. For example, when plastics break down into microplastics they remain in the water, enter the food chain, undergo bioaccumulation and prove hazardous to every trophic level. Similarly, when large masses of plastic like waste bottles, razors, nets etc. keep floating in water they can prove physically hazardous to fish and other aquatic animals as they may get injured or entangled in them.

• Formation of Ocean Garbage Patches: All plastic that moves into the ocean come together to form a Garbage patch. One of the best examples is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
  • As per UNESCO data, 593,043,485 pound of plastic waste float on the surface of ocean.
  • Ocean litter contain 14% Plastic bottle waste excluding caps.
  • 8.3 billion plastic straws waste are found in beaches.
  • 100-300 billion plastic bags (approx) litter ocean every year.

The effects of ocean plastic pollution on marine ecosystems are mentioned below:

• Chemical Pollution: Plastics entering the ocean release harmful chemicals like polychlorinated biphenyls and bisphenol A into water. These are the toxic chemicals which concentrate the food chain and harm human health.
• Physical Harm: Plastics can be accidentally consumed by marine animals and can cause internal injuries, blockages and starvation. Larger animals are entangled in the plastic debris which leads to severe injuries and death.
• Destruction of Habitat: The marine animals accumulate plastic debris which also damages the coral reefs and other habitats. This disrupts the entire ecosystem and also reduces biodiversity.
• Microplastics: The breakdown of plastic into smaller particles are micro plastics which are frequently ingested by marine animals and also transfers harmful chemicals and toxins to the food chain.

Effect on Food and Human Health

The impacts of ocean plastic pollution on food and human health are:

• Seafood Contamination: The microplastics are easily consumed by the marine animals which further accumulates in the tissues of other seafood and fish. This contaminated seafood is consumed by humans which causes health risks. 25% of California fishmarket contain plastic into micro form which is later consumed by human.
• Chemical Toxicity: Plastics absorb the harmful chemicals from the seawater and these chemicals include pesticides and persistent organic pollutants. These chemicals are also ingested by marine organisms which contaminates the seafood and toxic chemicals enter the human beings. 93% of people in US are found to be positive for presence of BPA.
• Economic Impact: Plastic presence in seafoods causes economic losses for seafood industries and fisheries. These contaminated foods are unsafe for human consumption and leads to financial losses and less market demand for the people depending on the seafood sector. 40 pound of plastic is consumed by human every year.

Effect on Tourism

Ocean plastic pollution highly influences tourism activities, some key influences are described below:

• Health Concerns: Ocean plastic pollution provides various health risks to the visitors when they come into contact with the microplastics, ingested food or contaminated water.
• Damaged Reputation: Organizations which sell contaminated food or water knowingly or unknowingly damage their reputation. The destinations such as lakes and beaches also become unpleasant because of ocean plastic pollution.
• Environmental Impact: Ocean plastic pollution reduces the beauty of tourist destinations by making the beaches look unattractive and dirty which also reduces the visiting of tourists as well. This directly influences the economies of coastal tourism that are highly dependent on visitors.

Effect on Climate

The impact of ocean plastic pollution on climate are:

• Emissions of Greenhouse Gases: The production, utilization and disposal of plastics into oceans reduces the capacity of oceans to absorb greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide. This improper management of ocean plastic waste damages the climate. Maximum carbondioxide emitted in the world is absorbed by the ocean which has reduced to 30% from 70%.
• Degradation of Oxygen Production Levels: It is suggested that half of the oxygen on Earth is produced by the planktons that live in the ocean. They also absorb the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere thus reducing the effect of this Green house gas. Plastic pollution adversely affect the growth of these organisms and thereby impact the control on global warming. Aprrox 70% of oxygen is produced in marine ecosystem which has reduced 3%-4% in 21st century.

Solutions to Ocean Plastic Pollution

The effects of ocean plastic pollution can be controlled in different ways, some of them are described below:

Minimize Plastic Use

The first and foremost way to minimize the effects of ocean plastic pollution is to reduce the use of plastic. This can be done by encouraging the use of items that are reusable such as paper bags, reusable bottles and containers. This can minimise the single use of plastic entering into the environment.

Proper Recycling

The waste generated by plastic must be recycled properly to reduce the negative effects of plastic. Various recyclable measures are used for preventing plastic waste from ending up into the oceans. These measures include supporting recycling facilities and programs.

Efforts for Clean-Up

Events can be organized to clean up sea shores and beaches to remove plastic waste from beaches and shorelines before it ultimately ends up into the ocean.

Innovation

The use of innovative solutions for minimizing plastic waste by using the research and development will help to minimize the effects of plastic pollution. The innovative solutions are the cleanup technologies for cleaning oceans and technologies for biodegradable plastics.

Regulations and Policies

The government must implement some strict regulations for focusing on waste management. The use of support policies must also be done to reduce plastic pollution.

Raising Awareness

There are a majority of people who do not know the negative impacts of ocean plastic pollution. Hence raising awareness regarding the influences of plastic pollution helps in promoting sustainable practices among the individuals, society, communities and organizations.

Conclusion

The findings generated from this article have concluded that increase in the ocean plastic pollution has negatively impacted marine life, human health, tourism and climate.The ocean plastic pollution has highly enhanced the concerns of human and marine organisms’ health and increased the impact on environment and economy. It has become quite important to take efforts for minimizing the ocean plastic pollution at both the individual and international levels.

Read More :

• Ocean Pollution
• Causes and Effects of Water Pollution
• Water Pollution and its Control

FAQs on Effects of Ocean Plastic Pollution on Environment

What are 5 effects of plastic pollution?

The effects of plastic pollution are destruction of ecosystems, devastating habitat, injuries and death of marine animals, health concerns for human beings and increased costs for waste management

How does plastic become toxic in the ocean?

Through the plastic degradation process, plastic becomes toxic in the ocean. The marine animals consume the toxic plastics and microplastics which have harmful effects.

What are the sources of plastic pollution in the ocean?

The single use plastics like plastic straws, bottles, bags and micro plastics are some sources of plastic pollution in the ocean.

How does ocean pollution affect the environment?

Ocean pollution affects the environment by directly affecting ecosystems, marine life and human health and providing harm to the coral reefs.

How does Plastic in the ocean affect the climate?

The climate is affected by ocean plastic pollution by emitting greenhouse gases and contributing to global warming.