What are the issues with plastic debris in the ocean?
- Plastic debris releases chemical additives and plasticizers into both freshwater and ocean habitats. These compounds can disrupt the development of wildlife in concentrations as small as parts per trillion.
- Plastic debris can also adsorb hydrophobic pollutants, like PCBs, DDT which can biomagnify up the food chain, find their way into the foods we eat and lead to major health concerns.
- Plastics do not biodegrade but break into smaller pieces in the ocean. In some instances the amount of plastic trash outweighs the amount of phytoplankton. Plastic trash is easily mistaken for food--choking animals like sea turtles, cetaceans and seabirds leading to severe malnutrition and slow starvation.
- Plastic Costs Us: Plastic litters our beaches, exacts a toll on our environment, and costs cities millions to clean up. It is a threat to all ocean-dependent, tourism-oriented economies.
|
There are simple ways to reduce this plastic waste:
It begins with saying NO to excessive use of plastics.
Plastic bags are a perfect place to start.
In the United States alone, 100 billion tons of plastic are produced annually. A lot of this is used for consumer packaging, bottles, containers, single use containers, plastic bags etc. Some 100 Billion plastic bags are used in discarded in the US, and only 2% gets recycled. The rest ends in trash and often tragically in the ocean.
|
Photo Courtesy of Bill MacDonald
|
